Eff1n2ret

"Surely they could check that she did indeed have ILR and then let her in? They wouldn't just turn her away, would they?"

Probably they wouldn't turn her away if she could establish that she was the person to whom ILR had been granted, but it would take a while to sort out.

But I suspect the lady's problem will be actually getting on a plane to the UK with a new passport containing no visa. It's one thing for the OP to report the loss of the old visa to the Embassy, but if she wants to travel from Thailand she's going to have to apply as a Returning Resident and cough up the fee. It's not the Embassy's fault she's lost her passport and they won't re-issue for free. If they have travel insurance, this may be covered.

Incidentally, if she does have a UK passport, she'd be wasting her time seeking re-instatement of ILR in her Thai passport. As a Brit Cit with Right of Abode she doesn't require "Leave to Remain", Indefinite or otherwise, and they wouldn't do it.

Guy sees recently-unemployed friend packing a condom full of ice.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"I promised my wife a Deep-Freeze for her birthday, and I'm bl00dy well going to give her one!"

P-jon, all these people are telling you you don't need to register your marriage in the UK, which is perfectly correct. Did you know that, and did you have some reason for wanting to do this? If so, it's something you could arrange next time you visit Thailand.

Standard UK passport's going up by £5.50 - see the Passport Agency's announcement -

http://www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/1167.htm -

which includes the classic line: - "The decision to increase passport fees follows a decline in passport applications experienced during these difficult times."

There can't be many businesses that can justify a price increase by a drop in demand. Hey-ho. Perhaps I'll buy a Thai one instead.

I hear that for flights from Liverpool, they'll be loaded on pallets

I rather think the demographic of the forum is neatly reflected by some of the posts in this thread which would probably amuse others occupying the higher end of society less concerned by ill informed neuroses.

Quite so, old bean. Aren't they an absolute shower?

Your child is Thai.

Having said that, you've highlighted the 2 difficult issues on the Embassy's information. You require written confirmation that you have custody, and your wife's consent in person will be required for the passport application.

If you are thinking of sponsoring your wife's application for ILR even though your marriage has broken down, you could be committing an offence, so think very carefully before you commit yourself to this.

In short, you require your wife's cooperation to secure a Thai passport for your son. Perhaps you can persuade her that she's doing the right thing for his future by signing over custody to you, and helping him to get a Thai passport, which is part of his birthright.

If she's on the 2-year spouse visa, there will be no HO File record to which a change of address could be added, a HO File will only be created when she applies for FLR or ILR. You don't need to do anything about it until then. Obviously, at that time you will need to show that you've been living together at whatever address.

If she has ILR, she's not obliged to supply an updated address to UKBA. Her address will only be needed if/when she makes a citizenship application

My wife and I were married in Thailand a couple of years ago and have now returned to the UK for a while. She already has ILR having lived in UK for some 10 years before we met.

Does anyone know the procedure/cost for registering our marriage in the UK ??

Thanks

I think you need to read this page:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/marriage...-and--wales.asp

Just on a quick skim-through, it looks as if you have to apply via the consulate in Bangkok.

Your friend can apply in Bangkok, provided they are legally resident in Thailand. If not, then they will need to apply in Manilla.

Hi 7by 7,

I spoke with my friend today. She has an aunt working in London who can serve as a sponsor and actually the purpose of the visit. The planned visit is one-two weeks. She's a work permit holder but not a resident here. The thing is she doesn't have any land title that has her name in the Philippines and as you've mentioned there's a need to apply in Manila. Thinking of the time, expense and effort to go back to PI just for the application, is it possible to inquire here in Bangkok? At least to have any idea of the specific requirements?I mean the Embassy.

Thanks again.

Perhaps the term "legally resident" may be misconstrued. Visit visa applications can be made to any visa application centre anywhere in the world, applications for other purposes should be made where the applicant is currently living, or their country of origin. In the case of your friend, she can apply in Bangkok, which is where she is currently working, but as she only wants a visit visa she could apply anywhere. As long as she can show that she's got a job to go back to in Thailand, she should be ok.

If she wasn't living "legally" in Thailand, she might have a job explaining herself even if she went back to PHL to apply!!!

Out on my boat on Southampton Water last Monday, warm breeze, brilliant sunshine, sparkling sea, it seemed to me just like Thailand in November.

Hot weather in the UK is reported these days with a note of crisis, ("Global Warming" etc) as if we're not supposed to enjoy it. I don't care how hot it gets here, it never lasts that long. Only a couple months more work, and I'll be getting the Non-imm visa, and for the first time in my life avoiding a whole miserable dark cold winter here.

You are a British citizen by birth, so your son is, as you say, British "by descent". The difference between you is that if/when he has offspring born outside the UK, he could not automatically transmit his nationality to them. But in all other respects he is fully British, with Right of Abode in the UK.

I think the "P" just signifies that the identity document is a passport. Mine is type "P" as well, as I think are all full passports of whatever nationality.

"British by birth" means born in the UK with at least one parent Brit. Assuming that the OP has correctly stated his status and it says "British Citizen" in his passport, the answers to his questions are:

If he can show that he's got a job lined up with prospective income sufficient to support and accommodate his family, he needn't delay applying for settlement for his wife.

She can apply for ILR, but without the Life in the UK test, she will be granted 27 months initially. As soon as she has passed the LitUK test, she can then apply for ILR without waiting for 2 years.

He doesn't mention applying for his son, who presumably already has a Brit passport?

If you have been living together for 2 years, and can prove it, have you considered applying as an unmarried partner? You could then be granted a settlement visa for 2 years, at the end of which you could then apply for ILR - so you cut out one stage of the process and save several hundred pounds. The only slight problem with doing it that way is that if you wanted to get married in the 2 years before you are granted ILR you would probably have to apply for a Certificate of Approval to get married. If getting married within the next 2 years is important to you, then perhaps you are correct to apply for the fiancee visa before you go.

If you can show that you have made some enquiries to a Registry Office about available dates, maybe also to possible venues for a reception, the ECO will probably accept your intention to get married.

Apart from that, whether you apply as a fiancee or as an unmarried partner, I can't see you having any problem. If your partner has an employment contract starting soon after your arrival in the UK and you have the sum you mention to start you off, there shouldn't be any question about his ability to provide support.

You say you have "accommodation available on arrival". If this is provided by friends or family, you will have to show that it is only for a short period, and that you will be able to find and pay for your own accommodation within a few months.

The visit visa is still valid - see this from Entry Clearance Guidance:-

"An applicant may hold more than one valid entry clearance, for example a regular traveller already holding a longer period multiple visit visa can be issued with a visa for another purpose. When issuing a second visa, the applicant should be advised to explain to the Immigration Officer on arrival in which capacity he/she is seeking entry to the UK."

Contrary to inaccurate info above, the airline is not liable to a fine just because a passenger is refused entry if he is correctly documented and holds a current visa (if required). For someone holding a 5-year multiple visa who has travelled to the UK and complied with his terms of entry on several occasions, there would be a strong presumption of entitlement to entry, and the onus of proof would be on the IO to show that there has been a change of circumstances.

The second visa could alert the IO to the possibility that the passenger's circumstances are changing, and lead to a few questions. The absence of a return ticket would not in itself be fatal, but could also give rise to questions about his future plans.

It would be entirely at the whim of the airline whether they wished to carry him without a return ticket, and if they insist he has one, he either complies or doesn't travel.

Just apply before the visa expires. The advice on the UKBA website (which wasn't easy to find) is here:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/partners...remain/#header4

and it says that if you delayed travel by up to 3 months, they will keep the application on hold until the 2 years requirement is satisfied. If you delayed travel by more than 3 months, you have to apply for FLR, not ILR.

Just make sure the application is posted (recorded delivery) before the visa expires.

Just going back to what i was saying i have known of one person deported on entry on a Tourist visa last year.

Reason immigration said her circumstances had changed from when she applied for the visa.

A passenger with a valid visa has a right of appeal before removal if the visa is cancelled, as does someone in-country whose Leave is curtailed by UKBA. People can and do exercise their right of appeal even if it has little chance of success, as it enables them to prolong their stay, possibly by many months.

It should therefore not be assumed that anyone refused entry or an extension of stay will be removed quickly, unless they decide they don't want to appeal.

Thank you for your posts. If I think she is really going to go on the game then I will have to try to get her removed from the uk as I still care about her and am worried about her safety. Would informing the police of her plans help my case or not. Will I have to pay for her flight even though she has left me. I dont have the money but if she is safe I will be happy to find it somewhere. I am going to get legal help next week but any more info would be great. Cheers

Your first duty is to protect yourself. Her motivation may be (i) to find a way of staying here, and/or (ii) to get "big money" out of you.

You need to consult a divorce solicitor to understand your rights and potential liabilities. You should try to avoid being alone with her from now on, so that you're not vulnerable to accusations of threats or violence which would bolster her case in divorce proceedings or an application for Leave to Remain.

Inform UKBA (not the police) that you can no longer sponsor any application she makes, and leave it at that. If her Leave is curtailed or expires, you are not liable for any of the costs of removing her, it falls to public expense.

Just to be quite clear, for this first trip you shouldn't have to get visas. They can travel on the ILR endorsements, but the IO's decision when they arrive to grant them entry as visitors will have the effect of cancelling the ILR, so they would need to apply for visas on a future trip.

If they have "Indefinite Leave to Remain" stamped in their passports, they don't need a visa to get on a plane to the UK.

However, they won't qualify on arrival as "Returning Residents" because (i) they've been away more than 2 years (ii) they're only coming for a visit. The "good reason" you mention doesn't exist - the Immigration Rules say this:-

"18. A person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a returning resident may be admitted for settlement provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the person concerned:

(i) had indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom when he last left; and

(ii) has not been away from the United Kingdom for more than 2 years; and

(iii) did not receive assistance from public funds towards the cost of leaving the United Kingdom; and

(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement.

19. A person who does not benefit from the preceding paragraph by reason only of having been away from the United Kingdom too long may nevertheless be admitted as a returning resident if, for example, he has lived here for most of his life."

There are exceptions for fmaily members of diplomats, members of the armed forces, etc.

The instructions to Immigration Officers state quite clearly that where they encounter passengers in your family's situation, they are to be landed as visitors. So, no point in trying to bulls**t or talk your way round it, you'll only get grief. What it means is that for future trips they will have to get the appropriate visas, either for settlement or visit. That shouldn't be much of a problem, but obviously it will cost you.

If you have been married for 3 years and spent at least one year together in the UK, she will retain her right of residence here under EEA regulations.

Otherwise, Electra's advice pretty much fits the bill.

If she doesn't get leave to remain or at least put in an application before her current visa expires she has no legal basis to remain in the UK, and any application she then made would be refused.

If she wants to pursue further studies here, you'd better start from this page on the UKBA website-

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studying...ultstudentvisa/

- and then work your way through the points-based system that's now been put in place to see if she'd qualify.

You don't say what her course is, if she's taking a degree she might qualify for some post-graduate scheme.

She can't switch into being a visitor, and even if she could, she'd only have a further 6 months here.

If your romance extended to wishing to get married, you'd best do so outside the UK, but having done so, she could make an application in the UK for leave to remain as your spouse.

If you wished to get married in the UK she'd first have to get a Certificate of Approval to do so, but there's no guarantee it would be granted before her visa expires, which would be of no help to her.

Apart from that, she hasn't much chance, but the advice to return to Thailand and get another visa doesn't help if she's no basis on which to apply.

Incidentally, what nationality are you?

Extract from the Entry Clearance Guidance published on the UK Visas website:

"VAT2.4 What is a family visitor?

The same as for a visitor. Under the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2003, a family visitor is defined as:

the applicant's spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin (NB: "first cousin" means, in relation to a person, the son or daughter of his uncle or aunt);

the father, mother, brother or sister of the applicant's spouse;

the spouse of the applicant's son or daughter;

the applicant's stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or

a person with whom the applicant has lived as a member of an unmarried couple for at least two of the three years before the day on which his application for entry clearance was made.

In addition:

Children adopted under an adoption order recognised in UK law are treated as if they are the natural children of the adoptive parents; and,

The Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2003 pre-date The Civil Partnership Act (2004). Civil partners are considered “a member of the applicant’s family” in the same way as a spouse for the purposes of the Family Visitor Regulations.

ECOs should not seek documentary evidence of a claimed relationship unless there are strong grounds to doubt it (such as a disparity in age that makes the relationship biologically unlikely)."

So an applicant going with her UK husband to visit his parents is a family visitor.

My girlfriend has a "Limited Leave to Remain" visa which was sponsored by her husband. She split up with him and is now living with me, her Visa expires in a few months.

We are very happy living together and would like to find a way for this to continue, what are the options? She would have been ready to apply for ILR, but is now likely to get divorced instead.

She is a university graduate with English almost good enough for ESOL entry 3 (needs a little work to pass writing). Her current job is just working in a cafe earning minimum salary.

Please advise on what routes we could take, and also if she is compelled to immediately return to Thailand upon a divorce completing.

I think that as she only has limited leave to remain in the UK and it is sounds like it's dependant on her marriage to her husband, she will have to return to Thailand at the end of her current visa period. She would obviously normally have to apply for ILR at the end of her current 2 year period, but this would require evidence from her husband that their relationship is still continuing. She probably won't get this, so in all probability will have to return to Thailand and you will have to then help her to get a new settlement visa back in the UK. She should be ok to stay until the end of her current visa period.

Seconded - same reply as you got on the Thailand-UK forum

The letter from Poland should give reasons why you were considered not to be a genuine visitor to the Schengen area. Unless you can show why those reasons do not apply to your proposed visit to France, it might not be a good idea to "put ideas into the head" of the French visa officer. Best to wait until you see what the letter says. It will not help you to argue that the Poles were wrong, you just have to try and make clear that it would be right to give you a visa for France. There is a difference.