rasg

5 hours ago, RC8 said:

I have found some threads about schengen visa for spouse of uk national.  They are free (my favourite price) and quick. There seems some confusion over whether you can just turn up on the eurostar in Paris and gain entry. If possible that would be ideal. 

Is this a viable proposition ?

I intend trying it with my wife soon.

In our case we were married in the UK so have a UK marriage certificate. We also have EHIC cards that allow us to access healthcare when in the EU.

The following was used to go to Amsterdam a few months ago. Apparently it's even easier on Eurostar.

We boarded the flight to Amsterdam and i thought of what i was going to say to the immigration officer on arrival. I decided i would give our evidence incrementally and only if it was required so i could advise you all what is and is not accepted.

We had our marriage certificate, translation of marriage cert, bank statements, council tax bills and driving licences with us to show that we were married and living at the same address. I also had the Directive 38 both in English and Dutch ready to show them of our rights.

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm

I found this with a simple Google.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-spain

All of the documentation was returned to us on all four visa applications but I do remember supplying copies of some things. Maybe the policy has changed in the last couple of years?

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

Just read the info about retaining your passport while a visa is going through. I would be concerned that it would slow things up. The timings on settlement are slow enough already...

If she did come back here in her own, I don't think she would have the same problem. My wife didn't although she had  a grilling on her first trip here.

They need her passport for the duration of the Settlement visa application to stick the visa in so that's a non starter. And you can't submit a settlement visa in the UK.

Don't forget that you specified in your sponsor letter that she needed the visit visa to sample the UK to see what it's like. Would she get a second that quickly? It's possible but do you really need it?

Also don't forget that her existing visit visa will allow her to go home and come back. It does last for six months.

When does your GF go back to Thailand and when do you plan submitting the Settlement visa? My wife went back to Thailand with her Settlement visa application in her bag and went for the TB test the next day and went to VFS the following day. If you go back with her for a couple of weeks, go to the Amphur and get married and submit the visa application while you are there. It would minimise the time that you are apart. Just a thought but it depends on when you plan on getting married etc.

I understood it.

Sorry I was adding to my last post...

It depends how long she is staying and your timeline I guess. Presumably the VV runs until March or April? Early in the year worked for us each time with a quick turnaround but VV number 2 was put in, in October and was also pretty quick.

1 hour ago, darren1971 said:

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! 

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 my wife's 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.

It was simply circumstances, and cost, that meant that Mon came here three times on her own. The first time she was a bit daunted as we'd only flown within Thailand a couple of times together. She was an old hand by time she had finished and she was helpng other people.

16 minutes ago, darren1971 said:

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!

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!

1 hour ago, darren1971 said:

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

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.

43 minutes ago, darren1971 said:

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.

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...

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.

3 hours ago, darren1971 said:

Yes indeed, mostly forgotten about now. I wanted to give a heads up for any future members awaiting their partners to prep them well.

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...

1 hour ago, darren1971 said:

If the questioning was brief, which is all it needed to be then fair enough, I just think the Government have got this all wrong. I envy our European neighbours and their Shengen visa structure.

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.

21 minutes ago, darren1971 said:

Not massively upset, I got what I wanted after all, but I think the process can be improved.

Sounds like an over zealous immigration officer to me. I've read a few times that the officers up north are far more pleasant.

The main thing is that she is here now and able to decide if she likes it. And you are both together.

Sorry your girlfriend had to go through that. My wife was questioned for 45 minutes the first time she came here and had me very worried too waiting i the other side of the screen. It's a lot easier next time.

Immigration do have access to all of the original information supplied in the original visa application and they do try and trip people up. Especially on the working bit. It definitely doesn’t help that you own a bar/restauarant and she had an open ticket for six months. I would never have advised that you did that. On both my wife's visit visas I bought tickets for the duration of the trip that was stated on the visa. It was worth it to pay the bit extra to change the flights.

My wife asked somebody to help her on the landing card bit.

5 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

have helped friends with UK visas and my missus spends a lot of time telling the GF’s what to expect. She also photocopy’s a landing card and tells them to write their details in so it is easy to transpose on to the real card.

That is a really good tip as long as you have access to a landing card.

I never had an issue with online printouts for my wife's two visit visas back in 2015 but I did get them stamped by Santander for her settlement visa and for FLR.

It depends what it says on the statements I think. With Santander I can download transactions for a set period and the full account and my name and address don't appear. If I download the full statements they have the full account number and my name and address on. On my old statements from 2014 and 2015 there was an "online statement" watermark running through the back of each PDF. My latest statements have got rid of them and there is only a small piece of text stating that they are online.

I printed mine on my laser printer and you wouldn’t know the difference between the originals and the copies without that small "online" text that appears.

The OP did say that she has a BRP until September 2018.

I get it but the situation doesn’t arise using the UK system.

38 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I don't really agree as, in my opinion, doing it with another candidate tends to relax them and allows for a more natural interaction. However I accept that everyone reacts to a test differently. I have since checked that the Listening component in the Trinity test is the same, so it's only really having two candidates being tested together that is different.

As I explained before, I have read about a few instances on here and elsewhere where there was a total mismatch between the two candidates. One was speaking so fast that the other couldn’t understand. I can’t remember the others. It was a while back and I can only tell you about my wife's experience. My wife was far more relaxed with a one to one and she didn’t have to interact with anybody except the examiner who was a very clear native English speaker. IMHO, a better experience. We will have to agree to disagree.

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

When was this?  It does seem strange that the IELTS Life Skills test (which I believe is the main test used outside the UK) is much longer (16-18 minutes) and has a Listening component than can be quite tricky.  If candidates get all 3 Listening questions wrong, they will have difficulty passing.  One would think that UKVI would choose tests of equal difficulty.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the content of the Trinity test changing, unless it already has, or it being replaced by the IELTS Life Skills test (which is modeled on, and has replaced the old Cambridge University Skills for Life test), especially as candidates can take Life Skills in the UK.

Edited 3 hours ago by brewsterbudgen

And that was my point to Darren1971 when we were discussing the tests in the first place. There are elements of the test if you take it in Thailand that make it more difficult. You can go into the Trinity College, YouTube channel and watch videos of real tests. I spent a few hours doing a mock test with my wife to make sure that she had a good idea of what to expect. It made a big difference to her nerves.

10 hours ago, darren1971 said:

I heard from a member who has been through settlement that the tests are handled slightly differently in the UK and the format here may be preferable for my Thai gf - true or not? I would imagine it is more expensive in the UK but making it as easy as possible for my gf is my primary aim. Personally I think her English is very good but as she never finished school in Thailand any sort of exam situation is going to make her nervous.

 

Whilst we are on the subject is it worthwhile her doing the TB test here also? The settlement visa application will be ready prior to her leaving the UK, it would be great if we could complete the whole process here and submit it before returning to Thailand if it is possible.

Are you doubting me about the language test?

It's not really an exam. It's a six minute listening and speaking test and it's pretty basic. Go on the Trinity college channel on YouTube and take a look at some real tests. Take a look at the videos A1, A2 and B1 tests. If Ket takes the A2 it will take her all the way through to FLR and she will need B1 for ILR. If she can take B1, assuming the Government doesn't change the goalposts, she won't need to take a language test for ILR. A2 while she is here on her VV will save you £150. B1 will save £300. If her English is up to it. Look at the the real tests and you can make a judgement.

I have read about a few problems with the Thai system where candidates simply not understanding their test partner. Talking too quickly, poor pronunciation etc. You don't get from a native English speaker and imho, if you have an opportunity for Ket to do the test here in the UK, I would recommend it.

As has been said. IOM building, Bangkok. Sign in at the desk and pay. 3300 baht when my wife went. You can pay on a card online but I couldn't get it to work. Nip to the hospital across the road for the XRay. Come back for the certificate. If the first XRay is inconclusive, Ket will need another. IOM close quite early so it's better to get an early appointment. It can take most of the day.

My then GF was granted a visit visa for a month back in 2015 after we'd known each other for four months but I had been to Thailand three times in that period.

A stupid question for you. If she has a successful business why are you sending her money? Especially as you say you have little money. By the sounds of it you are not going to sponsor her visa. Is the 80,000 baht the money you are sending her and her business money totally separate?  I remember saying a month in the UK for my GF would cost me around £2000 with trips to the coast, London etc on my wife's first visit visa. 80,000 doesn't go that far in the UK. Especially if it includes the flight costs.

Padding a bank account for a GF in Thailand can cause a visit visa to be refused. You need to be very careful. The ECO could say that your GF relies on your money to live. The reason I asked the questions in the last paragraph.

She will need to show three things in her visa application. Proof of relationship, the ability to pay of the trip and a reason to return to Thailand.

4 hours ago, pumpjack said:

£17000 ?    please get your facts right ........   it does not cost anywhere near that amount ! 

And please read my second post...

4 hours ago, 7by7 said:

 As rasg says, the fees do increase each year; but his estimate of £17,000 is rather high!

I think I must have had a slip of the finger with the 1...

Maybe it just seems like it's 17K!