GarryUK

Hi Garry, I didn't actually say you or anyone else shouldn't attempt to do it yourself. It was just my own decision that with something so important I personally preferred to put the application in the hands of someone whom I knew would do the job 100% right. That took all the worry out of it for me and my wife and for us it was money well spent. Good luck with your application anyway.

Thanks.

Well back to Bangkok tomorrow for the appointment on Wednesday. Let's just hope Rob180 is wrong and that it's perfectly possible to go through the settlement visa process without using an agent. We'll soon see...

The one I'm least sure about is 2.4 where it asks "Is you sponsor in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit?". Well I'm not on any benefits, but I currently get 25% discount on my council tax for single occupancy (which of course will cease when the wife arrives to live), so is the answer YES?

You would answer NO as you are getting a reduction because of you being the only person living at the property you are not getting housing benefit or council tax benefit you are getting what many people get which is not means tested.

Makes sense but wasn't sure, so I'll go will NO.

While last year we got an appointment the next day for her visit visa application, we just submitted her first settlement visa application last week and couldn't get an appointment sooner than 7 days later. Maybe they're busy, or maybe due to the type of visa there's a longer period before an appointment can be made, not sure but we're off there on Thursday. Remember with Songkran holidays they'll be closed for a number of days.

Well the application was done online and has been printed, the appointment made and paid for, so now just a little advice on completing APPENDIX 2 (VAF 4A DECEMBER 2013) FINANCIAL REQUIREMENT FORM.

In 1.27 it asks "Does your sponsor have any children?" so I've put YES as we've just had a baby together, then in 1.28 it asks "Is your sponsor responsible for supporting anyone financially, including any children listed above?" to which I've listed the wife and child and put how much I plan to send her monthly until the visa is approved. That seems logical right?

The one I'm least sure about is 2.4 where it asks "Is you sponsor in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit?". Well I'm not on any benefits, but I currently get 25% discount on my council tax for single occupancy (which of course will cease when the wife arrives to live), so is the answer YES?

Section 3A seems straightforward then as far as I can tell I skip all the way to Part 5 as salaried employment in the UK is my only source of income.

And one final question relating to the main form. We had to detail her general visit visa application rejection prior to her being granted a visa on our re-application. I've listed the reference number so is there any need to include a copy of the refusal notice?

Cheers all. Garry.

My wife had an appointment at 11:40 4 April. The application was accepted so we had completed the correct online form 'wife'.

Good luck.

After we got married in Bangkok October 2013 we went to Pattaya to visit friends and went to the passport office you refer to to get the wife a new passport in her married name. We didn't turn up particularly early, didn't spend all that long there and 1000B later we left and waited for the new passport to be posted to her. I appreciate our circumstances are probably different as we were just updating an existing valid passport, but no-one else has replied to you yet.

I have however tried to start a new application because of this, but it wont let me when start a new application when I use her name ? It refers me to a help desk website that wontt reply. Really getting f@cked off with this sh!te now.

You have to set up a new account on https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/ with a different email address. If you have a domain registered it's easy as you have access to unlimited email address variations (can't you tell who works in IT hehehe), but for the majority without you'll have to pop along to one of the many online email providers (Google "gmail" and click on the 1st ad to go create an account, or Google "outlook" and at the bottom right it says "Don't have a Microsoft account? Sign up now").

It's messy, but you can have as many goes at filling in the form as you have email accounts, at least until you "submit" the form, book an appointment and pay - even at the appointment stage it tells you it will be automatically cancelled if you don't make a payment within 3 hours as mentioned above.

Hope this helps again.

A very useful post, Garry.

But

Don't forget if the applicant is being sponsored you'll need form SU07........

You need SU07 for adult dependant settlement applications: you don't need it for spouses, partners, fiancés or children settlement applications nor for visits.

I missed that so I was going to print one and fill it in. I guess that's 2 pages less to print.

Forgot to mention we received a number of emails to the address used to login to https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

1> Confirmation of account creation.

2> Online payment transaction confirmation.

3> Visa application appointment confirmation.

4> Visa application confirmation email.

The last one confirms everything has been completed online and gives you a link to a guide to the supporting documents required (which I hope by this stage you already know what you need).

Don't know if you've already asked this question in another thread, otherwise someone asked exactly the same thing. The replies given were that you have to log in to https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/ and complete the following stages in order (you have to do the 1st before you can move on to the next etc). We did this yesterday so I know this information is accurate and works:

1> Complete your online application.

2> Sign the online declaration regarding fraud/lies and the consequences.

3> View and book an available appointment. Not sure if they're busy, but earliest we could book was 7 days after.

4> You then have 3 hours to pay online using a credit card otherwise the appointment is automatically cancelled.

5> After up to 1 hour you will be able to print your application. I recommend printing to PDF so you have it saved, then you can take that to print anywhere if like us you don't have a printer.

There are some bugs in the online form. For example, under the sponsor section it asks their relationship to the applicant and lists every relative you can think of except the glaringly obvious husband or wife. A couple of us had to choose "Other relative" and will manually amend the printed application.

Don't forget if the applicant is being sponsored you'll need form SU07 which cannot be downloaded from the visa4uk site so you'll have to Google SU07 (I think they provide a link but it didn't work for me). And you'll also need an appendix form regarding meeting the financial requirement so again Google VAF4A and check out section 10 "Selecting the correct Appendix".

Hope this helps everyone. Booking the appointment after following this process worked for me.

Garry

I have just completed our settlement visa application. Like you some questions were not clear.

My wife has an appointment at VFS on 4 April.

I will update to say if our application was accepted.

Well I'm glad it's not just me being stupid, looks like you have exactly the same issues. I have an additional problem in that she went to the doctors whilst in the UK (cost me £80-odd for him to diagnose a sore throat, but we feared tonsillitis so better safe than sorry), only I can't remember the date she went or the exact cost, and I doubt if I phone the doctors in the UK that they'll give me that info. Hopefully if I pass them to the wife they will tell us. After she got pregnant we got a National Insurance Number and saw the midwife once (didn't pay for that though). It asks this stuff and the dates between which she received "treatment" are mandatory.

I've another question for the more knowledgeable members regarding supporting documentation as I'm not sure if it's aimed at settlement visas or relevant in our case. It states that "If you do not meet the financial requirement then you may wish to provide some of the following documents to help to show your sponsors circumstances in the UK":

> Evidence of sponsors current employment (included letter, wage slips, P60 and bank statements for the financial requirements section)

> Evidence of your sponsor's immigration status (Can include a copy of my passport complete with visa stamps for 5 visits to Thailand)

>Evidence of your relationship to your sponsor and any contact between you, which could include:

> Birth certificate

> Marriage certificate (already included with translation)

> Death or divorce certificate (not applicable)

> Photographs of your wedding or other time spent together (I have the photos from the visit visa application which cover meeting in Oct 2012 through UK visit to marriage Oct 2013 - include or not? Update to include current visit to meet new baby?)

> Phone records (have phone records and chat logs from visit visa application but only to May 2013, could possibly update?)

> Emails, letters or cards

Well I more than cover the financial requirement, and baring in mind we proved the relationship was genuine in order to get the general visitor visa last summer, and we've since got married (documents included in the application), do we need to further evidence the relationship?

Any more advice greatly appreciated as we hope to submit her application tonight.

Tried to carry on and it doesn't get any better.

In the Sponsor Details section we put myself as the sponsor but where it asks "Where is your sponsor now?" do we put Thailand or UK? I'm here on holiday while she's completing the application, but by the time it reaches processing I'll be back in the UK. And for some crazy reason I've had to select Other Relative in answer to the question "What is their relationship to you?" as Husband/Wife are the only two possibilities missing from the list. Finally in this section it asks "Will your sponsor be travelling with you to the UK?", but I'm not sure. The question is mandatory so I have to answer but right now I don't know - she'd like me to so I can help with the baby and her luggage, but I'm hoping not to need to because of the cost.

Where we're unsure what to put could you please offer your recommendations. This'll be expensive if we don't get it right first time.

Well, we're 1 hour into the application process and the laptop is lucky not to have gone out of the window. Half the links I've clicked don't seem to work, and once we finally registered an account on Visa4UK and started filling in the application we're hitting problem after problem.

So on page 1 you confirm your name, date of birth, passport number etc and it asks when you wish to travel, but it'll only allow you to choose a date within 90 days (up to June 30th). That's right for visit visas as you can only apply no more than 3 months in advance, but it then goes on to ask what type of visa you're applying for which in our case is a settlement visa, and as they typically take 90 days to be approved we're not going to have travelled in that time so we wanted to put a more realistic date in July.

On the next page it asks for the passport "Issuing Authority as stated in the passport or travel document" which is "Ministry of Foreign Affairs", only that's too long so you can't give the requested answer "as stated in the passport" so we've had to go with MoFA and hope someone has the brains to know what that is. On the same page it asks for some travel information including "Date of planned arrival in the UK" which this time lets you enter any date (so what's the point of putting a date on the start page?). It also asks "How long do you intend to stay in the UK?" which again appears to ignore the fact that we selected a settlement visa so we put "Indefinite". A decent form wouldn't ask this question because of the type of visa selected.

On to page 3 and it asks if she's had a visa in the last 10 years. As it happens yes, she had a category "C - VISIT" visa last year. That's fine, except the last question asks for the issuing authority with the guidance notes "What authority issued your visa i.e. British Embassy, High Commission, Consulate". There's no issuing authority indicated on the visa, and as far as I'm aware the British Embassy or Consulate don't get involved in visas so that's not very helpful. Anyone know what we need to put here?

Looks like we'll have to revisit the form another day because I've got a headache from it.

1. Child's Thai birth certificate and English translation.

2. Full birth certificate of English parent(s) which shows the name of your/their parents.

3. Marriage certificate if parents are married (and English translation if required, for example they married in Thailand).

4. Evidence that past marriages are dissolved either by death or divorce.

5. Original passport and full colour copy of EVERY page (including blanks) of English parent.

I wasn't aware that I needed a full copy of every page in my passport and that it must be in colour, just thought they'd want the main details page. And I swear I've always read photos on a pale blue or grey background but this form tells me white which is fortunate.

You should apply from where you (as the parent applicant) are based.

If the UK then apply locally. If in Thailand you now have to go personally to VFS offices in Bangkok.

The photocopying of all pages is a nonsense if applying for a childs passport:-

ApplyingforpassportoutsideUK.pdf

I am simply passing on information from a form regarding supporting documents given to me today at the British Embassy which is clearly aimed at child passport applications. She pointed out the bit about including a FULL COPY of every page so that's what I'm going to give her.

Garryuk let me know how you get on at the embassy as I will be going there on the 10th April.

FYI copy of post in my own thread:

Went to the British Embassy in Bangkok earlier. Asked if I needed anything from them to get the birth registered in Thailand (as the wife swears that I need something or other certifying there) and they said not. Asked about photos (actually left them at the hotel and they don't allow you to take your phone in which had copies on it so I couldn't show her what I have), she said they are quite flexible given that you can't get a 4-day old baby to open it's eyes and look at the camera. Gave me a checklist of supporting documents - either I've read wrong on the Internet or what I read was incomplete, so for the benefit of others you will need:

1. Child's Thai birth certificate and English translation.

2. Full birth certificate of English parent(s) which shows the name of your/their parents.

3. Marriage certificate if parents are married (and English translation if required, for example they married in Thailand).

4. Evidence that past marriages are dissolved either by death or divorce.

5. Original passport and full colour copy of EVERY page (including blanks) of English parent.

6. Original passport of Thai parent.

7. Two photos (colour on white background), one countersigned.

8. Completed application form.

9. Parents deep poll or name change certificate (if applicable).

10. Proof of address (and English Translation if you live elsewhere).

11. Payment has to be made in POUNDS STERLING using a debit or credit card. You need to complete a separate form containing all the card details (the applicant's name and DOB, type of card, card number, valid from and expiry dates, security number, cardholders name, address, telephone and email, and it has to be signed).

I wasn't aware that I needed a full copy of every page in my passport and that it must be in colour, just thought they'd want the main details page. And I swear I've always read photos on a pale blue or grey background but this form tells me white which is fortunate.

Why have I bothered to write this when most people probably know most of it? Well, apart from the fact that I've been planning this for at least 4 months and there were bits that would have caught me out, the Thai girl dealing with me in the British Embassy told me something very interesting that I haven't heard or read anywhere else yet.

PASSPORT APPLICATIONS HAVE TO BE SENT TO THE UK FROM 6TH APRIL, THE EMBASSY WILL STOP PROCESSING THEM.

Whether that means following the changes you can apply in the UK (and take or post the passport to Thailand yourself) I'm not sure, but at the moment I have it in my head that I had to apply from Thailand because that's where the baby currently lives.

Went to the British Embassy in Bangkok earlier. Asked if I needed anything from them to get the birth registered in Thailand (as the wife swears that I need something or other certifying there) and they said not. Asked about photos (actually left them at the hotel and they don't allow you to take your phone in which had copies on it so I couldn't show her what I have), she said they are quite flexible given that you can't get a 4-day old baby to open it's eyes and look at the camera. Gave me a checklist of supporting documents - either I've read wrong on the Internet or what I read was incomplete, so for the benefit of others you will need:

1. Child's Thai birth certificate and English translation.

2. Full birth certificate of English parent(s) which shows the name of your/their parents.

3. Marriage certificate if parents are married (and English translation if required, for example they married in Thailand).

4. Evidence that past marriages are dissolved either by death or divorce.

5. Original passport and full colour copy of EVERY page (including blanks) of English parent.

6. Original passport of Thai parent.

7. Two photos (colour on white background), one countersigned.

8. Completed application form.

9. Parents deep poll or name change certificate (if applicable).

10. Proof of address (and English Translation if you live elsewhere).

11. Payment has to be made in POUNDS STERLING using a debit or credit card. You need to complete a separate form containing all the card details (the applicant's name and DOB, type of card, card number, valid from and expiry dates, security number, cardholders name, address, telephone and email, and it has to be signed).

I wasn't aware that I needed a full copy of every page in my passport and that it must be in colour, just thought they'd want the main details page. And I swear I've always read photos on a pale blue or grey background but this form tells me white which is fortunate.

Why have I bothered to write this when most people probably know most of it? Well, apart from the fact that I've been planning this for at least 4 months and there were bits that would have caught me out, the Thai girl dealing with me in the British Embassy told me something very interesting that I haven't heard or read anywhere else yet.

PASSPORT APPLICATIONS HAVE TO BE SENT TO THE UK FROM 6TH APRIL, THE EMBASSY WILL STOP PROCESSING THEM.

Whether that means following the changes you can apply in the UK (and take or post the passport to Thailand yourself) I'm not sure, but at the moment I have it in my head that I had to apply from Thailand because that's where the baby currently lives.

If your wife is in Thailand and the baby was born in Thailand she simply registers the birth at the amphur where the child was born, and that is it.

No paperwork from the British embassy is required. The amphur already has your name in Thai, as you are married to the mother.

Thanks Mario, that's what I thought that the Amphur can take my name from the marriage certificate, but of course she gets angry if I suggest for one second I'm right and she's not because she's "Thai people". I'm guessing somewhere along the line she's getting her wires crossed with what would be required to register the birth at the British Embassy to get a British birth certificate.

My GF didn't have a job or any money of her own when we applied for the first time for a tourist visa. I'd been to Thailand twice to see her at that point and we'd been together around the same amount of time you have. The visa was refused but the biggest reason was the huge holes in my supporting documentation. I failed to show I was supporting her, failed to show adequately how often we communicated to prove the relationship, and other points were raised at the time. Most people were very negative about our relationship but there were a few very helpful posters with reasoned advice so look more to them.

I visited her for a 3rd time March last year, filled in all the gaps identified in the refusal letter and we applied again which was successful and resulted in her coming to the UK for 4 months last June.

I agree with numerous previous posts. You've only known her 3 months, and I'm not sure if you've lived with her in Thailand for that time or have visited her only once. If the latter then you supporting her visit will be very difficult and I would think unlikely to succeed, but not impossible. As she appears to be financially secure in her own right I'd agree with the suggestions that she applies on her own to visit the UK, mentioning her time around Europe previously as an indication that she simply wants to travel. I would only mention you as a friend that she plans to visit, not sure whether she should say she'll stay with you for the whole visit and use your home as a base to visit various parts of the country while she's here so listen to experienced posters like 7by7 who may have an opinion on that.

Of course the more times you visit her in Thailand (take photos to show you were together), and the more you communicate (use something like Skype from which call logs can be exported, or a phone which provides itemised billing) then the better chance you'll have in getting her a visa. Good luck.

Congratulations Marty175, we're about to apply for my wife's visa next week. Happy to see they do actually approve some.

Tine congratulations. I will be following this thread as our daughter was born 6 days ago and we'll be applying for a British passport next week.

A teacher (even one without a with a degree) is considered a professional and can act as a counter signatory.

7by7 you're a man (?) of great wisdom. In my post here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694440-getting-a-uk-passport-for-my-newborn-half-thai-child/ with the same questions FiftyTwo has suggested if applying in Thailand I don't need a countersignatory. My problem is that I don't have a photo I can use whilst still in the UK where I have people that can countersign, and when I get to Thailand in a few days I'll be able to get a suitable photo but will have no-one to countersign.

Have started a new thread as the baby hasn't been registered in Thailand yet so I'm seeking advice on what paperwork and translations I need (if any) to register the birth and get a Thai birth certificate which we need for this passport application.

Replies relating to this should be posted here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/713122-registering-a-birth-for-a-thai-birth-certificate/

Thanks.

The wife gave birth to our baby daughter last week and hasn't registered the birth in Thailand yet. She's under the impression I have to get translations of my passport (and possibly birth certificate) then go to the British Embassy to get something along the same lines as the affirmation of freedom to marry we got when we got married last year. I, on the other hand, don't think I need anything until we apply to register the birth in the UK or apply for her first British passport.

Do I need any translations to register the birth of my daughter in Thailand? (For first passport related answers please post in my other thread here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694440-getting-a-uk-passport-for-my-newborn-half-thai-child/)

Garry

hey can anyone help me please ?? im sitting here with a passport application form for my half thai son , im not going to register him yet , but will go to bkk next week to the embassy and submit his passport application , I was just wondering on the front of the form where its says - who is the passport for ? do I fill in my name etc or my 8 month old sons details ??? this may be a silly thing to ask but I don't have a clue !!! could someone tell me please ?? thank you !

Okay so the form I'm looking at now section one asks "What type of passport are you applying for?" which will be "Your first British Passport" and "Child (under 16)" in both of our cases.

Section two then it asks "Who is the passport for?" so I'll be putting my daughter's details down. However, it asks for a mobile phone number and email address which I'm not sure whether to leave blank, put the wife's details or mine.

My daughter is newborn so for section three I'll just be marking NO (she hasn't been included on any sort of passport before).

Section four seems quite straight forward, it's just the wife's details and mine.

Section five "Certificate of registration or naturalisation" I'll be marking NO as we've not yet registered the birth. Section six isn't relevant as the child is under 12 years old. Section seven is blank.

Section eight "More information" will contain the nationality and email address of my countersignatory as requested in the guidance notes against section 10. Section nine is just my signature and relationship to my daughter, and section ten is all the countersignatorys details.

Matt8473 I'm still confused myself about the countersignatory, have you submitted your application yet? Any additional comments or advice you can add since your last post? In some ways I feel lucky that I'm still in the UK after my daughter was born a few days ago so other than trying to get a photo that will be acceptable it's given me the opportunity to get somebody here to countersign for me. Had I have been in Thailand when she was born I don't know how I could have got someone to countersign short of sending the form back to the UK via UPS and getting them to courier it back to me, and from previous experience with the tourist visa paperwork I know that wouldn't have been cheap (or if the photo isn't acceptable won't be cheap).

Garry