steve187

As far as I understand it, as long as she has the LIUK test pass then she can apply for ILR now, then straight after apply for naturlisation (provided she meets the other requirements) as she has been in UK for 4 years already. The whole process could be done & passport in hand by end of January?!

But wait for 7y7 or TVE to clarify.

British citizenship application can take up to 6 months , and then a further wait for ceremony, and then another for passport, but could she not pass the test, apply for ILR by personal visit issued same day, apply for citizenship the following day by using the nationality checking service at local council about a £45.00 fee payable, that way your wife would get to keep her passport, you could then leave the country and return to thailand whilst the application is processed, about 6 months, return to uk in time for the ceremony and then apply for a passport, after attending the passport interview,i think the interviews are taking a few weeks to arrange, she would then be free to return to thailand, either waiting for the passport to arrive or the passport could be sent on later, I would think that she would have to stay in the UK for about 4 weeks or so.

my wife passed her life in uk test by using a study book and practice questions online, she past first time, some of her friend took 2 or 3 attempts, I think it is £34.00 per test.

a secure method of posting both ways will use up any savings made, and your passport will show by immigration stamps that you are still in thailand

How many years have they been married and living abroad, as this makes a difference to the type of settlement visa issued see this taken from a visa web site - Initially visas for spouse immigration are issued for a two year period. After this time, a person can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) commonly known as permanent residency in the UK. In some cases, settlement entry clearance may be granted allowing a partner to stay in the country permanently; however, this is only applicable to a person who has been married and living abroad with their spouse for four years at the time they apply for entry to the UK.

All I can say to you is; read the small print of your policy. Look under "General Exclusions" or similar.

But, up to you if you want to take the risk.

Until I had to retire from the profession in 2007 for medical reasons, I was an ADI.

Are you saying you are a legal professional or a traffic police officer? If so, I am shocked that you are encouraging people to drive illegally!

why dont you stick to your adi stuff and leave the legal stuff to a trained person, I do not encourage any one to break any road traffic act's, but if you are going to put something in print on here to help others Get it Right, DONT TELL PEOPLE OLD WIFE TALES!! . It is a fact that when your licence runs out ( other than disqualified ) then your insurance is not invalidated. this is the last I will say on the matter, do not try and scare monger!!!

The wording of motor insurance is - "holds or has held a licence to drive that class of vehicle" therefore if your licence has run out or is no longer valid in the UK, any insurance held is still valid, as long as at some time a licence was held. lots of Uk licence will be running out soon as photo licences are only valid for 10 years, before a new photo is required. photo licences have now be in use in the UK for about 10 years.

If the person driving the vehicle does not hold a valid licence for that class of vehicle then they are driving illegally; this will invalidate their insurance. If you think otherwise and want to take the risk, that is your choice.

If a person who holds a UK photo licence does not renew it when it expires then they will be driving illegally, too. The DVLA will notify photo licence holders in plenty of time for them to renew. You may ask "What if I have moved?" It is an offence for licence holders not to notify the DVLA of any change of address.

all I can say is read your certificate of motor insurance.. do you speak from some sort of legal proffesion or police traffic experence.. as i do!!

are you able to obtain a passport from another eu country? if so apply for her to enter the UK by this route

is there not a way around settlement visa's if you have lived together outside the uk as a couple for so many years? (uk citizen)

The law is quite simple.

Apart from those holding a licence issued by an EU state, and certain others with whom the UK holds a reciprocal arrangement, any person driving in the UK must hold a valid UK licence for the class of vehicle being driven.

There is a concession which allows foreigners to drive in the UK with their foreign licence for up to 12 months from the date of their arrival in the UK.

For visitors, this 12 months starts each time they enter the UK; but for residents it starts on the date of their first entry as a resident. Holidays outside of the UK, even to their home country, do not extend this period, neither does obtaining a new international driving permit.

I am afraid that your friend is driving illegally, and if caught could suffer a fine of up to £1000 for driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

Of course, as she does not have a valid licence then her insurance is also invalid, despite her paying the premiums (the insurance company will simply say that she told them she had a valid licence, and it's her responsibility to ensure that this is so). The penalty for driving without valid insurance is a fine of up to £5000! Plus of course the cost of any repairs to her car and that of anyone else involved if she has an accident, cost of compensation to third parties etc.

She may say that she wont have an accident, but it only takes a moments inattention, or an accident that is someone else's fault. She could also be caught out if she is stopped by the police for some reason (faulty taillight for example) and asked to produce her documents.

If caught, not only will she have to pay the fines, but each offence also carries a discretionary disqualification. How will she drive her husband about if disqualified?

The wording of motor insurance is - "holds or has held a licence to drive that class of vehicle" therefore if your licence has run out or is no longer valid in the UK, any insurance held is still valid, as long as at some time a licence was held. lots of Uk licence will be running out soon as photo licences are only valid for 10 years, before a new photo is required. photo licences have now be in use in the UK for about 10 years.

In my personal experience of being refused a settlement visa for my wife, I would not appeal against the refusal as the appeal takes too long about 6 months or so, I would wait a short while and then apply again, either the same as before,or a fiancee visa or take the plunge if you are both free to marry then get married in thailand, very easy to arrange and bring her here, as your wife. dont forget that some if not all the time she has been here on visit visas will count towards here two years waiting time for ILR. If there is a 6 months gap while waiting for the appeal which may or not be succesful then some of her visit visa time will not count towards her two years ILR waiting time.

there are two maps available on a well know file sharing site, I think it is version 8 and a version 9. I have got version 8 to work on mapsource. I am not at my main computer at the moment but over the next day or so i will be and i can then post details of the exact version.

Sorry just saw the thread was closed so ignore my post

As the two year rule for ILR starts from the wifes/partners entry into the Uk, It would be wise to start collecting the required paperwork trail, Registering for a GP would be a good way to start. When my wife registered no proof as to her legal status in the UK was asked for. that's our experience might not be the same everywhere.

Correct

I know you were using Hull as a example only but for info purposes they do not issue OA visas you have to go the embassy in London for them.

thanks for that its nice to get in clear in ones mind for future use.

A couple that I know went to the registry office to book a wedding whilst the wife as she is now was here on a Fiancée visa and was told to come back when she could fully understand what was happening, so to pre book the wedding would be almost impossible banns have to be published etc. getting married in thailand is so much easier in my opinion.

It's so refreshing to read a topic with a series of helpful answers/suggestions, followed by useful feedback and thanks from the OP; rather than a the sort of nit-picking slanging match that seem almost to have become the norm.

Yes its nice to read that someone who makes a mistake or thier plans change (and that can happen to all of us) is helped by some useful comments and as lingyaiyai says not the catty remarks as to the posters stupidity in getting into that situation, that often get on to the post. so well done to all posters, this in my opinion is the reason thaivisa is there to help others in need or advice.

We all need help sometimes in negotiating the mine field of regulations that hinder our stay in thailand. I for one did not realize a 60day extension could be obtained, as they say you learn something new each day

Ok now let me try and get this straight

A multi entry o visa issued in UK (by hull consulate shall we say) is valid for multi entry into thailand with an

allowed to stay stamp of 90 days at a time, with the last entry allowed a day or so before the visa expires,

so it would cover a stay in thailand for 15 months with 90 day border runs required, before a new one only

granted in home country would be required. or an Extension of Stay to support thai wife or retirement

issued by immigration could be obtained.

A multi entry O-A visa again issued in the UK (by hull consulate shall we say) having satified all the required

paperwork ie police report and medical as well as financial proof, is valid for multi entry into thailand for a

period of 1 year, with an allowed to stay stamp of 1 year (a 90 day report to immigration would be required) on each entry.

with the last entry being allowed a day or so before expiry of the visa, this visa would cover a stay of almost 2 years

in thailand before an Extension of Stay issued by immigration (either retirement or supporting thai wife) would be required.

or indeed a new visa issued by home country. The two year stay would require 90 day reporting, and if leaving thailand after

the original visa had expired a re-entry permit would be required issued by local immigration only.

Extension of stay are another ball game

This photo has been circulating for some time. One thing I noticed is that the Photo that has been attached and the photo on the attached video by Loong on post nbr. 49 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJZ4HUol2E) at around 2:02 minutes into the video are not the same. The attached photo has been retouched. The original photo shows the girls in much more decent (translated as longer) skirts.

Student uniforms 'too sexy'

Country's top two universities order clampdown

BANGKOK: -- Chulalongkorn University (CU) is campaigning for students to comply with its dress code, while Thammasat University (TU) wants to the government to launch a "Social Cabinet" to tackle the issue of students wearing uniforms inappropriately.

<cut>

Deputy Education Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat agreed that students need good discipline and praised universities' successful efforts in improving the standard of their students' dress.

-- The Nation 2009-08-19

Looking at the picture on utube and the one in the nation,, It has been touched up.,the girl on the left now has a tighter blouse, and her right leg is thinner than her right, the girl on the right has different legs now. So it would seem the picture was doctored to suit the headlines

Sorry went to shieffield and obtained ILR there

hull Consulate website says Polish nationals should get 30days on a tourist visa

My wife naturalised as British for two main reasons:

1) Visa free travel in Europe, and many other countries where Thais need a visa but Brits don't.

2) We intend to retire to Thailand. The terms of ILR mean that if it becomes apparent that the holder is no longer resident in the UK then it lapses. This would mean if we wished to visit the UK after we have retired, she would need a visa. Citizenship can't lapse; citizens don't need a visa to enter the UK.

Seems a selfish viewpoint, I know, but there it is.

I think the above two points are the main reason that most people will apply for citizenship.

The government are making it difficult to obtain ILR by having to pass 'citizenship' test, but then there are no more hurdles to jump in order to obtain full citizenship, so why not.

If wifes/husbands of british nationals did not have to pass 'citizenship' test in order to obtain ILR then I feel that not so many

would apply for full citizenship, I further feel that the harder they make it for ILR then all the more will apply for cizenship..

I'm confused by some of the comments here, it seems from reading them that most UK posters think that having a UK passport is the holy grail and that is what their loved one wishes. Personally I don't think it is so and that most Thai partners simply want the right to live in the UK with their partner but the idea of obtaining a UK passport is very much secondary. Certainly that is true in the case of my partner and myself. I suppose that if the the idea of immigration is to take advantage of state benefits then a passport is becoming increasingly beneficial and if that is the case, I say, let's make it it as difficult as possible for immigrants to obtain them!

no holy grail , but if a wife of a british national has to bend over backwards to obtain the right to settle in the country of her husbands birth, by that I mean english test, paying in the region of £600.00 ish or more if multiple applications are made to get to england then another £1,000 ish to remain here with an ILR, then why not pay the extra and obtain british citizenship, and get the benefits that brings, the freedom to travel to other countries without obtaining visas, the freedom to go to thailand for a period of two or more years and then be able to return to the Uk, without having to obtain a new settlement figure, The uk government or more to the point the labour party government have made our wifes jump through these hoops and pay the ridicules charges in order settle in the Uk with their British born husbands, whereas a wife of foreign EU citizens do not have to jump through these hoops, A british passport is not required to obtain state benefits, A lot of benefits become accessible on entry with a settlement visa and more become accessible on the granting of a ILR.

We have just put in the paperwork for this last week. Used the nationality checking service and even though it is a bit pricey at £50 i thought it was worth it just for the peace of mind angle. Before we went to the register office to get the paperwork checked i would have laid money on having all the correct documents included turned out we had not. All in all when compared to the hoops you have to throw yourself through for visas and ILR etc it was remarkably painless and like most stuff in this catagory comes across as a bit of a money making scheme (£720 for naturalisation most none refundable if you get knocked back and then a further £72 for a passport further down the line). I dont envisage any problems but the advice from the registraar reference a friend and his wife was that she reckoned it was worth getting it done sooner rather than later as they were expecting a big surge in applications, she was also of the opinion that the application process was only going to get more time consuming and costly

Mark

Hi mark

We were going to use this service, as we are going back to thailand in december and wanted to keep the passport in order to make this trip, As we are applying in October, the process will more than likely not be completed prior to us leaving, Would it be possible for you to give us a list of the docs submitted so as not to miss out anything as the nearest checking service is an hour or more drive away

channel islands would be the best I spoke to an american the other day that is visiting the uk, she had a visa debit card/bank account with the abbey (i think) in jersey, she said she never visited jersey and the application etc was dealt with by the abbey in the USA, she could not open an account here as she had no proof of residency

passport fees are child 4582 baht and 32 page adult 7192 baht see this - http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/passports/fees1

See also Tough new points system for earning citizenship

Earning the right to British citizenship

What’s the point?

Well done Vinny for actually posting back on topic.

This is a serious matter for most of us on this board with a Thai partner and it would be nice if we could discuss the facts for at least a little while before descending into the usual pantomine over the rights and wrongs of the test and other visa requirements.

The way I read things - rightly or not, is that our Thai partners will not have to go through the points based process, but will have to go though the 'earned citizenshihp' process of active involvement as well as probationary citizensip. There is also the issue that the process is going to be potentially longer for spouses than the current three year minimum requirement.

For me personally, we will be applying for my wife's citizenship before the end of the year. Since these changes were announced early last year the timescale suggested was to be implemented around the time we are going to apply. The other big thing for us personally then is the announcement that the earned citizenship requirements wont be introduced until 2011.

Hi My wife is due to apply for her citizenship in early October, as far as i can tell it would seem the rules have not changed, and it is carry on as before, I have just checked the waiting times page, and it states "

Since proposed changes to the route to British citizenship (earned citizenship) were announced, we have been receiving significantly more applications than usual. You should think very carefully before applying if you require your passport within the next three months. You will not need to send your original documents if you make your application through the nationality checking service " surprise surprise more people are now applying, with reference to the nationality checking service can you apply at an office in another area if your town does not have an office? ie Hull if we live in Lincoln.

another quote from the waiting times page "Our service standards set out how quickly we aim to decide applications for British citizenship. The standard is that we will decide 95% of applications within six months" it would seems that those of us that are about to apply will have a long wait.

^^^^^^^

I believe the rule about people moving overseas not being able to claim NHS is already in force and I think that you lose the right after two years (only think), though I doubt if I would be refused treatment if I pitched up in an emergency.

You lose it after being abroad for twelve months. And its been in force since 1989 or thereabouts

And you would never be refused treatment, but you may find you WILL be billed for it.

I got told that on the bottom of every letter i recieved from my NHS trust while awaiting an operation.

Not the usual wooleyheaded "might be" or "could well be" jargon they normally use in government circles, but............ WILL BE

Penkoprod

When do the NHS check to see if anyone is entitled to treatment, My wife who is entitled has never been asked to prove it. she is registered at the doctors no proof asked for, received hospital treatment as an outpatient no proof asked for, So my point is that as my wife who is not recognized straight away as English has never been asked for proof, why would they ask someone that would be seen to be English at first glance, other than emergency treatment someone may have to re register as a patient with a GP, but how many people have been in the UK full time but have not seen a doctor for years?