ipeterrobinson17

On 5/1/2024 at 2:51 AM, oporhatch said:

Thanks for all your responses  - did anybody use the VFS premium service is it worth it

 

I live 3 hours from bangkok, so will be travelling for the appointment 

 So if i am missing something,  probably can access it through laptop, phone etc 

but then would need printer etc      

Just wondered to pay for the service 'belt and braces'  

although my natural response would be to not pay for any extras, i was not the one going for the appointment/interview.

i have paid for the premium service once, particularly because she was feeling very nervous about it all. she had a specific timed appointment and was supposed to be in a separate quiet area but i don't think it was much different to everyone else.

that appointment was very late (more than 2 hours if i remember correctly) and i think i paid extra around 100gbp in total.

for the most recent appointment earlier this year, it was still late (around 1 hour), this time i only paid for a few extras (SIM card, text updates on progress - which was 1 text message!, courier return of passport, and the cheapest admin/checking option) so i think i paid extra around 20gbp in total.

it was not quite as i stated - they said that some of the documents she took with her were not clear enough! and so she had to email them to VFS who printed them again, and all that was extra cost.

we visited Switzerland a couple of weeks ago, and i already asked some similar questions in a post on here before doing the Schengen visa application. i also added a summary of what i thought was relevant info for anyone doing something similar.

we are not married - i was her "sponsor" and paying for everything so i provided all the financial proof (statements etc) - i was a bit confused about how to record myself on the application form as her sponsor as it wasn't exactly clear (partly because i'm a Brit and so not an EU citizen) but i must have done it correctly as we were successful.

you make the booking online and choose your appointment typically 1-2 weeks in the future, and so you can use that time to get all the paperwork ready.

just received visa, so will summarise for anyone doing this in future:

first need to log in to VFS and book appointment - this took me several days as i had many problems logging into their site (seems to have given problems for years). can only contact them via X/Twitter and their response time is not short.

appointments started after 1 week plus, so ours was 2 weeks ahead. i paid for a few VFS extras but probably a waste of money unless you're short of time. they don't take the EU visa fee yet.

so then need to fill in the visa application form, various languages accepted by Switzerland including English - all Thai paperwork needed English translation. i was named as "sponsor" so i provided statements/accommodation proof. flight & hotel details i got from "reservations" company named below.

appointment was over 1 hour late - seems to always be the case even if you pay extra to book a time slot. paid 80 euro visa fee. gave them masses of paperwork, and had to pay extra for even more paperwork they told us to include.

8 days later, received a phone call + email to say passport was on its way back to us.

they gave us a multi-trip visa as requested, valid for 1 month so covers the trip we specified and can now add another trip 2 or 3 weeks later.

best "reservations" company i found, reading Trustpilot reviews, was https://www.flightreservationforvisa.com and we had a few hiccups but all was completed in reasonable time. need to check the reservations when received, had problems with flight booking which needed help from their customer support. they also fixed my mistake of writing name wrong way round, and there's no charge for 1st change. the reservations expire after around 3 weeks.

there are many companies around who offer flight&hotel reservations and cost starts around 30GBP/35Euro/40USD - these are effectively potential bookings that you could use if visa is successful.

this is what i've just purchased (and submitted for Schengen visa earlier this week) for a similar trip, Manchester<-->Geneva.

where are you travelling to Paris from?

if travelling from UK, then in theory, i think you only need travel reservation from UK to Paris and back to UK, but @theoldgit suggested i also send details of her Bangkok<-->Manchester flights also when submitting our Schengen application (which we did earlier this week ). this was simple for me to do as that flight was already booked.

best "reservations" company i found, reading Trustpilot reviews, was https://www.flightreservationforvisa.com and we had a few hiccups but all was completed just in time.

i've searched here and there's not so much detail about applying for Schengen visa, and the pinned topic is somewhat dated, so just wanted to double-check my understanding...

Thai partner has 2year UK visit visa already and will soon be visiting here. i'm planning a visit to Switzerland and i'm unsure on the bits that are different to UK visa application.

---> flight/hotel reservations:

- it seems these need to cover the whole visit (~5 days), can anyone suggest/recommend companies they've used for this?

- when should i book these reservations as it seems they need to be valid when the Embassy are actually checking our application?

---> where to apply:

- i'm about to arrange for her to apply in Bangkok, but wanted to ask if she could also apply in UK? (as i'll be arranging more trips in Europe in future and this would be easier option)

---> further travel not included in original application:

- if we're successful in the application for a 90-day visit visa (C?) for a 5-day visit to Switzerland, i assume we will be ok to fit in any other trips we can during that valid 90-day period without problem?

- is the standard visa issued a single trip or does it allow multiple trips?

thanks in advance for any comments

I know the "rules" limit the total time spent in UK with a longer term visit visa to 180 days per year (based on calendar year or visa start date? and pro-rata for part years?) and i've also read that it's down to the entry officer at the time to decide what periods of stay might seem suspicious and warrant further investigation but i'd be interested to hear from those with actual experience of these visas as to how long visitors have stayed in UK and how long a period they stay away before coming again.

my initial thought was 3 months in followed by 3 months out and repeat, although it's likely to be shorter stays when very cold and longer in "summer months" - is any length of stay likely to be acceptable as long as the limit is not exceeded, and there's nothing to give suspicion of other visa infringements?

we just got a 2-year UK tourist visa - passport received back (by courier) only 12 days after the biometrics appointment.

we didn't pay for any priority service (other than return of passport by courier).

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

Chomskyan linguistics does seem to have faded away in to the twilight over the last 20 or 30 years.

wow, really! seems like Wikipedia is not aware of this, so maybe i will update them if you would be so kind as to give me the references that support your statement.

his field of study might have been linguistics, but he's known by most for his "political activism and social criticism" as in the videos above.

Chomsky is a genius - what's so sad in the videos above? are you sad about his long hair/beard or slow speech or something he actually said?

seems like the usual Chomsky to me and still incredibly perceptive.

i'll be happy to reach 94!

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Then she needs re-educating.  ????

 

The Old Trafford tour is actually very good and the souvenirs from there were well received by Buriram family members - even if they did support Liverpool!@

 

 

i'm a part-time MUFC fan and even i'm not that interested in visiting Old Trafford - i'd rather go to Oakwell!

9 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

Do the Old Trafford tour and get a photo of her wearing a BUFC shirt - that will go down well on social media.

she's more interested in visiting Manchester City and even Liverpool before MUFC!

7 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

You are touching on something important there.

 

 

Don't ask US where you should take her, get her to do some research into where SHE would l;ike to go and what she would like to see.

 

For our first trip I organised everything based on what I thought she would enjoy; I wasn't wrong but for future UK visits (and Europe) I told my missus to come up with a list of places to see - and the reasons why. I wanted her invested in the planning aspect of the trips.

 

My missus wanted to see snow so we went to the Highlands in late March. Easyjet flights to Inverness are cheap. 

 

Pack dry Mama noodles and chilli. Avoid over-priced UK Thai restaurants that sell dumped down versions of Thai food but find someone that your wife can speak Thai to at least once a week. Avoid the local Thai mafia.

i already did that but she knows little of UK other than Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament, London Eye and a few football teams.

5 minutes ago, proton said:

Why Leicester? my Mrs visited me there twice and hated the dump, so did I and I grew up there. There is the football club with the Thai connection that's about it.

she is a fan of Buriram United (we visited earlier this year) and she tells me that 4 of their players are training with Leicester City at the moment.

11 minutes ago, Denim said:

Find a good genuine car boot sale and take her there. I found that Thais I have taken there enjoy the bargains and get an idea of how to recycle unwanted household items.

 

Bad time to be going weather wise. Might be cold and wet plus the early nights can spoil days out in the country so plenty of indoor excursions as a back up might be useful.

 

One of the things my wife most enjoyed was snow ! Life long dream of seeing it and touching it satisfied.

she also dreams of seeing snow, but other than the mountains of Scotland there's little chance of seeing any in December.

15 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Do elaborate :

   What are the USA ideas/cultures that dominate the UK ?

i would put it simply as protecting USA dominance in the world, but specifically globalisation

you can add the dominant "progressive left"  issues e.g. imperialism, race, feminism, LGBT+ etc - you might argue not USA issues but USA is driving force for the challenge to more traditional values of religion, family ...

do you think that UK/EU would seriously be picking a fight with Russia or China without USA leading?

i'm not anti USA, i just want the UK to be setting it's own agenda more.

it's ironic that a big reason that we voted for Brexit was to get back control, but we are far more dominated by US ideas/culture than EU - Boris dared to challenge the dominant western (i.e. USA) narrative with Brexit, weakly challenged it with C*VID but supported the rest of it being in the vanguard with Ukraine.

Liz T made a pitiful attempt to challenge it again, and with Rishi we are back to "normal" and doing what we're told. Sadly, Europe is in the same boat as UK, but they seem to be trying things in the background (they don't want to upset USA either).

inflation is more a result of the free giveaway during 2020/21, and escalating gas/electric more due to sanctions than the actual fighting.

abysmal leadership! (and little chance that Starmer will do very much different)

we have a pending visit to UK starting next week and i wanted to ask 2 things of those here with more knowledge/experience of such matters than myself: -

i) are there any places in UK you can suggest, other than the obvious major UK tourist attractions, that have a strong Thai link/interest (only place i can think she might want to visit is Buddhapadipa Temple, Wimbledon)?

ii) i asked her to bring some inexpensive Thai souvenirs to give to my family here to get a genuine Thai experience (my suggestion of candy/cookies/dried durian fruit seems more like "western" souvenirs than typically Thai).

we have weekend trips to London and Edinburgh already arranged, and no doubt we'll visit (North) Wales, York and possibly Leicester City! but i've a few more trips to add still.

i've been searching for travel insurance for a Thai national who will visit UK soon.

As i'm only finding insurance for UK nationals, just asking for any companies who do single-trip or annual travel insurance for Thai nationals travelling overseas.

i have read the pinned thread about 'UK visit visa basics' and understand this, but have a few more detailed questions about the information (evidence) that the applicant should provide to support the application (- i've searched here but can't find anything.)

i) has anyone done a "template" showing information which is likely to be useful? (i know it's not the same for everyone but most information should be quite similar)

most important thing for us seems to be her current job in Bangkok, where she's worked for many years, and also photos together and 1 trip together outside of Thailand. (parents retired, son graduated and just started working, rented accommodation - i'm guessing all these unlikely to carry much weight)

ii) is there a need to provide "certified" translations of any of the evidence, or is all evidence accepted in either English or Thai?

Thanks for all helpful replies, I think my natural laziness kicked in and I was hoping I wouldn't need to do too much!

I am funding visit but I think main weakness is lack of verifiable evidence for 'reasons to return to Thailand' so I already warned gf that we might well get refused at least once.

Sent from my HUAWEI P8max using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

i have read the 'supporting documents guide' at www.gov.uk, and it prompted a number of questions as i think about what i need to get ready.

1) bank statements - i have not received monthly paper bank statements for a long time so will they accept a good printed copy from online banking or am i going to have to order copies from the bank?

2) earnings - i am self-employed / business owner so need to provide 'business registration documents' - again, is a good printed copy sufficient or am i going to have to try to get something posted out to me which looks more official say from Companies House? I've got the same issue regarding rental income as my monthly payment receipts from the management company are sent to me by email.

3) evidence of relationship - apart from visits, most of our relationship is conducted using LINE, some chatting but mostly daily video sessions. i am going to make a summary of all the video chats we have had but what is the best way to provide them with this information ?

thanks in anticipation