Eff1n2ret

"You are single person of working age, with no assets, ties or property, which might encourage your presence in your country. You are unemployed....."

.....All the classic reasons for refusing a first-time applicant, against which all you can stack up are your expressions of good intention. Remember it's the applicant's circumstances and intentions that are paramount, and the ECO has no way of knowing what an unattached 23-year-old with no reason to return will decide to do once he/she arrives in the West. Experience suggests that many of the Thai women who are arrested in the UK as illegals with no evidence of their identity give some story about having been facilitated here by a boyfriend who doesn't seem to be around any more.

As you're not a family member she's unlikely to have a right of appeal against refusal of a visit visa. If you're planning to get married next year I think you should get in as many visits to her as you can afford and start planning for a spouse application, or maybe fiancee application if she wants to see what the UK is like before committing to marriage and life here

On a further point, I wonder what was the OP's situation when his partner applied for the visa to come here in 2007? What did they tell the ECO? If he was working full-time outside the UK then, and expected to do so for the foreseeable future, and declared as such on the application, they can now argue that the applicant now has a reasonable expectation of remaining in the UK on the same basis.

I can't find any specific guidance in the Caseworking instructions published on the UKBA website, but there is this paragraph on the UKVisas website which should be of relevance:-

"What does 'present and settled' mean?

‘Settled’ means being allowed to live in the UK lawfully, with no time limit on your stay. 'Present and settled' means that the person concerned is settled in the UK and, at the time we are considering your application under the Immigration Rules, is in the UK or is coming here with you, or to join you and plans to live with you in the UK if your application is successful."

I also noted this on the website of an OISC company called Law Firm Ltd:-

"Please note that a British Citizen who has been resident overseas but who now intends to return to the UK to live can be regarded as present and settled in the UK"

I don't know exactly what is the basis for the second quote, which may be opinion rather than fact, but it seems to indicate that if the OP regards his place in the UK as "Home", and has plans to live there with his partner in the reasonably near future, his partner will qualify. But it does say "now intends", which must imply in the near future.

Otherwise, if the OP intends to continue working abroad full-time for several years and just come to the UK for his holidays, he isn't in a much different situation from any foreigner who owns property in this country and does the same. He could visit his partner in his/her own country.

Thailand appears to be the only country who has strict fiscal rules for expats staying. I understand this was brought in by the now deposed PM living somewhere in HK. As a Brit I think what a good rule for the UK to adopt for all non commonwealth and non EU residents who wish to either make the UK their home or for long term students. The Uk Banking system is creaking at the joints and what a good boost to them a few million pounds would be to restart the economy, where they can lend to small businesses, charge interest and not pay any interest back on deposits in return (not that they are paying any now with interest rates as they are) By adopting the Thai system for treating expats the UK Government, who is led by a Scot, and is under pressure to assist Scotland following the HBOS mess where jobs in Scotland will be going, could set up a special Immigration Centre in Glasgow for all expats in the UK to report every 90 days thus creating many jobs in a depressed area, thus helping expats avoid such high costs in cities in England particularly London.

I think we should write to G Brown advocating that the UK adopt the Thai system, for the positive benefits that it would bring to the suffering UK Banking system and for job creation, sending a copy of our letters to the New Thai PM (who as we know was born, raised, and educated in the UK) and saying that by adopting the Thai way it will be such a boost to the UK economy.

Yea, right...all letters in green ink, of course.

Can you not do all the paper work yourself then take it to the embassy?

In the early days of the VFS operation I think there was something on the Embassy website or Entry Clearance Guidance that if you insisted, you could submit to direct to the Embassy, but there's certainly no such option on offer now.

Interestingly, I see there's a strapline running on the VFS website which offers "Form-filling by qualified staff 300baht". Has anyone tried that?

Seems to me there's a pretty fine line between form-filling and giving advice, which they say they don't do.

Going by the book, she should contact the police saying her passport is lost/stolen, then contact the Thai Embassy for a replacement. She should then apply to the UKBA for a replacement visa.

The worst possible advice. If such an application is made to UKBA (which she'd have to pay for) it would automatically be refused as being out of time, with no right of appeal, and she would most probably be served with papers as an overstayer and might be detained and removed. All that would be on record, and she would thereafter automatically be refused another UK visa for the next 10years.

She should get a new passport, book a flight and leave. If her departure is not recorded, it's up to her what she declares on a future application, but as 7by7 points out, if she's caught in a lie, the same 10-year ban will apply.

I have used Thai RentaCar several times. Their service is excellent, and the vehicles are good quality and relatively low mileage - once I had a brand new car with red plates.

There is a saving to be made by booking them through the ThaiVisa link on the motoring section of this forum. I have a current booking for 3 weeks from the end of March. The direct quote from Rentacar was 23,100baht (say £462 @ £1= 50baht). The quote via ThaiVisa for the same vehicle from the same company was £367.

Having accepted this quote, I paid a deposit of £57 to the ThaiVisa agency, and the balance is to be paid to Thairentacar on collection. This 15000 and something baht (don't have the exact amount to hand).

Obviously the agency has passed the risk on the exchange rate to me, having taken their cut, and the final amount may well exceed £367, but it's likely to be less than the booking direct with the company.

I did it this way last time, there were no problems and the service from the company was just as good.

I may be wrong, but it's not evident from the OP's licence that he is qualified in the UK to ride a motorbike. If that's the case, surely he's going to have to pass a test in Thailand to be able to do so?

Was the assault an isolated incident? Was the husband charged?

If this lady is at risk she must at all costs get away from the guy. Locally our police force has a Domestic Violence Unit who take such cases very seriously and offer victims a lot of support including finding refuge accommodation and access to legal advice.

Family Law and Immigration Law are separate disciplines and it is important to find a solicitor who practises both. But for free advice on the immigration aspect, she can try the Immigration Advisory Service:

http://www.iasuk.org/C2B/document_tree/Vie...p?CategoryID=10

Phoning the Home Office for advice is not a rewarding experience.

As stated above, if there is a clear documented record of domestic violence, the Immigration Rules provide for Leave to Remain to be granted.

Agree with everything Clayton said.

Flew with Qatar BKK to LGW return earlier this month. Don't have anything recent to compare them with, but will say i felt fairly underwhelmed with all aspects of their service. Not terrible, but could have been better in most departments. Perhaps the other carriers are just as bad, couldn't tell you.

Not that this has anything to do with them or their service, but i do concur that Doha airport is a dump and suggest you spend as short a time as possible there.

Oh yes, one more thing regarding Qatar - on one of the legs of our flights, a fight broke out amongst a few passengers near us - mainly throwing verbal abuse as well as full cups of water. A couple of passengers seemingly lost their patience with a passenger who had been chatting loudly with his friend for most of the flight. Anyway, the point i was going to make is that all the staff, despite people shouting for their assistance, simply disappeared and took cover behind the curtains. It was quite funny actually and provided some much needed entertainment... but on a serious note.. doesn't exactly fill you with confidence does it.

I won't disagree that Doha airport is not a place you want to spend much time in. It has one thing to recommend it, that you don't have to walk miles to the gate.

I thought our flights on Qatar were quite comfortable, the food was a lot better than some airlines, particularly EVA out of LHR, and they're reasonably generous with the booze.

However, one feature of most if not all of the airlines operating out of the Gulf States is that their cabin staff are usually not native to the airline, and are not inclined to argue with passengers who are, which probably accounts for the type of incident described above. I remember years ago on a Kuwait Airways flight from BKK being sat in non-smoking (yes, it was that long ago) close to a Kuwaiti in full dishdash who insisted on smoking the whole way. The cabin staff turned a blind eye, and I'm afraid that despite my discomfort I lacked the courage to say anything as I was returning to work in Kuwait and didn't fancy being arrested on arrival.

The flights, check ins etc are fine, but avoid dealing with the staff in the Bangkok office in Asoke. Rude, arrogant, animals wouldn't even begin to describe them. I even complained to the HQ in Doha about them, twice by phone and 3 times by e-mail. I said they were rude, arrogant, unprofessional, unhelpful and totally unempathetic.

That wasn't my experience. We had to go to the office to get sorted out during the airport closure at the end of November. The staff were under extreme pressure, but had set up a ticket queuing system and with about 50 in front of us we were seen within a couple of hours and much to my surprise they fixed us up with a flight out of U Tapao the following day. I thought in the circumstances they did a fine job, and I saw no sign of arrogance or rudeness.

My only beef was that I couldn't find out by phone what was going on, but given the weight of numbers of callers at the office it's not surprising they weren't answering.

I should complain to the British embassy visa section about this. While they may well plead they can do nothing about the commercial operations in the same building as their outsource agents, it is inexcusable to have these jokers sharing the same lobby as the VFS who may even have some sort of relationship with them.

And the British Embassy will probably point to the disclaimer on their website which says this:-

"Use of Visa Agents

There are a number of visa agents in operation throughout Thailand, prospective applicants may choose to use them in order to support or prepare their entry clearance application. It is important to note that these agents are in no way whatsoever connected to the Embassy. They have no influence over the outcome of an application. The British Embassy's outsource partner, VFS Global, operates from the UK Visa Application Centre. Their staff are clearly identifiable by their uniform.

Any decision to utilise the service of an agent is entirely at the applicants' discretion. "

They also provide a link to the VFS website which carries the same message and also provides a photograph of staff in uniform under the legend "UK Visa Application Centre" alongside a Union Jack. They will perhaps take the view that they have done what they can to steer people throught the right door and those who can't work it out for themselves may well need/deserve the services of an agent.

Q:- What's the difference between a Jehova's Witness and a Millwall supporter?

A:- When you answer the door, the Millwall supporter tells you to F*** off.

Yes, that's exactly what I had in mind. Did you use any special glue or jointing compound? I seem to remember reading some posts that the standard stuff isn't too good.

If you want to know why the Thai Embassy need 6 weeks to issue the passport, they're the ones to tell you, but I think it's because all the necessary work to produce the document with the chip in it is done in Thailand, they can't do it in London. I've no idea whether they offer any such service, but you could try asking them if they can issue any form of emergency document for one journey, so that she can travel to Thailand and then get a new passport there. But then she'd have to apply for a visa to come back.....unless the visa in the damaged document is sufficiently legible to show that she still has LTR.

Some suggested you to marry him. But for that you would have to invite him first to your country and I doubt your consulate will agree to marry the two of you so quickly!

Keep in mind that the UK visa service is subcontracted by the to a private company which does not really undertsand the subtlety of all situations or of the law ......

Roger

The OP originally said: " Also I plan to marry my boyfriend in April when i go to Bangkok....." She can do that quite easily, then she can make the EEA application and ignore all this drivel about providing "reasons to return".

The "private company's" only function is to receive the application and pass it on to the embassy. They play no part in deciding it.

A few days ago I booked for LHR-BKK-LHR on Thai, outward travel on 31st March for £497 each via West-East Travel. The only extra was the credit card booking fee. If I remember correctly, that's exactly the same price as I paid for indirect flights on Qatar last autumn. At the time, seats on Thai were going at above £600, so they've come down a good deal, but not 45-50%

And I wonder just who was exploiting who.

Exactly!!

It is not like the subject persons did not have a choice (whether to go or not go)

Whether or not the ladies involved knew what they were getting into, their activites in a Western country confirm once again why it is so difficult for perfectly genuine westerners to sponsor women from countries like Thailand, either as spouses or as visitors.

I know someone who is married to an Irish national. By virtue of marriage, he is qualified for and possesses an Irish passport, which of course gives him the opportunity for residency should they opt for it.

I know we are talking about Ireland here...but your statement appears to be ar*e about face...in most countries you qualify for residency in country first then get the passport, as once you have a passport you are a citizen of that country....

OT, but you apparently misinterpreted the context of the statement, which was that they are not current residing in Ireland, but have the option to move there.

But he will not move there with an Irish passport; he will only acquire Irish citizenship through marriage after living with his wife in Ireland for 3 years.

However, I agree with your point that being required year after year to establish a right to remain in Thailand is tougher than the situation in most Western countries. But perhaps that's a trade-off against the relative ease with which westerners can enter and prolong their stay in Thailand.

You are working in the UK now?

If you get married, your boyfriend/husband will have the option of applying for an EEA Family Permit to accompany you to the UK. There is an important distinction, because the application will be made under European Law, not under UK Immigration Rules.

If, as a European National, you are "exercising your treaty rights" by living and working in the UK, you have the right to bring your husband here. You don't have to spend time together in your own country to benefit from this law. The application would be free of charge, and the only reason it could be refused is that it is proved to be based on a marriage of convenience.

It is of course possible that the British visa officer will point to the previous refusals and say that these "prove" that his only motive in marrying you is to circumvent UK law. You of course can argue that your relationship has endured these setbacks and it's nonsense to suggest that a professional person with your resources has any motive other than love to get married. But you must always remember that it is the intentions of the applicant, not the sponsor which are what count most.

In this situation I think you do need good professional advice to present a successful application. I would sugges that you conact Davies Khan whose link is on this page, as he has a wealth of experience in dealing with the Bangkok Embassy, and also of how they handle EEA applications.

Hi,

Yes i work in the UK right now. My boyfriend will start a course soon so before beginning of june he wouldnt be able to come anyway. Also until then the house that is currently under his mothers name will be under his. He is not exactly poor - actually he is middle class. Also I dont intend to live all my life in the UK - yeah i have a job currently there but I plan after 2-3 years to go to another european country to work as i like to change my residence. If i would have gotten a job in spain i would have applied for spain it just happened that my job offer came from a british company...

I will get in touch with Davies Khan! Thanks for your nice words!

Lorelei30

If you get married and he applies for EEA Family Permit, matters such as house ownership, or "reason to return" mentioned by others, are irrelevant, whether he intends to return or not. The Family Permit will give him entry to the UK for 6 months, and he can apply there for a Residence Permit it you are based in the UK for a few years. He can then apply for an EEA Permit if you decide to move to any other EEA country, even Austria.

Have a look at the form he will have to fill in to apply:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/vaf5

Note the questions in 6.2, which are to identify whether or not this is a marriage of convenience. I would have thought that under European law your time together show this would not be a marriage of convenience, but you need to take professional advice on that point. Otherwise you shouldn't have any problems

You are working in the UK now?

If you get married, your boyfriend/husband will have the option of applying for an EEA Family Permit to accompany you to the UK. There is an important distinction, because the application will be made under European Law, not under UK Immigration Rules.

If, as a European National, you are "exercising your treaty rights" by living and working in the UK, you have the right to bring your husband here. You don't have to spend time together in your own country to benefit from this law. The application would be free of charge, and the only reason it could be refused is that it is proved to be based on a marriage of convenience.

It is of course possible that the British visa officer will point to the previous refusals and say that these "prove" that his only motive in marrying you is to circumvent UK law. You of course can argue that your relationship has endured these setbacks and it's nonsense to suggest that a professional person with your resources has any motive other than love to get married. But you must always remember that it is the intentions of the applicant, not the sponsor which are what count most.

In this situation I think you do need good professional advice to present a successful application. I would sugges that you conact Davies Khan whose link is on this page, as he has a wealth of experience in dealing with the Bangkok Embassy, and also of how they handle EEA applications.

Hmm. Haven't you already been through all this here?:-

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic...ghlight=#215651

Can anyone give some resonable advise on how it may be possible to clear someones name from the Immigration Black list.

We have tried several lawyers who claim they can do it but have just been ripped off and given stupid excussess.

At the moment we are trying the immigration appeal procedure but this seems to be taking for ever but is making progress and body got any resonable advise on may be a speedier way forward.

If you're awaiting an immigration appeal, presumably this is an appeal against a refused visa application? If so, the alternative is to make another application, taking care to address the reasons for refusal given in the first one. But I have to say I don't know how many people have done this and been successful.

If the appeal is against a refusal of leave to remain, there isn't much you can do to speed things up. If the applicant chooses to leave the UK the appeal will be treated as withdrawn. Any application for a visa to return would also have to be for strong enough grounds to overcome whatever reasons there were for refusal in the first place.

If by "black list" you mean the automatic ban that's been imposed on a visa application from someone who has made a deceptive application, or previously been removed as an illegal entrant or overstayer, then you'll have a tough old time appealing against it, and there ain't any short cuts.

I'm afraid there's too many lawyers work on the Charles Revlon principle, that "in the drugstore, we sell hope"

Without further info, there isn't much more one can advise.

And yet a Thai lady married to a U.S. citizen is categorically denied any chance of a U.S. visa if she has engaged in exactly the same practices driven by identical motives in the last 10 years!

I don't think it's a moral judgement, so hypocrisy doesn't come into it. The presumption is that ladies who have followed such a profession are better able to steel themselves to a liaison with someone they don't particularly fancy in order to gain settlement in the west, and have no intention of continuing the marriage once they get what they want. Thus the bar is set higher for them than ladies from other walks of life.

It's not totally unreasonable.

Rayong is just an industrial town. There is a sea-front, but in the Rayong-Mahtaput area it's pretty scruffy. There are some resort hotels along there, but I've never stayed in one. We did stay in the Star Hotel in the city centre for a week, when we were buying stuff for the house when it was being built. The Star's not bad, and it's right by a square which has a market and decent foodstalls, so very pleasant to stroll down there of an evening and get gently blootered on Leo at (then) 50baht a big bottle. The hotel also backs onto a big IT centre which is worth looking round.

The fish restaurant on the pier at BanPhe is excellent