rasg

55 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

What would you say the estimated cost, and time period was, to get to the passport stage?

It's five years for ILR. I don't know how long you have to wait to apply for a British passport.

Cost is a difficult one as the costs go up every year but I would take a good guess at around £17000 for my wife by the time she has finished. That is without the associated costs of flights, hotels, etc at the Thai end of the process for the first Settlement visa.

1 hour ago, jinners said:

Incorrect, they are not per my reply below and have the ability to deny even when everything is complete and satisfactory with of course no need to respond. I'm just lucky my appeal worked so my wife has met my aging mum and other family members.

There's no doubt the government takes the line of least resistance when deciding these applications as it's much more profitable and simple to deal with than the illegals/legals/immigrants with no/little paperwork.

As per drivers, tax payers in general and all other lawful individuals, it's a easy target, the immigration process is there to frustrate and make money not assist citizens in a time of need dealing with something thats really quite stressful and expensive. Terrible system.

If everything was "complete and satisfactory" your wife would have received the visa. There was something in your visa application that was incomplete or missing, something that the ECO didn’t like or you didn't fulfill all of the requirements for the visa. Showing the refusal notice would show exactly why. Too many on here when talking about visa refusals seem to miss out bits of information when their partner's visa is refused.

A very high percentage of settlement visas are granted first time (even higher than the 95% of visit visas) but I have no doubt that the odd one is rejected onerously because there are so many going through the system.

It might be a "terrible system" but it is the one we have and you have to work within it to be allowed a visa.

I had been with my then GF for about a year when she was granted her settlement visa. No issues. Or the two visit visas prior and we had only known one another a few months when she applied for her first.

4 hours ago, pumpjack said:

does anyone else feel that immigration / home office are tightening the screws ?   since these last few years. 

Probably not. If you fulfill the financial requirement, your wife can pass the English test and get a TB certificate, (if it's required), my, now wife, had no problem getting a settlement visa last year for us to get married here and then she successfully applied for Further leave to remain. Indefinite leave to remain is a while away. It's all pretty expensive and keeps going up each year though.

Yes. There are hoops to jump through but it wasn’t difficult.

You can always use Entropay. It's a virtual credit card that you can load money onto with a debit card. It's handy. I use it for buying Nookbooks from the US that I can't get in the UK and occasionally buying stuff on Lazada in Thailand if Paypal is playing up.

21 hours ago, John Richards said:

PS I'm shocked I've mentioned several times marrying a Thai and I haven't been hit with a barrage of she's going to sell your kidneys, buy a lambo, purchase 2,000 buffaloes yet - the forum must be maturing ! 

Maturing? Not really. Probably busy after the Bank holiday.

A visit visa is essentially a tourist/holiday visa available from six months up to ten years.

A settlement visa is exactly that. To settle/live in the UK. After a settlement visa, Further leave to remain (FLR) is the next, followed by Indefinite leave to remain (ILR).

If she applies for the 33 month Settlement visa that 7by7 talks about she can work.

4 hours ago, Boycie said:

I felt like i was being labelled a Human Trafficker!

Maybe the immigration officer had watched Only Fools and Horses...

2 hours ago, Donutz said:

I kow you just refered to an example but to  emphasize on what the actual rules are I pointed out the minor issues that were not quite right. Also because 'hear say' isn't the best source.

Yes I know. It's fine. Interesting that the post in question was on a different board to this and you were involved in the conversation there. It was a while back and there were pages and pages of it and it came up in a Google search when I was trying to find a link I had visited before.

I just quoted what was said by somebody who did it successfully. That's all.

They show the difference in the two different IDs on the Danish Embassy website. The top of an EU ID is titled Residence Documentation. The UK it's Residence Permit.

Your link shows that you need to prove that the person is a family member but it doesn't specify which documents are required.

It's also worth, in my opinion, taking too much info, rather than too little and I would buy travel insurance any way because it's a sensible thing to do...

I read very recently on a different forum how somebody goes via the Chunnel and the ferry to France with his Thai wife with no Schengen visa with no problems.

You will need your marriage certificate and a translation depending on where you got married, BRP, travel insurance (we now have EHIC cards too), obviously both passports. I can't find my list of things to take. If I find them I will post them.

We plan on trying it with a visit to France when the kids go back to school and and the Chunnel price drops.

Flying is far more likely to be an issue and I would suggest that you check with the airline.

Found them.

Also proof that you live together. I will take a council tax bill. He didn’t take travel insurance. Also the guy that did it flew with Easyjet but there is quite a bit of faffing so go early if you decide to try.

Take a print out of the EU Directive 38 to show them and be prepared to be persistent.

On 8/21/2017 at 9:45 AM, Trevor1809 said:

On the card it says "Residense Permit" so what the hell is it exactly BRC, BRP, RP?

Presumably it's Biometric Residence card, Biometric Residence permit and Residence Permit? Just other names that are used to describe the same thing by normal people. But you know from the previous post on here that she should say,  Biometric Residence permit, don't you?

Surely if you didn't get asked to supply the name of the ID document she will be using when you booked she will use her BRP? Just make sure she knows how to say it properly.

Does it matter that much? Just school her in the names of the various IDs. If she shows a BRP, she tells them she is using a Biometric Residence Permit when they ask.

With the payslips I would play it safe and get them translated.

I used somebody called Supapan Lane. [email protected]

I emailed a scan of a birth certificate and the translation came back a few days later.

It wouldn’t be suffering for us. Shanghai Mansions hotel in China Town would be our choice with the street food with river prawns across the road and the jazz bar in the entrance hall of the hotel. And they sell red wine that not on the fridge...

43 minutes ago, phuketbaan said:

I was wondering if anyones wife had managed to complete the TB testing and English A1/B1 test for the UK spouse Visa in the same day?

 

Both are located in Silom ( IOM and English test centre). Directly opposite each other.

Heard the English test only takes 30mins.

 

Just saves having a night in Bangkok.

 

On another note. Is it worth just taking the B1 test  ( instead od A1 ) which is the next test in settlement visa further down the line.

My wifes English is good and it saves another test fee?

 

Any feed back on the 2 questioms greatful.

It would be difficult to do as your wife has to go to the IOM building to register etc then they will send her off to the hospital for the TB test and then she has to go back to IOM to get the certificate. It took my wife most of the day and they close quite early. If there is a problem with the first Xray, which does happen, she will need another.

Well worth taking the B1 as it can also be used for ILR as long as they don't change the goalposts. They did for FLR for my wife and she needs A2 for her second FLR because they changed the rules.

Interesting one.

Presumably you got married in Thailand and her settlement visa lasted for 33 months? On that presumption she came to the UK 7 weeks later than originally planned. The way I understand it the 14 plus weeks does count towards the five years living in the UK to qualify for ILR. You are fortunate that FLR took over 14 weeks I think.

My wife's first FLR took seven weeks but she arrived in the UK three days after the start date on her settlement visa.

8 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

My girlfriend wants to get a visa to visit London, I think she would be looking for somebody to walk/talk her through the process, do you have an office in Bangkok or Pattaya?

 

Does she really need to use an agent, what would it cost?

With the info and people on this forum it's totally unnecessary.

In January 2015 I knew nothing about visas at all. Met my wife and we have applied for four visas including settlement and FLR with the help available on here.

3 hours ago, Donutz said:

@Rasg. The UK and Schengen members do not operate the same. For the UK vfs is mandatory, for Schengen it's entirely optional (Though some embassies lie and try to force vfs down your throat!)

Thanks for the info.

Sounds like you are still a momma's boy. You just changed the person doing the work...

25 minutes ago, Bigdogfarang said:

Their complete willingness to act out any warped scene I've watched on pornhub the night before - god love em

To satisfy people like you?

The OP isn't married.

Eriksen. Where is your GF at the moment? Thailand or the UK? If in Thailand here are the details of the Italian Embassy. They use VFS just as the UK Embassy does

Italian Embassy Bangkok

http://www.ambbangkok.esteri.it/ambasciata_bangkok/en/informazioni_e_servizi/visti/

VFS

http://www.vfsglobal.com/italy/thailand/tourist.html

Application form

http://www.vfsglobal.com/italy/thailand/pdf/Checklist-for-Tourist-Application.pdf

A world tour would be a very different thing and would depend on the countries you were going to.

A difference too in your situation. The OP was going with his wife and kids on ILR. Is your GF here on a visit visa. It makes a difference. It probably shouldn't, but it does.

Typically your GF should apply for the Schengen visa in Thailand.

In my experience you are very wrong. Maybe it's the fault of the ferang boyfriends or husbands who don't stimulate their partners mentally?

4 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Yeah, but . . .

 

Be grateful. If she wasn't on social media all day she'd probably insist on having endless in-depth debates with you about politics, religion, philosophy, and the meaning of life.

 

Oooh, look ! A pig just flew past the window. . . 

We've never got around to the meaning of life but my wife is fascinated by UK politics. She knows all of the main players and follows what is going on. We both stayed up for the EU referendum, the GE and the US election. I bought her a globe and whenever a country she has never heard of comes up on the news she wants to know where it is on the globe and a bit about it.

She spends a bit of time on Facebook talking to her family but is mainly busy with her business and working for me when we have jobs. Works well for us.