GarryUK

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

The tourist visa is a good decision. With the birth of your child to look forward to, you don't want the stress of having to do a border run when all you want to do is be your wife and, after the birth, with your newborn.

I forgot the form (left it at work yesterday) so can't post it until Monday, but I was unsure on exactly how to complete it so I wonder if someone wouldn't mind guiding me slightly.

1. Date of previous visits. Do I put "Oct 2014", "5th Oct 2014" or "5th to 20th Oct 2014"?

2. Purpose of current visit. Do I mention the birth of my child (will I then have to send a copy of the marriage certificate and will they then expect me to pay for a Non Imm O), or just put tourism?

3. Duration of proposed stay. Currently 21 days for which I don't actually need this 60 day visa and have to be careful they don't give me a 30-day visa at border control, so do I put 37 days taking me to my alternative preferred return date?

4. For departure travelling by. Same as 3 really, currently booked to return 20th April but if there are problems I'll change me flight to a later date. Due to Songkran there's nothing cheap before 1st May, but by the time I'm looking to change they could all have gone, so do I put 5th May to give me a few days leeway, or even stretch to the full 60 days?

Thanks....

An inflammatory post has been removed.

What, already! What is it with some people.

Just heard this on the news. Flight path would have taken it over the south eastern tip of Thailand but it never made it that far. Hope the worst fears are not realised.

Without a visa or a ticket out within 30 days you could be denied boarding your flight.

A tourist visa costs 25 pounds. It will only take a few days to get. You can do it by post to the embassy or in person there or at one of the consulates (issued while you wait at most of them). See: http://www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/401

Thanks both. I'm currently booked for 3 weeks so do have a return flight, but if I need to stay and so have to change my flight I wasn't sure of the best option visa-wise. Don't want to be an over-stayer

To be on the safe side I'll go with the recommendation of a 60-day visa, and if I end up coming home on time all it's cost me is £25.

Apologies that I've not spent days reading all the threads, it'll just give me less time to get sorted but I will do some more reading I promise

On March 25th I fly to Thailand for 3 weeks for the birth of my daughter (my wife is Thai but after returning from her UK visit we realised she would be too pregnant to fly by the time the settlement visa was processed so we decided to wait until after the birth before applying).

My current plan is to go on a 30-day visa exemption as a tourist, but if she's late or has any problems work are aware that I may extend my stay for another week or two, but that'll take me over 30 days, so would I be better applying for a 60-day tourist visa ahead of my visit? Or, as I'll be staying an hour or two from the Cambodian border should I do a visa run just before the 30 days is up? The wife tells me the visa will cost a few thousand baht, is this true, is this a legit fee or "tea money"? What's the typical processing time for a 60-day visa, basically is 3 weeks enough time to apply by post?

3-4 months after returning to the UK, and assuming she's granted a settlement visa to the UK, she wants me to fly back out to help her with the baby and luggage so it's possible I'll visit again for a couple of days. For such a short visit should I just get a 30 day on entry or might I be wise doing it some other way?

Garry

I don't log on every day so have only just seen this thread and read through it all, and I don't know how to quote many different posts across the 3 pages of messages so I'll just try to comment on some of what I read.

Our first application was refused, seems quite common. That said, I'd missed a few important bits of documentation so my refusal was easier to address when we reapplied, I just accepted what they'd picked up on and explained how each point of concern was being addressed (basically by including the missing documentation). Our second application was made less than 2 months after the first, would have been quicker but took me some time to order bank statements and post everything to the GF.

I included 5 pages of photos (8 pics per page 2 across by 4 down). I disagree with the poster that said don't date them, the event will make the date obvious. I followed the advice given to me to date them and say a few words about each picture. I met her parents and her cousin over the course of 3 trips to Thailand, but most were just holiday snaps of us together in places we visited.

I never saw the documents you posted but my Skype chat logs were edited down from 160 pages to 11 by removing 99% of the written chat leaving only video chat start and end notifications as this showed we talked at least twice a day every day but didn't reveal any inappropriate talk. Sounds like yours might have, so in the reapplication you need to do something similar with your chat logs and address the point they raised - explain you talked about how long she should come, the decision you made and why you've agreed on 3 months (job, no wish to live UK etc)

My GF was not working and did not own anything yet we were successful in getting her a visit visa from 15th June to 5th October so I disagree with people saying you're asking for too long. Your circumstances are different and she has to have time off work but if you have a letter from her employer just put in your covering letter that while you understand getting 3 months off is unusual her boss likes her and so is happy to hold her job open for that period. State that she has shown no interest in moving to England but you wanted her to meet your family, and that the visit is so long because you don't see it likely that you will get to come back again together for some time due to the cost. Do you live in the UK and visit her, or in Thailand? Obviously the latter makes her return far more believable. Did you say in your original application that should you decide in the future to get married that she wants a full traditional Thai wedding with her family so you'd marry in Thailand, but that you have no plans currently to marry? Again remove the suspicion that you may marry in the UK.

I agree you don't need a floor plan of the accommodation in the UK, I simply stated I live alone in a 3 bedroom house which I own and she'll be staying with me. I included a mortgage statement which also formed part of my financial circumstances. If you rent then I've often seen advice given that you should get a letter from the landlord giving you permission to have someone stay with you. If you're going to stay with somebody else (family or friend) then you'll need a letter from them offering you a room for the duration of her stay.

I didn't personally use an agent.

I ignore the whingers, the Negative Nellies and the borderline insane and really appreciate all of the helpful advice I've had over the years.

I've seen plenty of those who made my blood boil sometimes when they start having a go saying that you're not listening to reason and don't want to hear advice from people if it's not the answer I was looking for. Happily, for all the negatives and nay-sayers there have been far more helpful people that have given usable advice. Those people have helped me support my partner, stay in contact with her when she's in Thailand, bring her to the UK on a tourist visa and last year get married.

Next steps for me are a British passport for my baby girl due at the end of March and a settlement visa for the wife, so I too want to add my thanks to all those that have helped so far, and to all those that will help going forward. A particular mention should go out to 7by7 for all his (?) visa advice over the last 12 months or more.

Thanks to the OP too for reminding us how easy it is to recognise people for their contributions, and how sometimes people appreciate those contributions but perhaps forget to say.

Anyone thought of setting up a Facebook protest page? Please don't nominate me to start it, I don't know how... but maybe if it got a decent amount of support then firecracker films who PM'd me about making a Channel 4 documentary about people looking for love abroard and applying for tourist or finance visas might be interested in taking up the story as this is certainly related.

Hehehe, obviously I meant fiance...

From the BBC news story:

Junior Home Office minister James Brokenshire, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, has been promoted to the immigration brief.

Mr Brokenshire said in a tweet: "Honoured to have been asked to take on the role of immigration minister and to continue reducing net migration to sustainable levels."

In a minor reshuffle, Conservative MP Karen Bradley will take up Mr Brokenshire's former post.

Great, not only do we get a JUNIOR minister in the role, but he seems to think his brief is to stop people wanting to move to the UK. Perhaps this fee fiasco has always been intentional? What you need to be doing is stop giving immigrants houses, cars and benefits and then maybe there won't be so many coming here for the free ride, then those of us with legitimate partners won't be given such a hard time when we want our family to live together.

So really we've got nowhere in determining why this has been done to us: Everything else seems to be payable in GBP, only visa fees look to be in USD. And the standard responses they are sending out hold no weight as India and China don't have to pay in USD. While it wouldn't make it acceptable, it would at least be understandable if someone were honest enough to admit they've wasted millions on a new IT system and screwed up because no-one thought to make sure it could handle GBP. And now the immigration minister has resigned we'll be back to the beginning (not that he'd read or responded to any of our communications, so perhaps that's where we've been all along).

I go to Thailand at the end of March (protests permitting) and we'll be applying for my baby's first British passport and the wife's settlement visa. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll have to pay the former in GBP and the latter in USD, and that I'll be screwed in doing so.

Anyone thought of setting up a Facebook protest page? Please don't nominate me to start it, I don't know how... but maybe if it got a decent amount of support then firecracker films who PM'd me about making a Channel 4 documentary about people looking for love abroard and applying for tourist or finance visas might be interested in taking up the story as this is certainly related. I didn't respond to that contact as I wasn't sure if they were legit, but maybe it's worth further investigation?

Edit: Just found this, so maybe the request was indeed legit...

http://www.firecrackerfilms.com/documentaries/married-in-britain/

Is that an accurate statement that you can't submit a ring-binder?

Just doing the forms for my wife's sister to apply for a visitors visa....

Yes, when we did our visit visa application back in March 2013 they removed the spines and tabbed dividers we had used to separate the "originals" and "copies", so all that effort to make it look good and easy to follow was pointless.

Still not happy with the answer if you can call it that. Where's the honesty about why they changed the system and what flaws they failed to spot before implementing a new system. I payed the visit visa fee on the old system and I doubt very much they'd have processed her visa if they hadn't received the money, so if it wasn't broke.....

And as for "UKVI has already absorbed these (transaction) costs", then why is it still costing us more than it did on the old system? Currency conversion charges levied by the card issuer my a.r.s.e!

Have just converted the $1447 settlement visa fee into GBP via Google and it's telling me it's £876.65 right now (up from £851.00 when the fee was being quoted in Sterling). This will of course also incur the currency conversion fee charged by the card issuer on top of that increase.

The official response, from an unnamed person at the Embassy in Bangkok, says:

Thank you for your email dated 10 January.

bla bla bla, stock answer, bla bla bla

I hope this has clarified the position for you

As you are aware Tony I received the same stock drafted response today.

Me too. Was going to post it but TonyM is much more on the ball and got in first.

Have just sent an email to the address shown in the first couple of posts and to the email address I've found below, and I've posted something on Facebook, but I would prefer somewhere more public and directly targeted to air my disgust at this change. I imagine as I don't have a reference number relating to a current application that my emails will be ignored.

I'm currently looking for an email address to use to send my complaint directly to Mark Harper MP, Minister of State for Immigration.

Contacting the FCO or UKBA doesn't seem to be easy, best I have found is this:

If you have a complaint about how your visa application has been handled, or the conduct of UK Visas and Immigration staff:

• if you are in Thailand email UK Visas and Immigration in Thailand at [email protected]

My mate honestly counter-signed the form with a position description of 'Manager'. The requirements are pretty vague and end with something like 'or of similar standing' which is very open to interpretation. He had met our baby as it happens, however there was absolutely no checking of this fact and the admin lady at the embassy did not give the counter-sign a second glance. Passport was issued.

If you want to play it by the book then as a previous poster says, Skype should be sufficient - you're very unlikely to get so far down the line that you start arguing with the UK authorities about the definition of 'met'.

This and the previous response really belong in the other thread here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694440-getting-a-uk-passport-for-my-newborn-half-thai-child/

Thanks for your input. It seems the long and short of it is that if I lived in Thailand everything would be easy, but as I don't no scenario meets all the criteria, so whatever we do it will be luck of the draw as to how strictly someone wants to apply the supposed rules. After 2 calls to the passport advice line I've now sent an email enquiry to the FCO in Bangkok.

Different departments, so go with what the passport people say for the passport application.

Oh yes of course, I confused myself as I have both a visa application and a passport application to do. Why is nothing ever simple.