bigyin

The refusal notice makes it pretty clear that you did not supply a copy of the marriage certificate as the ECO says no evidence of marriage provided. Did you highlight your visa history in Thailand and provide evidence showing that you live together....not just saying that you did? The ECO also says that the bank statement did not show evidence of money going in. You should certainly have provided the letter which you used to get your retirement visa and 6 months bank statements showing regular money going in (and out if appropriate). It would appear that you provided insufficient evidence of your relationship and finances and as 7by7 said earlier did you provide evidence that your wife's job would remain open? There is no money scam involved here but I suspect a lack of hard evidence. Questions 83 and 86 will not seriously impact on the application..it is the lack of hard evidence which seems to be the problem as 7by7 and theoldgit have suggested above.

The start date is the date the visa is granted not when the online application started. The 6 months starts from then. So all the evidence you supplied will be considered as it is all pre the date the visa will be granted. If you are travelling in September you will be well within the 6 months period. The entry date will not be an issue once the visa is granted. The 3 months you mentioned in your OP only means that you cannot apply for a visa to start more than 3 months after the application date. I don't think you have anything to worry about as long as the visa is granted.

Yes I would most certainly want the originals and copies to go forward to the embassy but good luck to anyone who has obtained a visa and the originals back from VFS.

Never happened to me. They always sent originals and copies to the embassy. Maybe it depends who you get. Mind you the dates given are up to 2013 and my applications were 2014 and this current year so it is equally possible that they have discontinued this procedure.

I would avoid staples. Just one more thing to annoy the ECO...make it easy for him/her to sort everything out. But only a personal view.

When reading this it looks like you are not talking about vietnam...

Even my US vietnamese friends find it boring and complicated to live compared to Thailand...

And if it's such a marvellous place like Cambodia it my be the reason why there are as many tourists as Cambodia there, right ?

Ridiculous.

I go to Vietnam 3 times a year and I enjoy Hanoi a lot and it is such a cool place to hang out. As some have mentioned there is no retirement visa available yet, so if you do move there, you will need to make visa runs every 3 months. Vietnam is a fantastic place and has many nice cities to live in. I especially like Nha Trang, Hue, and Hanoi as places to live in. The cities are not unsafe like Thailand and most people are polite and mostly leave you alone or are at least friendly. Vietnam is definitely a better place to live than Thailand in my opinion, but they don't offer a retirement visa which could change in the future. If they do change their visa policy then I will move there too. I have a few foreign friends living there and they love it.

I have to say that having been to Hanoi last month I am on DividendGuy's side here and there is nothing 'ridiculous' about what he said. It is a communist country so I suspect living there might get tedious in terms of red tape but then so does Thailand. I thought the people were very pleasant, English was widely spoken in Hanoi and I would love to go back and see more of the country.

Checklist page is quite a good idea and perhaps number the pieces of evidence (see my final comment). Basically anything which makes it easy for a very busy ECO to take in what you have supplied.

Your wife does not need to write a letter as it is her application. Having said that I know many people including theoldgit think it is a good idea. I have not supplied one from my wife on the 2 occasions I have lodged an application and both were successful. So really I think that it is a matter of personal preference. If you do supply one from her, of course make sure both letters tell the same story as the ECO's will pick up on any inconsistencies.

I am sure there will be a printing place but from memory I am sure that the stuff you print out at the end of the application says that you can print out pages at the time of lodging the application....at an enhanced price I suspect.

One last thing. There have been many reports of VFS staff removing papers from the application and changing the order. Make sure you tell your wife to tell them that she wants the application to be submitted as it is. Strictly speaking you are not allowed in with her but last time I saw husbands/boyfriends going in and they weren't stopped. Don't ask, just go in and see what happens, then you can help her out. At worst they will say you cannot go in.

As Upnotover and 7by7 have said your circumstances are quite different. I did a successful visit application last year and my GF as was, now wife had about 3 bhat in her bank account so her finances are irrelevant. Reason to return is the big one but as you live together in Thailand it is much easier. Your passport will show your visa history but I would elaborate on that in your sponsor letter to ram home the fact that you are settled in Thailand with your wife and therefore you both have reasons to return. Make sure your father's letter includes details of the accommodation available to show that there is sufficient accommodation. Good luck.

Good advice above as always. There is no catch to these questions. Most Thai applicants aren't paying anything so just answer "My sponsor is paying for everything" and make sure you supply all the evidence to show that you can fund the trip.

There have been stories like this before in other threads although we have never had a problem with them. They should certainly not have mixed up the documents nor taken some out nor returned originals. Basically what is presented is your GF's application and supporting evidence as you see it and it should be forwarded as is to the Embassy. Their job is to ensure that there is/are no obvious omissions which could be sorted out there and then and do the biometrics. There is no way of knowing whether this will cause a problem and of course after the event there will be no way of proving that you ever submitted the documents in the first place. Fingers crossed and good luck.

Getting married and then applying for a settlement visa will not cut out FLR. My wife and step daughter have their visas and we travel in August but we will have to apply for FLR before the visa runs out. In fact I don't think you can avoid it. You have to have been resident in the UK for 5 years before applying for ILR which means initial settlement plus FLR. Also the new system means that when you apply for a visa longer than 6 months you have to travel within 30 days of the date of the visa and don't forget the new Health Surcharge of £500 which your GF will require before applying for the visa. There is no cheap or easy way to obtain a settlement visa for the UK. As for the TB test the 6 months validity is up to the date of application for the visa not date of travel but the staff at IOM will tell you that you must travel within 6 months. This is not correct.

You won't have to pay it this time as you have your visa under the old rules but you will have to pay at each FLR stage but not at ILR. Working or not it does not matter. I'm afraid that spouses of UK citizens are a very easy target so we get stung every way. Your visa started 10 June so she has until , say 9th September to set foot on UK soil. She might just manage it but as you say paperwork here is a complete nightmare. At the end of the day the worst it will mean is an extra FLR application but of course that is not cheap at £601-£1001 per time plus £500 health surcharge so best avoided if possible.

I seem to remember another thread on applications to the Channel Islands where it took longer than the norm.

This is the old style and shows that your wife's visa is valid until..looks like March 2018. You get the initial visa for 33 months and you can travel anytime until the visa expires but...you must be in the UK for 30 months before applying for FLR which is a further 30 months so that you have your 5 years residence when it comes to applying for ILR. If you don't make the initial 30 months then you will be short after the 30 months FLR and will have to apply and pay for further FLR. At both of these stages the new Health Surcharge of £500 will also kick in. I am in exactly the same position with settlement visa started 12 June under the old rules. We are flying back on 8 August so my wife will get in the necessary 30 months before applying for FLR. Hope this makes sense...if not I am sure 7by7 or someone more used to this will explain it better.

I did this about 2 months ago with success but we have been living together in Thailand as a family and my wife had the signed paper from the local amphur confirming sole responsibility and I was able to show that I had been providing for them both for 3 years. If you can do this you should be fine but if you are living apart, not as a family then more difficult to prove the sole responsibility aspect.

You have to complete the child application as though it was the child applying. I felt vaguely ridiculous completing it at 65 as though I was 10 but having said that I had no real trouble with the form apart from being annoyed that it is exactly the same form apart from the opening question.

I had this same experience last year when there was a different category but having claimed the refund and started to do the revised child application form it was exactly the same in every respect even asking my 9 year old step daughter if she had ever engaged in acts of terror or genocide! This was also the case in my recent successful application for a settlement visa.

Nope - went to Viet Nam twice last year. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Both were simply places where it's "give me money, GIVE ME MONEY,... " (More so than in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos!) As a farang, I was only seen as an ATM machine and I was entirely unsuccessful at having an exchange other than a "commercial transaction." I left Hanoi thinking I have no desire to return to Viet Nam.

Go to the southern parts...you will change your mind... Away from tourist hangouts

Was in Hanoi about 1 month ago and my experience was totally different. The people were in general very friendly and I would love to go back. I even had a small refund from my Vietnam based tour company over a small matter which I brought to their attention. Given a western visitor's income level in relation to their's we will always be viewed as ATM's to a certain extent. But Hanoi for me was certainly a more pleasant city in many respects to Bangkok although I like Bangkok as well.

Buying is easy. I am trying to sell mine having got finance a couple of years ago. To repay the loan I have to get a letter from the bank to take to Immigration to get the residence certificate to take back to the bank to repay the loan. Then to sell the car I have to go to the licensing office to get a letter to take to Immigration to get the residence certificate to take to the licensing office to sell the car.?????? I wish I had bought the car in my wife's name in the first place.

There is surely no good reason to show both passports to Thai Immigration if someone is a Thai citizen. It is just risking a problem for nothing. I think the earlier advice of Thai passport in and out of Thailand and the other passport in and out of the other country is the way to go but probably both passports required at airline check in.

It is your girlfriend who is applying not you and she is a national of Thailand which is where she is applying from so the answer is 'Yes'. Don't forget at every stage that whilst you might be completing the form it is actually your girlfriend who is applying. I even had to do this for my 10 year old Thai step daughter and it felt quite weird but necessary.

What you are planning to do can be quite short. They don't care about the detail of where you are going so she (through you) just needs to say that she is going to be introduced to your family, meet your friends and see some of England. That sort of thing...keep it short.

Put anything here that you think there is any possibility could be missed from the form and your and her covering letter. Again don't forget that whilst you might be saying it in your sponsor letter she can say it again in her application.

Equally you can go through the non EU line with her which is what I did. I certainly don't think they should ever go through alone.

Yes I put MFA when I did it. That will be fine as they know what that is. The decision is made by an ECO based in Bangkok so they are familiar with local terminology. And yes again about work. You will be supporting her (at least initially) so it is OK to say so. UK passport details will be fine as you describe. My old passport was issued by UKPA so I assume it has changed names. They will be familiar with what is required in terms of each language provider so putting it in there is fine but I would also refer to it again in your sponsor letter (see below). I would also send any paper certificate you might have with a copy. For the Health Surcharge I would certainly print out any confirmation you have of payment and send that with the application and refer to it again in your letter and maybe put a post it note on the front (and make sure the staff at Trendy Building don't take it off). Last but not least you have to write a covering letter as sponsor of your wife as she will be by then. So anything that you think might be unclear from the form you can cover in that letter. When I did my letter I covered all the evidence I was supplying on each of the important parts such as finances, accommodation, relationship, English Test. I am sure you haven't but don't forget the TB certificate. Good luck.

Hi there

1. Making the appointment at Trendy:

How far ahead should I allow to ask for a time?

What would be a sensible way to assess what sort of times to ask for?

Does on apply by email? Email address please?

2. Friend or wife will deliver application at Trendy owing to difficulty travelling.

Is there a standard proxy form or do I just write one?

3.I have heard of payment problems

Should i open a SCB prepaid card and use that?

(Forgot the name....anyone know?)

Thanks

You can get an appointment fairly quickly certainly within a week. Each time slot allows multiple entries to the building so it is not 1 slot for 1 person. After you have submitted the application and paid you will be given the option of booking the appointment. If it is your wife who is applying for the visa then she is the person who has to go in person. You cannot go in her place nor can anyone else. You will normally not be allowed to accompany her in to the application area. Make sure she tells the staff at Trendy Building that she wants the application to be submitted as you have supplied it. I have not had any problems paying by card and a reputable card should go through without difficulty.

Thankyou Bigyin

I realise you have really tried to be helpful here but I am confused.

I have now an acceptable payment method.

I also have an appointment the 15th June.

A friend's daughter in BKK will be delivering the application.

You're not saying only she can pick up the passport when it's ready are you?

I was trying to be helpful but got my posts mixed up. Put my comments down to old age and just ignore them.

Yes all financial information in GBPounds. The question is about what they expect to spend and will be tied in with how much money they show they have. The ECO is concerned that there will be no recourse to public funds during their visit. If you are going to mention credit cards then they will have to provide all the evidence to show that they have sufficient funds to cover any purchases made with the cards. The ECO needs to be satisfied that they have sufficient money to easily fund the trip so the evidence needs to be such as to convince him/her of that.