On 9/6/2018 at 7:36 AM, dginoob said:

Depends where you live in the UK. I bought a 3-bedroom house for £50k 5 or 6 years ago (granted it hadn't been decorated since the 70's, and I subsequently spent 15k or so on it). The rent I get from that is less than half of what my rent is here for a condo.

Liverpool?

8 hours ago, rasg said:

Sorry to hear that. She didn't really pick the best time of year for the good weather though. My wife loves the snow!

 

We rarely eat out as her cooking is so good and we have no trouble finding all of the Thai ingredients. My wife likes Brit food too and wants to cook a roast dinner back in her village in Thailand when we go back later this year. She;s been taking lessons from my sister.

I imagine there are other reasons but those are the two that are most obvious to me. We can get most Thai foods here but I think it's the culture of food and eating she misses, I do too. On a deeper level I think the whole visa process for a visit and then settlement makes her feel unwelcome here, when I stay in Thailand I actually enjoy feeling like the outsider but again that is not for everyone. I'm grateful for your help because this visit has cleared up a lot of unanswered questions and we could have ended up going through the whole settlement process only for her to be unhappy living here.

My gf has been in the UK for 3 months now, we have both enjoyed the time here but she has decided she does not want to live in the UK. So if anyone like me was considering going direct to the settlement route because a visit visa was refused then I suggest you should at least try a second application. As wonderful as we may or may not think it is in the UK it is not for everyone, her main reasons for not wanting to live here are the cold and the food. I'm happy with how things have worked out because we were seriously considering going direct to the settlement route.

If the tests are failed and the visa runs out are the applicants deported?

17 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

Actually the UKVI used to say that if you want documents returned, you should copy them and include the copies with the application, I'll think you'll find that's what most applicants still do, however they now say "Any original documents you submit as part of your application will be sent back to you" which I agree isn't very helpful.

Our first application that was refused we got all the documents back par 1 letter, the second application just the passport back, seems they're unsure about the policy themselves.

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Advice is actually given on the Gov.UK website to have supporting documentation to hand when arriving at the UK Border, though the advice is pretty vague and not where you might expect it to be. I thoroughly agree that advice should be given either at the application stage or when the passport is returned with a visa inside. I seem to recall that some, if not all, Schengen countries do include a note advising people to carry supporting documentation with them when they travel. 

 

 

https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control/at-border-control

Not easy when they don't return the supporting documents to the applicant with the visa, all my GF had was the letter from me (sponsors letter) which I had translated into Thai for her so she was clear about what I had said. IF they want to keep documents on record they should copy them and return the documents that were submitted.

8 minutes ago, rasg said:

Hopefully Sheffield will get their act together and catch up when it goes quieter. When are you planning to submit?

Think I will submit in April - there or thereabouts...

Thanks guys,great advice as always, that has narrowed the options.

Seems the best plan is return to Thailand at the end of this visit, stay in Bangkok 3 days to go to the Amphur and TB test, (language test will be done here on this visit) submit the application, sit on the beach for 4 weeks, return to England alone and await settlement decision. The GF will have to go back to the farm in Chonburi and wait it out.

1 minute ago, 7by7 said:

No idea; but would it be worth it anyway?

 

She'd only have her passport for four weeks, which means by the time she gets it back after her visit visa application has been (hopefully) approved she would not have much time to spend in the UK.

Depends on how long they take to give a decision on the settlement visa and how long she can have her passport back for (is it a 4 week limit?).... I read some guy has been waiting 5 months to get a decision (partly due to a request for more information). My GF does not want to stay in Thailand alone and is adamant she does not want to come through UK immigration on her own again, I can stay for 1 month in Thailand when we put the settlement application in but after that I need to return to work. Another option would be get married in Thailand, get a visit visa, return to England together and then apply from England... if it is possible to submit the settlement visa from England (pretty sure it has to be Thailand again)

1 minute ago, theoldgit said:

 

That advice is out of date I'm afraid, applicants can now retain their passports whilst awaiting a decision for all visa application categories, the urgent or compassionate needs now only amount to being able to stump up 2,346 Baht.

 

Look under user_pay_services

oh, so she can retain her passport for B2.4k? ... still are they likely to issue a visit visa whilst waiting for the settlement decision?

10 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 

Sorry, but travel outside of Thailand for her will be impossible while her settlement application is being processed because, as with her visit application, she has to submit her passport with the application and wont get it back until she gets the decision. Hopefully when her passport is returned it will have her settlement visa vignette stuck inside.

 

It is sometimes possible for a UK visa applicant to have their passport returned temporarily if they have an urgent, compassionate need to travel abroad. But I doubt spending time with you in the UK while her settlement application is being processed would be considered such.

ah ok thanks, so that option is off the books

1 minute ago, rasg said:

I remember now. You probably could have left it a while though but at least it's done if and when you do go for the Settlement visa. Bear in mind that they are taking weeks and weeks now they are being decided in Sheffield. We only spent three weeks apart while her visa was going through. Too much faffing around living and working in a different country and all the other hassle just to get a visa, for me.

Yep I see the wait times are crazy right now, we will have a month in Thailand relaxing after the application goes in, I had considered another visit visa whilst waiting for the decision but Im unsure wether that will go against us - Reason to return would of course be to collect the settlement visa but what if the settlement visa is refused, that may be seen as a reason not to return... it get's complicated!

3 minutes ago, jamie2009 said:

I had heard all the stories about passing through Heathrow  Immigration, we arrived, went too Immigration, only question do you have the travel intenery, yes showed him it, he read it, ok enjoy your stay, only took a couple minutes too get through.

Sounds like you were travelling together, if I ever do a visit visa again I think I will consider it.

2 minutes ago, rasg said:

 

The process from start to finish over just over five years is currently about £7000.

 

I can't remember why you had to become employed, rather than self employed just for a visit visa? All you need to show is that you have sufficient funds to pay for trip. I can tell you now that being employed is much easier to apply for Settlement as long as you have a salary of £18,600 as a minimum.

 

Most of the Thai applicants don't have a clue about the process for getting a visit visa for this country. So many rely on talking to their mates and stuffing money into a bank account to make them look richer is usually the suggestion to guarantee a visa. As we know it has the opposite effect. I don't think you would find out anything useful from a poll like it.

 

Presumably you now have a limited company now? Why on earth did that cost £2500?

 

I bet she is worth it though!

 

Sorry wasn't clear, I switched to employed from a self employed partnership for the settlement visa not the visit visa. I did this now to get the 6 months of employed payslips to meet the financial requirement. The current system for self employed takes no account of outgoings and mine were pretty much zero as my job covered all of the basic outgoings, rent, council tax, utilities, car, food, drink etc etc.

Definitely worth it! 

10 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

I think many of us are well aware of the visa process, pre- and post-.

 

I'm unsure where you got the idea that the arrival card will be disappearing; I suspect you are getting confused with Thais needing to complete one when leaving and entering LoS; that is rumoured to be about to change.

'Outdated’ landing cards to be withdrawn as part of digital border transformation

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/outdated-landing-cards-to-be-withdrawn-as-part-of-digital-border-transformation

8 minutes ago, rasg said:

 

With help of people on here and another forum, as you know, I found no real difficulty getting four different visas for my wife. The first is always a bit daunting like doing anything in this life for the first time. For her Settlement visa I found it a lot easier than the two visit visas as I had 90% of the information close to hand. I just don't like the cost...

 

Rewording your sponsor letter was sufficient to get your girlfriend a visit visa... I don't think we changed anything else.

 

For my wife's first visit visa there was no difficulty and a letter for her employer was a good one, in English, and it did its job. I didn’t go crazy asking for six months, just asked for one month and it was through in ten days or so.

 

If the story is true she came here as an asylum seeker which is very different...

 

Reason to return is not that subjective. You have seen the mistakes on here by people sponsoring their girlfriends to come to the UK. Many get their girlfriend to supply information that is simply wrong or directly contradicts what the sponsor has said in their letter.

 

I hope you don't the Spain route. It will involve you living and working in Spain for a while. It would be a real bummer if you went to all that trouble getting your girlfriend Spanish residency only to find that she needs a visa to come here after Brexit...

 

From my readings the Spanish break all sorts of EU rules over Schengen visas and can be really difficult. The Danish Embassy sorted a Schengen visa out for the missus for Iceland while we waited...

Definitely the help on here is first class now and was in the past for my applications. The rewording you helped me with certainly did the trick, but that is also the point, the circumstances are exactly the same but one was a no and one was a yes. Just over emphasising future plans to marry got us a refusal, when considering that fact it is fairly complex. I wouldn't say it is very hard to get a UK visit visa but I would not say it is straightforward either (although with the right circumstances it can be.)

What we rarely hear on this forum is the applicants views of the process, usually only the sponsors. My future plans are open at the moment, I will wait and see how my GF feels at the end of her visit, the cost is definitely an issue, I have had to switch from self employed to employed already at an extra cost of £2500 a year plus accountants fees. I'm picturing future issues with the settlement application when they realise I have gone from business owner to employed by the same business, perfectly legal of course and as a result of the bizarre income rules for self employed... Hopefully not a problem!

11 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

surely a fourth reason; the applicant lies or provides misleading, inaccurate or contradictory information

after Brexit there will be a 5th, the Tories need to show immigration figures falling to get re-elected

8 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 

Over the last 17 years i have sponsored several UK visit visas for members of my wife's family; no problems except for the first time when I applied for a visit visa for my then fiance, now wife, and was a complete visa naïf and believed it was simply a matter of filling in the form and paying the fee!

 

Yes, there are forms to fill in and evidence to supply; but this is true of any visa application to any country.

 

I have said it before, but it's worth repeating. In the many years i have taken an interest, posts in this and other forums together with personal experience and that of friends and acquaintances has shown me that there are basically three reasons why any UK visa application is refused. They are, in no particular order:-

• the applicant simply didn't meet the requirements for the visa;
• they did, but failed to show that they did, or provided so much unnecessary paperwork that the vital stuff was buried in the rubbish and so missed;
• they did meet the requirements, provided all the required paperwork and nothing else, but the ECO made a mistake.

Each year over 95% of UK visit visa applications submitted in Thailand are successful.

 

I think you are over simplifying it based on personal experience. Reason to return is completely subjective, fine if you meet the profile often unfair if you don't. I'm guessing Yingluck who is now in London wasn't quizzed about her reason to return to Thailand.

4 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 

The majority of UK visit visa applicants find it very straightforward, too.

 

 

Would be interested in seeing a poll on that... Not sure I have ever met anyone who has said that, even my wealthy Thai friends in Bangkok.

Just asked the gf if she found the process straightforward or not -

2 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I have a marriage visa for Thailand and have been married for over 25 years but am sometimes still questioned about why I am entering Thailand (it's on the Arrival form) and where I live (it's on the arrival form) and my work (it's on the arrival form). Thais (and others) are often conservative with the truth and the authorities are well aware of that, and the honest ones pay the price by also being under suspicion. Decades ago I worked with Social Security in the UK and the Irish were treated in the same way.

 

Not going to dispute there are issues also with Thai immigration, but that is another debate.

2 minutes ago, rasg said:

Are you talking about a Thai getting a Schengen visa? It's not as simple as my wife getting a Schengen visa because she is married to a UK National. ie. Me.

My friends have all got shengens for their Thai gfs, well assisted them to get one, one is in Greece as we speak with his Thai gf, If married to an EU or UK National it is even easier I believe?.... I'm not saying I know the facts in any of this but the impression I get is for non-EU nationals the shengen visa process is easier.

1 minute ago, 7by7 said:

 

Her lack of bags is immaterial; as I'm sure you know passengers don't get to baggage reclaim until after they have passed through immigration.

 

We'll assume the people you saw were in fact Thai, and had been on the same flight as her. 

 

So, 30 minutes approx. to get from landing to immigration. Then, once cleared for entry she had to get from immigration to where you were waiting. Even without bags to collect in T5 that takes 10 maybe 15 minutes.

 

I appreciate your making people aware of the possibility of their Thai visitors being questioned by UK Border Force and possibly delayed while further checks are made, in your girlfriends case the telephone conversation they had with you.

 

I also appreciate your frustration; I had similar feelings when my wife and step daughter first arrived with their settlement visas and were randomly selected to be sent to the health centre for a TB test (this was before the days of TB certificates) although I was with them. But overegging the pudding does you no favours.

I completely see the rational in everything you have written even if I don't agree with all of it.

5 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 Obtaining a Schengen visa is as difficult in many cases, if not more so, than obtaining a UK one.

 

Also, having a Schengen visa does not guarantee entry to the Schengen area. As with all visas, it simply allows travel to a port of entry where immigration will decide whether or not to allow entry. Your girlfriend could just as easily been subject to questioning and detention when entering the Schengen area.

 

True on paper, although everyone I know from a Shengen country has found the process more straightforward. I would imagine cheaper too. I believe the settlement process is simpler too.

I am seriously considering marrying her in Spain as I have property there and hold a Spanish N.I card allowing me to work. I know its scorned on but 6 months working in Spain (or whatever the requirement is) doesn't seem so bad. I'm going to consider options for the next stage, the whole settlement process here seems ludicrous to me, I mean the Life in UK test is ridiculous, I doubt many British people would pass it.

1 minute ago, 7by7 said:

 

You have said it was 2 hours between her plane landing and her coming out to meet you, but you still haven't dealt with the question i asked about the time between landing and her reaching immigration.

 

If, for example, she flew BA and so came into T5 this wouldn't have been very long; less than 30 minutes if i recall from when we did it last September.

 

But if, like my step son and daughter in law, she flew Thai and so went to T2, it could, and usually does, take much longer.

 

 I have yet to read a report of any terrorist attack in the UK where the perpetrators were here illegally. Indeed, from memory the scum have been legal UK residents if not British citizens.

 

I have read of, and known personally, of cases where Thai girls have entered the UK as visitors, only to remain past the expiry of their visa; usually to work. Sometimes with the collusion of their sponsor, sometimes they have duped their sponsor and disappear once here. Very often, though, they believed their sponsor to be genuine only to find themselves the innocent victims of traffickers: Tens of thousands of modern slavery victims in UK, NCA says

 

I don't really care about the first two groups; but if innocent people being delayed at the UK border improves the chances of some poor, innocent girl escaping a life of misery as a domestic or sex slave, then I think it's worth it.

Sorry, yes she flew BA into terminal 5 and only had carry on bags. I'm presuming other passengers were out within 30-40 minutes because I saw many Thai's coming through at that time.

1 minute ago, rasg said:

 

I remember doing the same when my wife first came here and many disagreed with me. My wife took 40 minutes from the moment the plane landed so maybe she was only detained for ten or fifteen minutes. It just seems longer when you are being grilled...

 

 

I've agreed with everything you've said so far but not this. 25 years ago, yes. The big problem with a border free zone is that anybody can move from one country to another within Schengen which is a Godsend for terrorists.

Yes I understand the concerns, we need some control over our borders. Whenever we have terrorist attacks in the UK it invariably comes out that we know they had dubious connections and we did nothing to deport them, at the same time we put barriers up to keep perfectly innocent families apart. The balance needs to be addressed.