Jersey_UK

Hi just a quiry this.

How soon can you apply for a settlement visa after marriage?

I meen for example, is it possible to marry your wife on a tuesday then apply for the visa on the wednesday?

Get me??

Thanks.

No "waiting period" required between marriage and SV application - in practice a time delay comes down to practicalities of putting the paperwork together........I / we are now 3 months past marriage with no SV applied for mainly due to me not yet getting my sh#t together, rather than any technical considerations.

As far as I know no rules against meeting a woman on a Monday, marrying on a Tuesday and applying for a SV on a Wednesday.........but the chances of success would be affected by the ability to show that the Relationship is "genuine"......not to say of course that this wasn't possible, just..........

The Thai-Chinese foundations all over the country, such as Por Teck Tueng, involved in rescue, disaster relief, funerals for unclaimed corpses, and support of the needy are mostly financed by donations of rich Thai-Chinese business clans.

The Missus used to work for one of these 15 years back, driving around BKK picking up Corpses for fun.......right up her street that All for free of course, but "good to do".

I know.

Don't forget - they nearly married you and me a while ago...

I am sure this internet stuff used to be Anonymous

(BTW back in BKK end of Sept for a week - good news on the SV application, am reliably informed that someone's wife got in despite having shot somebody (not fatally) in recent times - so Missus Jersey is not looking quite so bad

(I want to avoid a legal partnership with my wife because that involves a non-Thai in the business). (Being an employee of these businesses really does not go far enough for me. I want to be recognised as the investor/entrepreneur in these businesses, but not the owner or controller of the business.

Maybe this sounds a strange request. But it seems to me that there are many good business opportunities in Thailand that are worth exploiting - and made so much easier if there is no farang partner/owner/shareholder etc.

Not a Shareholder?

Not a Partner?

Not an Employee?

Not the Owner?

Not the Controller?

mmm.....I dunno about Thailand but in my part of the world I would struggle to classify you formally - I guess it will be your money going into a business so you could be the major Creditor / "Investor", with the Loan paperwork to back this up? Also what about owning the Business by a Thai Company owned 100% by another Thai (holding) company in which you are a substantial shareholder and / or controlling employee (MD / CEO?!).......seperates you from the underlying business itself but means that when / if needed you can document that you are one of the major investors behind the business - but not directly involved so your Farang Connection ( ) is not relevent to the Thai business day to day operations. (of course the question then may arise as to whether you need a WP to act for the underlying Thai business - but I am sure you are way ahead of me on that one!)...........of course whether this would be sufficient for folk in Thailand to recognise you as the prnicpal person behind the business is a different question.

Maybe wearing a T-shirt with the business logo would be cheaper / easier for folk to understand

Interesting Post. Cheers.

PS  When you pay your overstay do so humbly as I once saw an older German man get thrown in the IDC for his arrogant attitude.  Remember you have broken the LAW!

Stuff like this always puzzles me - but sadly does not surprise me.

The Thai-Chinese foundations all over the country, such as Por Teck Tueng, involved in rescue, disaster relief, funerals for unclaimed corpses, and support of the needy are mostly financed by donations of rich Thai-Chinese business clans.

The Missus used to work for one of these 15 years back, driving around BKK picking up Corpses for fun.......right up her street that All for free of course, but "good to do".

Apparently used to be the odd fight / altercation over a corpse .........cos' they were effectively competing with commercial enterprises who were motivated $$$$ wise for the corpses.

At the moment the Missus works for a Thai NGO, apparently fairly small, although their are a couple of far bigger rival NGO's (including a very big one supported by the King. TRT used to do the same, but closed / renamed now) which does health care type work for poor people sends Doctors and Nurses out and about and gives guidance on health care / preventation as well as dealing with drug issues.

So whilst I cannot say I have ever met any Thai Philanthropists I figure they must be around somewhere - plus many of the people involved to run them / do the work are motivated by more than purely $$$$ - even if now and then the Missus does moan she earns less than a Burmese Illegal and it costs her money each month to keep the job!!, she really loves helping people who need her help. Good for her, good for them and good for me

No, I am not thinking of a new career - nor to encourage the Missus

Just one of those things that occurred to me..........

I am not entirely sure how things work in the UK (or elsewhere in the west), but I beleive that folk start work for a firm as an apprentice and coupled with being taught stuff at work and hands on experiance they also attend a college for lessons (NVQ's ring a bell??).......and after some exams are then "qualified" (whether they be any good is of course another matter!).

Is it same same in Thailand? or do folk go to University first (like every other job seems to require ) or is a "Trade" just for poor people and picked up as folk go along whilst working with no formal Qualifications at the end and folk just trade (pun intended ) on their reputations?

That's all really helpfull, to be honest we've been together 1 and a half years now and the relationship is pretty strong (she's been to Englanfd on a tourist visa already and returned in the correct time etc - hope this will help) and while marriage scares me half to death and if she was English I would not be walking down the aisle this does seem the best way 4 us to be together and for her to be able to work and thus improve our joint financial position, and if it doesn't work out after a few years I'd be quite happy if she already won the golden ticket i

Although I know exactly what you mean, I would not phrase things like this when making any SV or FV application (I am sure you would not, but......) - could be interpreted as meaning you are both only getting married for a Visa which is a no no........despite in reality that getting a Visa is often the raison d'etre for the marriage at an earlier relationship stage than would otherwise be the case even if not the sole purpose. In my case the need for a Visa did prompt me to decide whether to "sh#t or get off the pot" when it came to the Marriage itself, me also based in Thailand (or her already in the UK) I simply would not have bothered / never felt it was important / felt it was a leftover ritual from religous mumbo jumbo........but yer know what.....I am glad I did sign on the dotted line. I still find it weird, but good weird

the ILR. How hard is that to get after the 2 years together in England (plenty of info on settlement visas here already)

As already said their are some formalities to complete and a test, but the BIG difference between the ILR and the SV is that if she passes the tests and provides the info required getting the ILR is more of a formality (albeit strictly speaking I don't think it is a formality) than for the initial SV or FV.

and does any1 have any opinion on whether it would be easier to get the fiance visa or to marry and apply for a settlement visa (would hate to get married with all the responsibility then have her refused access to the country!!)

This questions reminds me...........what I should have made clear in my initial post was that I / we have not yet done a SV application for the Missus, indeed only got married back in May - albeit after a "courtship" stretching back over many years (See my earlier comments about "Pot" and getting off of" )........D-Day for an SV now end of Sept

In response to your question, you have to say to yourself if she could not come to the UK would it be the end of your relationship? - if it would I suggest not making this clear to the Embassy - as it makes things not sound "genuine", albeit the reality that the Visa rules do tend to bounce folk into an earlier marriage (even if not strictly force folk) than they otherwise would contemplate has obviously escaped the grasp of the UK Govt.

In your case, especially given your history, I would apply for a FV (wallet £££ allowing) - I would also mention that you do need to provide evidence of time spent on the plot with your g/f and for what you are claiming in a SV or FV application, which can require a degree of thought - given that it is easily possible to live in Thailand with no more evidence of what you did and with whom than a stamp in your passport on entry and exit..........which is why many farang men like the place. Alledgedly

Anyway good luck and plenty of info on here, well worth a few searches!

Now I wait to see what marks out of 10 I get

I'll give you 10 for content and 11 for effort!

Yes, she can only remain in UK indefinitely if she has Indefinite status, any other permit to remain will require the husbands co-operation to extend. (sorry not 6 paragraphs!)

Just to add if she is still married and living in UK she only need to be living in UK for 3 years (and have ILR) to apply for British citizenship. If she has ILR and divorced she will have to live there 5 years.

6 Paragraphs? Yer should see my first draft Sponsor Letter

3 Years for a UK passport? so that is 2 years on a SV and 1 year on an ILR?

I am seriously considering applying 4 a settlement visa so I can marry my girlfriend. From what I understand after getting married in the UK she would be issued with a 2 year work visa and then if we were still together after that she would be given an indefinate visa (however presumably if we were not and were getting divorced she would be asked to return home). What I wanted to know is after say 3 years we decided to get a divorce (a bit negative I know but just want all the info) and go our seperate ways would she have to return to Thailand or would she be eligible to work in the UK all her life.

Ok, lets see what I have learnt! (Wiser heads will no doubt correct me! - so don't take this as "Gospel" )

1) Yer don't get a SV to marry yer G/f in the UK. Yer need a Fiance Visa for that (6 months to marry), and whilst on a FV she cannot work, I believe after she is married she can upgrade her status to be able to work (Forget how! -but something makes me think she applies for an SV after marriage).

2) If you get married in Thailand, then you apply for a SV - which would enable her to work as soon as she arrives in the UK and lasts for 2 years from the date of issue or is valid from (yer can ask for a delay in it being valid for a couple of weeks).

3) 2 years after living in the UK on an SV she can apply for either a new (extention?) of her SV or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) - (Some sort of citizenship / english language test to be done, a cheque and she and you needs to still be married and can demonstrate living together as Man & Wife........apparaently the 2 years runs from the date of the Visa being valid from, not arrival in the UK, which can leave folk a few weeks short of 2 years in the UK needed for the ILR).

4) If you get seperated, let alone divorced whilst she is on a SV then she is no longer entitled to remain in the UK - in due course her SV will expire, and to get a new one or an ILR she would require to prove the unprovable of you both being still a couple. After 2 years and IF she has her ILR (and not just a new / extended SV) then she can stay in the UK no matter whether you are together or not. (I think their is an exception to this rule about Domestic Violence - where she does not have to meet the 2 year marriage requirement).

5) Once she has her ILR then she can pretty much come and go as she pleases and work in the UK, whereas with only a SV she basically has to live in the UK (holidays within reason excepted) - but to get a UK passport whilst on her SV and ILR she would need to show that she was actually living in the UK (over 5 years?) not just using the ILR as a holiday visa whilst living elsewhere.

6) you have not yet mentioned where you get divorced, doesn't really matter if married in Thailand or the UK - as she could CHOOSE to divorce you in the UK (her living in the UK would enable her to use UK divorce laws even if all assets are in Thailand or Timbucktoo not in the UK). I am not sure if a divorce in Thailand would be possible if married in the UK (I don't see why not if you were based their ??) but if married in Thailand it would be possible to divorce over their and depending on how contentious the divorce it may be a good place to arrange things given the lower cost of legal fees..........but I hope not to need to explore this area further!

Now I wait to see what marks out of 10 I get

Interesting, 2 pages of advice without anybody asking what kind of work people are doing? Or I missed it somehow.

It works different for construction workers, assembly line, sawing sweatshops or in investment banking where Goldman & Sachs kind of yuppies make millions.

I was tempted to reply yesterday - but could not be bothered, no motivation yer see

No experiance of Thailand, but no reason why the fundamentals are any different. Carrot and Stick!

For all employees their has to be a penalty for not doing the job being paid for. Whether this being sidelined, demoted or fired.

In exchange the Employer has to explain what the job requirements are, and where required to train them / support them / allow them to get on and do the job.

Plus (depending on whether the employee is wanted long term) they should be paid the market rate, not just what the employee can get away with and if they are "key" employees then above the market rate, cos to you they are worth more. Also simply telling folk now and again if they are doing something well works out of all proportion to the cost of doing so!

A Bonus? depends on the job, but if it is easily understandable by both sides (sales, project completion, number of widgets made etc) and has a durect £££ benefit to the employer and that the employee can have a direct impact on by either working harder or simply by not fulfilling at least his expected role then IMO 100% for sure*

And also a Bonus should apply for an employee is at a level where 1/4 ly or a yearly horizon for more complicated stuff is within their scope (job description!).....to at least try and buy some "loyalty".

Oh yeah, the boss not being a class A moron also helps in not demotivating staff.

*Don't underestimate what an employee understands about what a boss is making from his labours. I was once offered a job for £xxk (2 figures, not 3 it's not USD ) in a key position by someone who genuinely thought they were offering me a very good deal and opportunity. I explained tactfully that the "opportunity" actually consisted of lots of hard work getting them out of the toilet they had flushed themselves down and if I was succesful my small part of the world would give them gross profits in the 7 figure range (£)..........so my question was.......why would I take a pay cut, loads more work for the priviliges of getting other folk out of a self inflicted hole whilst also giving them millions of pounds?.........I was demotivated because I understood exactly how much money my "boss" would make from my labours, the same applies to employees who are makers of widgets - it might be YOUR deadline, but why should I give a flying sh#t?? Pride in work? Loyalty? - <deleted> off, concepts long since dead, if they ever really existed. Show me the money

Obviously and apples and oranges comparison, but if you look at their impacts on their sports you would have to say Ali has changed more about boxing than Tiger has changed golf. Boxing is raw in that, unlike golf, there hasn't been many technological improvements. What has changed in the heavyweight division is styles and Ali was the first heavyweight that brought speed into the ring along with punching power. Since then, so many other heavyweights have copied his style.

Ali - I am a bit too young to have really got into his fights, but the sheer force of personality of the man made an impression on a small white kid child living on an island half way accross the world and a whole world away.

Tiger gets paid very well for a Hobby that sells golf clubs. and funny looking jumpers

Worked in bar as cashier.

A garter being her till.

I am sorely tempted to start my UK Sponsor letter off with "she was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met her"

I think she was just angry about having to ride the bus. 20+ strangers in a confined space and no champagne or meal service? I probably would have shot the driver and took us all over the Bangpagong bridge.

It is folk who recline their seats 30 seconds after boarding that annoy me, it's not as if they are really going to be sleeping

Whilst I accept they are perfectly entitled to recline their seat, for me etiquette dictates that this is not done until sleeping, and then reclined slowly........those that annoy me suffer the penalty of my knee "accidently" jarring the seat back. Frequently. and when leaving my seat I like to give the seat back a good clout with my ar#e - especially in the middle of the night. Sometimes with an innocent apology

My pet hate on an aeroplane is Fat people, it is not so much that they do intrude on my space - it is just nauseous for me to see parts of them poured over the armrest

Not exactly at the top of my "to do list" at the moment, but whilst I think about it............

a ) Is a Thai Driving Licence any good in the UK? (for xxx months?) and is it exchangeable for a "proper" one.

Or

b ) Would it mean starting from scratch (maybe no bad thing!)

If I was a betting man I would say is the more likely!

Yes! In addition there is a difference between doing good and doing good. You should help people if it enforces the good in them. That means you should help a decent person who was befallen by bad luck, but you should not help somebody (financially or otherwise) if he/she will use your assistance to pursue bad habits (gambling, cheating, drinking).

Shouldn't this post be prefaced with the words "Although I am not one to judge others, but.........."

If I had read these "rules" before - I wouldn't now be married..........I wonder if it is too late to get me money back?

Are you saying you lie about what you post on ThaiVisa?

It's the internet........I thought it was compulsory to lie???

Don't tell anyone, but I have never even been to Thailand - sounds quite nice though

hi all

well just to update you all as my appeal deadline was fast approaching my wife woke me up this morning at stupid oclock to tell me the embassy had just telephoned her at that they are now going to issue her settlement visa.

the lady who spoke with her told her she would receive a letter and then she had to go and get her tb test done again and also asked her of her intended date to travel.

as you can imagine we are both over the moon and am now making her travel plans .

the only thing that was not said was if she would need to have the biometrics done which i believe they are now doing does anyone know about this ?

well thanks to everyone on here who has been such a help

nick

Congrats!

hello , just wanted to share some good news , me and my wife have received settlement visa, after trying for a visitor visa in december and being refused, we finnaly got our settlement visa today , we went to embassy with our application last week then two days later my wife received a phone call and was asked a number of questions about us , then another three days later we were told her passport was ready to pick up , i think without the valued info from this site , and "robs guide to settlement visa " it would have been a lot harder , so thanks for the valued advice , and good luck to anybody else trying

Congrats

OK, I am a bloke and no direct experiance of Domestic Violence - but my advice to OP is to offer a practical way out.....but make it clear that any help you are presently offering is because you presently can - but warn her that this might not always be the case - your circumstances can change. (Money / Family commitments etc). It may help her crystalise her thoughts into action to exit the situation sooner rather than later.

Remember that some people and situations are simply not resolvable (no matter how simple they appear (are??!!) to an outsider), and getting emotionally dragged in to someone else's disasterous life does no favours for yourself / your family..........perhaps a harsher attitude than some, but each to their own

I think the question you asked originally was whether you can, not whether you should...........but like everyone else I don't know the answer to the former, so I will answer the latter

My take is that they simply can't afford to borrow that sum of money or that they can and you are the cheaper / softer option - and either way I don't see it being a great thing for all concerned if you are holding a large debt over the family.

If you can afford the cash and have long term interest in the G/f I would come up with some sort of deal (with no expectation of repayment) maybe some documentation for the G/f in her name ?- and maybe only for a percentage - 50% or less (B100k seems a very round number!). just to get them in the building.

Otherwise their really is no need, I doubt it would make a great investment.

But still, I am also curious as to whether a Farang can hold a loan secured on property and can then enforce sale for repayment - maybe the property owning folks can advise? - if yer cannot own a property outright then IMO the next best thing would be owning a large debt attached to the property.

Timeline? I like that - will try and tuck it away for future reference.

Reminds me of the late (great) Alan Clarke's put down of Michael Heseltine "he bought his own furniture"

TOP SECRET[

huge deposits of Saddam Hussein’s loot in a bank in Jersey, Channel Island

This one is true.

Nah, only joking

Obsession - OK you wanted some straight and sensible advice ..... here's my two pennies worth.

If you're stuck for ideas, then you're reading this using one of the best business ideas tools around - the Internet

As luck would have it, you're also looking at setting up in one of the most contrary regions on the planet. To explain that, use www.boi.go.th to locate, download, and print both the Royal Decree and the Foreign Business Act lists of employments and businesses prohibited to foreigners, restricted for foreigners, or permitted subject to special controls for foreigners. Then download the BOI's own lists of businesses available for BOI sponsorship and concessions, and the rules for qualifying - - - don't read any of them yet, you're not finished.

Then, find the government website for the equivalent of the Thai BOI in Burma (yup - I said Burma)

Download and print their lists as above for Thailand.

Now compare the various lists for each country side by side.

What you will find is that if Thailand says "Farang mai dai", Burma will say "Farang dai mak mak", and vice versa.

So what you end up with is a list of non-proscribed businesses that you can do in Thailand, but not in Burma - there's one starting point.

Then take that list of possibles to the BOI sponsorship and promotion categories list and see if any are on there, whilst also watching for others on the BOI list not previously noticed.

If you keep a completely open mind, you'll finish with 30 - 40 AFFORDABLE and do-able possibilities (I say affordable because some of the sponsored activities include superstores with 100 million baht of stock, or 100+ bedroom hotels built from the ground up, or yachting marinas with a minimum area of 300 rai of land etc). When you start seeing those types of projects, it's easy to give up on the BOI sponsored lists, but do not do that - they're a very useful reference list.

You got it right at the top of the thread when you mentioned manufacturing and export - some ideas (off the top of my head as I type) that are cheap (or cheapish) to start and could be well received - - -

- wooden birdhouses for back gardens (got any buying contacts in the big DIY chainstores? Or feel like contacting all the mom & pop hardware and pet stores?).

- Saddle bags for motorbikes (lots of seamstresses out here).

- Concrete garden statues and figurines - just need to buy the moulds from back home and flog the castings locally.

- Burglar alarm and CCTV installation - loads of hi-so and "wannabe" moo-baans needing home protection.

- under roof insulation (foam injection) - cheaper than air-con after a couple of years to recoup the installation.

- solar water heating or solar electricity generation - installation & maintenance.

- house electrics conversion from 2-core live & neutral to twin & earth with switched sockets/outlets.

- fibreglass small boats for flood prone areas (buy or lease or rent).

- grass skis (half metre long roller skates with about a dozen rows of wheels per "ski").

- go-kart racing (needs land and vehicles, but land can be rented and carts taken with you when you leave).

- radio control powerboat racing for local ponds and klongs - either tourist season or start a market for the locals.

- book and pamphlet publishing (only newspapers and magazines need a Thai owner/editor-in-chief - books don't).

If I sat here a while longer I could probably come up with hundreds that are not for me, but might suit someone else.

Hope it's useful

Gaz

With a post like that you are clearly on the wrong forum...........or a Troll

I am kinda puzzled at the reaction of some to this thread.............sure it is risky to overstay for a number years, but OP is clearly not advocating this course of action - just recounting his experiance. What's wrong with learning?

I dunno why I was reading this thread!

Anyway, what caught my eye was that a marriage certificate was no longer accepted, kinda worried me for a minute - I am guessing that what it actually means is that it is not accepted alone as evidence of a genuine marriage.

FWIW, the Missus told me that 10 / 15 years back the Taiwanese especially were well known for marrying in Thailand solely for the Visa benefits (and paying accordingly!)......at least in the wife's "social circle" , so I guess immigration do have a point........