bangkokblue

Kevin, Has there been any attempt to make contact with either the ECO or ECOM to contest the refusal, If not do so before submitting the appeal form ( 28 day's ). Yes, The decision can be reversed by the ECOM has been numerously. Taken from a recent appeal Bundle and in the words of the ECOM " Quote " And i see that no attempt was made to contest the decision before lodging the appeal " un Quote ". Get in there and give it a bash. good luck.

The average wage in Thailand is about 20,000 baht/month, and Thais live on that.

Who on Earth would want to live like that??? (beside the millions of Thais who are forced to live here on less, and weirdos, of course).

I rather live on 20,000 baht a month in Thailand than 60,000 a month back home. I have been a teacher here making 20,000 a month and if you are careful, you can still live pretty well.

Importantly, it is possible to live a life in Thailand on 20,000 Baht - I seriously doubt it is possible to do the same in the UK on double that.

Some people don't have the choices.

Frankly, I have far more admiration for those who eke out a rewarding lifestyle on 20/30k Baht per month than those who brag about how they can spend 200k.

Let the pissing competition commence.......

With regard to leaving Thailand, one should always keep options open and not feel trapped - or pushed out. A contingency plan for the next move should be in the locker somewhere.

Home is where the heart is. I am at present in my UK homeland soon to fly off to my homely pad in Bangkok via my holiday home in the south of France my choice. well, Gotta trot things to do and bills to pay don't want to become homeless, plus dying for a piss..... Good luck all.

The average wage in Thailand is about 20,000 baht/month, and Thais live on that.

Who on Earth would want to live like that??? (beside the millions of Thais who are forced to live here on less, and weirdos, of course).

I wouldn't. It's just shows that Thailand should be expensive for an expat on an average income from their home country. I just don't understand how Brits can think it's expensive here (apart from some notable exceptions). But if they came for cheap living, I assume they don't buy the expensive stuff like cars. So what exactly do they find expensive?

I honestly feel pity for those who come here to live in a single room 5k p/m box. Or living in a dilapidated old house in the middle of dirty, peasant country, struggling away with a dependent family on 40k and under, just so they can live here.

Sure living can be cheap, but who would want it that cheap.

60k p/m for a single guy with no dependents could be okay.

I'm confused by that last statement, Are you referring to Thailand or the UK for there is similarity..

I remember the day's gone back when i could'nt find an english speaking farang to get an opinion. Now you have got me worried again, I do not know any Russian or Cantonese.

Adding further to what has been said.<br /><br />Who has "responsibility" for a child's upbringing and whether that responsibility is "sole" is a factual matter to be decided upon all the evidence. A child's upbringing may be undertaken by different individuals in this case the child's grandparents and this cannot be disputed. Maintaining family life is of the upmost importance and it is not unreasonable for a child to seek to be with their parent and vice versa. However, satisfactory evidence has to be given that meet the immigration rules.<br /><br />I'm aware of past cases into the UK where this has been successfully challenged by legal representation on the basis that a chid has the right to be with their natural parent/s but that's in the past. I'm intrigued by what an immigration lawyer has up the sleeve to win this one.

I do believe that from October this year your wife will need to pass Life in the UK test and achieve level B1 in English.

well there you go, UK ILR requirements change on a regular basis so take note which i had'nt.

Guidance SET7.2 - 7.8 are just pre requisites, I say just because it's just the start, not forgetting the 1k fee.

Having legal sole custody carries little weight as does sending money or overaged granparents albeit proof is a necessity and that (is) and not can be a hard nut to crack. The period of separation and in the (custody) of other family members is the difficult one. One has to ask what is in the best interest of the child. I'm sure before long you will get an insight/advice from TV members who have the T-shirt for it is such a common happening, but be prepared similarity is not always the route to success. Good luck.

Yes correct, ECOL level 1 or equlvalent minimum requirement for ILR.

Its none of my Gov'ts dammed business where I am.

Not registered at my embassay, why should I?

So when would you ?.

What was the reason/or excuse for not meeting the deadline ?.

Just a small point regarding the ESOL qualification, One now has to be in receipt of the certificate a covering letter from the college is no longer accepted, a must if the qualification period is nearing its end and awaiting certification from the governing body. I know someone who was recently refused ILR on this point alone.

Since when does 20 grams or marijuana being used recreationally make one into a drug addict? Are you a Quaker, or born again? Not very liberal in your tolerance standards are we?

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my Samsung SIII

agree, So is prostitution or the use of. The OP's 5000k fine puts his crime into prospective if using a moral or illegal comparison. As far as implementing the law is concerned he was simply on the non accepted side of the hypocritical fence end of story. He who cast the first ...............

Time to man up! Tell this maggot of a blackmailer to thin-out, tell the &lt;deleted&gt; if he/she go's though with the threat and bubbles you to your family you will inform the police about the blackmail. Be brave and try to give the impression to this blackmailing &lt;deleted&gt; that, OK, you know it will damage you, but you'll take the &lt;deleted&gt; down with you for blackmail, you will make him or her sorry they ever thought of trying it on.

What ever you've done, your family love you....right? If you don't fold in to the blackmail what's the worst that can happen? Yer, shit happens, learn from it, move on................If you give in to this &lt;deleted&gt; he/she will be holding you ball's in there hands for the rest of your life. Your life will never be yours again.

Better to die on you feet than live on your knees!

Excellent advice, spot on. This should be tagged for a n other/s facing such like.

GU22. Ok, Whilst still on the same subject spare a little thought for all those 'young' Thai lassie's being exploited and used as a sex slave married to fat, ugly and hairy/les farang in which catergory i must fall, ( love in my case ) no doubt the ECO's have that interest in mind. In fact suh is my guilt i still leave a 500 bht note on the bedside cabinet, cheap i know, but she's getting older. Some folk really should stay home and indoors it's an unjust world out there.

EU nationals do not need a visa to travel to, live, work or study in the UK, and vice versa. The high level of current immigration to the UK from the new EU states is a concern, but irrelevant to this discussion. I will gladly contribute to a thread on this problem should anyone wish to start one.

Do the ECOs consider whether applicants are using their sponsor merely to come to the UK and work, whether in the sex industry or elsewhere? Of course they do! Especially where applicant and sponsor have only known each other for a short time (what I refer to as an unrealistic application.)

They must also consider the bona fides of the sponsor as well when the relationship is very short. Exploitation of immigrant workers and sex slavery may be of "little concern" to some, but it is a real problem for the victims who live in squalor and constant fear; often physically abused by their masters and fed crack or heroin to keep them quiet and under control.

If efforts to protect them mean that someone can't get a visa for the girl he barfined for a couple of weeks, then, IMO, that is a small price to pay.

GU22. I also think it a shame that you paint such a sorrowful picture and one of an old hat at that. The fact is a considerable amount of weight is afforded with this in mind regardless of age and/or time in relationship, unless of course your loaded and the other half has multiple assetts. In reality one should be well prepared in documentation and especially in mind should an interview be called for. Proving that your girl/boy friend will be up to no good can be a strong test on their character at interview.

Perhaps they shouldn't make it so difficult for people to bring their girlfriends into the UK , then , following GU22's logic , there wouldn't have been the NEED to have found underhand ways of getting them here. Its natural human behaviour to want to be in a relationship with someone , and natural for them to want to be together . Possibly it should be made a little easier to do so. ?

In an ideal world there would be no need for border and immigration controls, but this is not an ideal world.

To give you two examples of why some form of immigration control is necessary.

Many girls working in bars in tourist areas of Thailand want to find themselves a farang boyfriend who will sponsor them for a visit visa to his home country. Once there, the girl disappears and continues her chosen profession where she can earn in a day what it would take her over a month to earn in Thailand. Of course, this is not something that is restricted to Thailand, it happens in many other countries as well.

"So what?" one might say. "Good luck to them, they don't hurt anyone." Morality aside, one could say that is a valid argument.

However, a far more disturbing, and increasingly more common, situation is where it is the applicant who is the victim. An unsuspecting girl can be duped into coming to a western country by someone she believes to be her boyfriend, or can offer her legal work, or a place at an educational establishment, only to find herself sold into sex slavery or a dangerous and illegal sweatshop when she arrives. Men and boys too.

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Freedom for Thai sex slave women

I am not suggesting, of course, that any one posting on, or connected with, this site is in any way involved in either of the above, nor any criminal activity.

Despite what some may see as an over vigorous visa regime, the fact remains that well over 90% of visa applications to the British embassy in Bangkok each year are approved. (source)

Of those that are refused, based on posts on this and similar forums, I feel confident in saying that in the vast majority of cases the refusal was down to a poorly prepared or unrealistic application.

GU22. Why afford so much Weight and script towards the ' sex trade ' what in comparison with the EU angle can be considered overall of little concern in comparison. If as you say quoting Government figures the refusals are small in number and most was down to poorly prepared or unrealistic applications then are you now saying that ' weight ' is indeed used when processing certain applications with this in mind.

working w/o a proper visa is the worst of the worst, these people should get deported right away after a nice stay in the BKK Hilton

Whilst i don't condone the above practise, i think "worst of the worst" is a gross exaggeration !! Someone works without a work permit...big deal . Its hard enough to imagine why the Thais would care about that , but almost impossible to imagine why any foreigners would . As for suggesting that they should stay at the "Hilton" for such a trivial thing , words fail me .

Spot on atlastaname, It dos'nt even warrant words, but a visit themselves to bring them back to reality.

The only place where a national flag dosnt do anybody any harm is when it on a packet of condoms.

I might even stand up for the Union Jack......

[/quote

And it looks even better standing prod between a pair of Bulldog Balls.

GU22. I take your point, But 35-50,000? as exist today and after the clampdown. An obvious case that crime did pay. What's sophisticated about what the report covered last evening in it's simplicity.

Why title this thread "More Eco Fraud At Uk Home Office"?

As Scouse says, it's not the Home Office nor any of their staff who are commiting the fraud, it's bogus schools and bogus students!

Quite, ,But under who's authoritive umbrella have they existed. Like others, i've known of the scam for years but the Home Office Did'nt ?.

Wether one finds the visa process a piece of p--- or a p---take, you'll sure to be p---off on a refusal. So what should be done, For most it's simply a case of taking heed of the refusal notes piecing it together and reaply at the appropriate time, having said that, i do know of numerous cases where a refusal was non appropriate. One such case was where the ECO's notes of refusal were proven to be wrong or in the sponsor's words lies, i'll not go into details other than to say the refusal was overturned and visa granted within one hour of the refusal and may i just add a Thai interpreter was used !. As for it being a bad day, It was'nt one day last week was it, the ratio in favour of refusal being 7-1 or was it just another day for tears.

I've lost count the number of broken relationships simply on a visa refusal, so yes, you are right ' it must feel like it is worth it ' and mutual, there's no rainbow without the rain.

Now, we don't want this thread to degenerate into discussion of the authenticity or otherwise of the UK Visas statistics (again)

Scouse.

AGREED !!

Just when it started to get interesting.......

Every problem creates new opportunities, so pessimism should be used as a tool towards optimism both are realistically equal in such like situations, or In other words, it creates the need to cover one's arse better.

All said and down just spare a thought for the other half's ' the applicant's' in what for them can be a huge experience and possible life changing situation, no stress there then......................

All you people must understand one thing about this whole visa process. Despite all the wonderful government run websites (ukvisas, British Embassies , Home Office etc ) which say how much they welcome foreign visitors and how all you have to do is this and that, the truth in the real world for ordinary people is very different. EVERY visa is a hassle. There is no easy hassle free visa . Its just a matter of degree. From queueing up at the crack of dawn to the sponcer having to wait outside in the heat for hours , to the months of putting together telephone-book thick files of proof , the lottery of getting a rude or polite ECO , the list is endless.

In short , the reality of getting any kind of visa is that it is an unpleasant experience even if you get it in the end. It is NEVER without stress , hassle and worse. And thats just the tip of the iceberg if you get a refusal. Then your problems/hassle really start.

So there it is . Accept its an awful experience at best and live with the system or do something about changing it .

Without drawing upon comparisons I find this to be in general the nearest to reality for the ' ordinary folk or in my words, those who have little or now't. Even being well prepared, covered all and truthful, there is no guarantee, convincing someone over such an high stake i would say is stressful in one way or other.