7by7

They apply for a family visit visa.

Have a read through Guidance - Visitors (INF 2), Guidance - Sponsors (INF 3) and Visitors: Visiting family; friends; as a tourist.

For where and how they apply, fees etc.; see UK visa application website in Thailand.

To expand, if I may.

Someone who is in the UK with a settlement visa or FLR is allowed to take holidays out of the UK without any limit. However, when applying for ILR they will need to show that they are, and have been continuously, resident in the UK; which may be difficult to do if they have spent more time outside the UK than in.

Once someone has ILR/ILE, if they spend a continuous period of 2 years or more out of the UK then their ILR/ILE will lapse and they will need to obtain the appropriate visa to re-enter.

However, if one wishes to apply for naturalisation as British there is a residential qualification.

If the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen the qualifying period is 3 years, for others it is 5. The applicant must have been physically present in the UK on the exact day 3 (5) years prior to submitting the application and during the intervening period have spent no more than 270 (450) days out of the UK with no more than 90 days in the final year.

I should add that in order to apply for naturalisation one must also be in the UK without any time restriction, i.e. have ILR/ILE or the equivalent.

Nonsensical post deleted.

Apart from certain exceptions, of which your partner's son isn't one, all applicants need to attend the VAC to hand in their supporting documents and have their biometrics taken. Completing an online application means that they can make an appointment to do this; completing a paper form means that they simply turn up and wait. See How to Apply.

Remember that he will also need to travel to Bangkok for his TB certificate. This should be available the same or next day if the X-ray is clear. However, if further tests are required it may take several days for these to be carried out. See IoM Information Sheet.

You or your partner can either complete an online application on his behalf or complete a paper form and send it to him to sign and take to the VAC.

Either way, remember to send him the sponsor's letter and supporting documents to take with him when he goes.

Sorry, edited my previous to answer that while you were posting.

All of that needs to be put in the sponsor's letter, and evidence (bank statements, phone bills, passports to show visits to the boy etc.) supplied to confirm it.

Although it is not officially recognised, a Kor Por 14 from the local ampur may help as well; it certainly wont hurt. See this post from Sumrit.

Your partner's son makes the application, supported by his father. Remember that as he is over 11 he will need a TB certificate.

nothing to do with the Schengen agreement.

I wish you would stop putting a sleight on my posts, the reason I mentioned the Schengen agreement was for the very reason some people get confused regarding the said agreement and so emphasized it had nothing to do with it.

I have no idea what you are wittering on about when you say I am putting a sleight on your posts. Sad as it may seem, I've just gone through five pages of your posting history and not found another of your posts that I have even responded to!

I will say, though, that your phrase "even though the UK is not part of the Schengen agreement" could indicate to the less well informed that this matter may be in some way related to that agreement; hence my qualification.

If you wish to discuss this further, to avoid others suffering terminal boredom please do so by PM.

The OP has his answer, so topic closed.

It's difficult to comment on processing times at present due to the large backlog that built up while the embassy and VAC were closed during the troubles. See Guide to Processing Times for the normal advice and this topic for some recent experiences.

Note that when one applies is a factor. March, April, May seem to be a busy time for applications, and so the processing time then is longer than at other times.

Indeed, passport or national identity card.

Confirmation here

When you enter the UK, you will need to show your passport or national identity card. You should use the separate channel marked 'EEA/EU' where it is available. Immigration officers will check your passport or national identity card to make sure that it is valid and belongs to you.

(My emphasis)

BTW, this is a treaty right which guarantees free movement within the EEA for all EEA citizens; nothing to do with the Schengen agreement.

i will also take over my family business in september, so in the application i would like to offer her a job in the business so she can be seen as paying tax and being a part of the system in the uk; is it legal for her to work on this kind of visa?

Yes, it is legal for her to work having entered the UK with a spouse visa. However, it is not necessary if you have the funds/income to support you both yourself. See Maintenance and accommodation.

i read that she has to get some kind of medical with paperwork to prove her health; can this medical be done in a provincal hospital or is there a designated hospital in bangkok to use?

She has to obtain the certificate via the IoM in Bangkok; see Tuberculosis testing for applicants visiting the UK for longer than 6 months.

It's difficult to comment on processing times at present due to the large backlog that built up while the embassy and VAC were closed during the troubles. See Guide to Processing Times for the normal advice.

People I have spoken to recently say their wife/partner had to have an xray taken for TB clearance. Has to be taken prior to the appointment (at a specified hospital) and submitted at the appointment. My wife wasn't asked for this, but her application was submitted about 12 months ago, so things have probably changed a little.

TB testing is not required for visit applications, but it is mandatory for settlement applicants (and others applying to enter the UK for more than six months).

See Tuberculosis testing for applicants visiting the UK for longer than 6 months

Your son presumably has Thai and British citizenship and a British passport, so he wont need a visa.

As you intend to stay in the UK for at least two years the best option for your wife would be a settlement visa as your spouse. This will last for 27 months, and after she has been in the UK for 24 months she can apply for indefinite leave to remain. ILR will allow her to live in the UK indefinitely, but if she were to spend a continuous period of 2 years or more out of the UK then it would lapse and she would need another visa were she wish to return to the UK. It may also be canceled if she was living outside the UK and it became apparent that she was using it just for visits.

However, if your plans are flexible enough to allow you to remain in the UK for 3 years she could then apply for British citizenship. Obviously, this cannot lapse and she enter and leave the UK as often and for as long as she wished; just like any other British citizen. Both the UK and Thailand allow dual citizenship, so doing this would not affect her Thai citizenship in any way.

You may find the following helpful:-

Settlement; Spouse

Maintenance and accommodation

Completing application form SET(M) (Applying for ILR)

Knowledge of language and life in the UK

Requirements for naturalisation if you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen

All the above are the current situation. Whether the new government will make any changes, I can't say.

It is not possible to apply for settlement in the UK if there as a visitor.

She will have to return to Thailand to apply.

Apart from clearing bavklogs, things appear to be back to what passes for normal; so this topic is unpinned and closed.

If contemplating using the services of an agent, read this topic first.

I don't see anything (except the speed of a passport application) that bears much relationship to reality in the above post.

From Waiting times

we anticipate that applications made since January 2009 may take up to six months to complete. However, this is only an average waiting time - some applications may be dealt with more quickly and some may take longer, depending on the nature of the enquiries to be carried out.Our service standards set out how quickly we aim to decide applications for British citizenship. The standard is that we will decide 95% of applications within six months.

The above post's last sentence in particular is, to be blunt, rubbish.

Once someone has ILR they can only be removed from the UK if it can be proven that the ILR was obtained by deception or they are convicted of a serious criminal offence. (Unless they spend a continuous period of 2 years or more outside the UK, in which case it will lapse.)

Once someone has been naturalised as British this can only be removed if it can be proven that it was obtained by deception or that person is convicted of an extremely serious criminal offence; terrorism for example.

The quote from the VAC website in my last post is fairly new; as I said it used to say that documents in Thai do not need to be translated. Maybe they haven't updated the checklists (wouldn't surprise me!).

As there is doubt, I'd recommend getting translations; better to have them and not need them than need them but not have them.

Applicants Bank Records:

Is it a requirement to send the Applicants original bank books or can we send copies, presumably certified ones? The funds contained in those accounts are not key to the application but they do show support payments over time.

You can submit a copy of her bank records.

From the VAC site

You must provide original documents with a photocopy of each original document you are submitting. You should particularly include original documents relating to birth, marriage, divorce and death. If you are not able to include originals of these then you should send attested copies. Your original documents might not be returned to you if you do not provide photocopies of the originals. Failure to submit original documents may mean your application is delayed or refused.

15 questions, or approximately 15 questions? I suspect the latter.

As to what he will be asked, no way of knowing for sure; some will probably relate to whatever information is in the application, others may be about his life in Thailand, relationship with his mother etc.

Our transatlantic friend may be confused by the UK visa system and it's terminology; but he is right to say that your step-son must not try and memorise the answers to all the potential questions he may be asked. Instead he should just answer truthfully and honestly.

Even if the honest answer is "I don't know." When my wife applied for her spouse visa 10 years ago, interviews were a lot more common. She wasn't asked many questions, but one we still remember was "What are the names of your husband's parents?" She answered "I don't know; he calls them Mum and Dad!" She got the visa.

They used to say that documents in Thai need not be translated, but the VAC website now says

Translations

If you want the UK Border Agency visa officer to consider your visa application you should provide translations of any supporting documents that are not in English. Any translated documents need to be submitted with the original document for verification. All translated documents must include the following information: -

•confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document•the date of the translation •the translator's full name and signature •the translator's contact details

When we submitted our settlement application in early May, the people who check it over at Regent house before it goes to the UK embassy did say to my fiancee i had not put a photo copy of my passport stamps for when i vistied her in Feb and in May.

I did'nt think it would be a big deal , But after reading your refusal i'm guessing i'll get the same fate as you..

I hope it was just the pages with your Thai entry/exit stamps that was missing and you did include a certified copy of the data page or some other evidence that you are British. (Item 5 on the Supporting document checklist.)

You may be ok without the stamps, if your other evidence of contact is deemed sufficient.

fingers crossed for you mate, as far as I can work out they look for any little missing detail for a fail....

No, they are looking to see if the applicant meets the relevant criteria. However, the onus is upon the applicant to provide the necessary evidence and if that is incomplete or contradictory then the ECO is obviously going to have doubts.

Although, as said, in the OP's case the main problem is probably the information held by the embassy (or UKBA) referred to in the refusal notice.

it is a business after all

Not sure what you mean by this; but if the implication is that they are refusing applications in order to generate more money for the UKBA; then this is, to be blunt, ludicrous. Dealing with an appeal creates more work for the ECOs in post, and the UKBA should it go all the way to a hearing. The FTTIAC is paid for from the public purse. There is no fee to the appellant, so no extra money to be made, yet a lot of extra cost.

If the ECOs were under instructions to maximise profits then they would simply rubber stamp every application as successful!

Not sure why you could not get a British birth certificate and passport for your eldest, nor why you should have any difficulty doing so for the youngest. Are you named as the father on their birth certificates? There is no British embassy in Chiang Mai, just an Honorary Consulate. If he is unable to help, try contacting the actual embassy in Bangkok, see How to register a birth.

Normally a Thai national would have to provide a copy of their ID card with a UK visa application, but I'm sure if you explain the circumstances she would be OK. I am sure that the embassy have come across this situation before.

For the actual process of obtaining a settlement visa, see Settlement, Spouses and Maintenance and accommodation.

For where and how to apply, including details of how to obtain the required TB certificate, see Official UK visa application website in Thailand.

Obviously, to obtain a visa she will first need a passport, does she have one?

Assuming you can obtain British passports for your daughters then they will not, of course, need visas to live in the UK.

UK: 26 May 2010: The Visa Application Centre at Regent's House is now operating a full service

The Visa Application Centre has re-opened and is now operating a full service. Please refer to the ‘contact us’ page on this website for details of our operating hours. Customers should be aware that due to our recent closure we are extremely busy and ‘walk-in’ customers are likely to experience longer waiting times before seeing counter staff. Customers can however book an appointment by visiting the ‘schedule an appointment’ page on this website.

U.S. Embassy Visa Services: Rescheduling of Appointments

Due to security concerns in the area and access issues on Wireless Road, the U.S. Embassy was operating under emergency personnel staffing from Friday, May 14 to Monday, May 24. The Non-immigrant and Immigrant Visa sections of the Embassy were closed during that period. If you had a non-immigrant visa interview appointment scheduled for May 14 through May 24, 2010, your appointment will be rescheduled.

The U.S. Embassy is working diligently to accommodate the non-immigrant visa appointments that had to be cancelled due to our unexpected closure and will advise those impacted through e-mail or phone with details on new appointment dates as soon as they have been determined.

Please Note: As a large number of people have been affected by these events, and the volume of appointments that have been scheduled for the upcoming weeks, it will not be possible to consider expedited appointments at this time. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this has caused.

She will not be able to apply in the UK whilst there as a visitor, so should obtain the visa before leaving Thailand. She should apply to the embassy of the country you intend to visit, but it will be valid for all the Schengen states. The rules are the same wherever she applies and whichever country she applies to; as the wife of an EEA citizen the visa will be free and most of the questions on the application form and supporting evidence will not be required.