Xiengmieng

Thank you very much for putting my mind at rest gentlemen

Hi there

My wife is due to apply for indefinite leave to remain. She arrived here on April 5th 2009, her visa expiry date is June 27th 2011. I feel I may have made an enormous mistake by assuming that we have to apply 1 month before her actual visa expires.

I have read in the set M guidance notes the following:

5 WHEN TO APPLY

You and any children under 18 who are applying with you should apply before the end of your/their permitted stay in the UK when you are nearing completion of the 2-year qualifying period required

by the Immigration Rules.

I'm really worried that we may have left it too late.

Any advice/ideas?

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in one article: "I think we're all human, and we all make mistakes, and I'm one of them"

I think you have to state you want this service and then pay a small fee. If you do that, I think you get notification by SMS.

You do have to request the SMS service - I think it costs around 150 Baht.

From what a few friends have said you'll know sooner using the online tracking service.

Link:https://www.vfs.org.in/UKG-PassportTracking...0FI8SOju2rNnQ==

You have to enter a number that's given to you (different from the actual application number) and the applicant's date of birth.

The number looks like this: APET/xxxxxx/xxxxxx/x

Applied for UK settlement visa on Feb 17th, visa was finally issued yesterday (March 24th) whoopee!!

Was a nightmare waiting for/worrying about the application but all's good now. Hope the rest of you have some joy soon.

Here's a link to visa processing times

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/processingtimes/

Here's the Bangkok section

Good luck everyone and thanks for feedback/help etc.

We applied for my wife's settlement visa on Feb 17th.

No word as yet, have emailed them - no answer. My wife called the embassy today, they told us "you just have to wait for settlement visas".

Was a little shocked to hear that rob01792 has been waiting since 2nd Feb.

We took it for granted that it would take around a week and my wife hung around BKK for 2 weeks before giving up and going back to Lao (sent passport back by courier to embassy).

I appreciate they may be busy but the downside is that I haven't seen my wife or son for months now.

Fingers crossed they'll be sorted soon - hang in there everyone

Are you certain that when she collected her passport to return to Laos that the embassy were aware that she would be returning it and was not withdrawing her application?

I would be wary of the fact that they do not have her passport, how can the visa be issued without it. The visa is physically attached to the passport.

My wife had already discussed with Embassy staff that she was able to collect her passport in order to return to Laos AND confirmed it with them on collection. She returned to Laos and sent it by courier immediately back to said embassy (as arranged with Embassy). Would have arrived early next day.

I've also been using the online tracking system that still says "Your visa application has been forwarded to the British Embassy 17 Feb 2009", hopefully wouldn't say this if the application had been withdrawn.

Thanks all for the feedback and pointing out the other posts, has helped me relax a little.

My wife applied for her spouse visa 25 days ago, we were a little over-optimistic that she'd get it within a week. (she has to travel from Laos to apply) She waited in and around Bangkok for 12 days but then had to return to Laos, she collected her passport from the UK embassy and returned home and express mailed the passport straight back to the embassy the next day.

Getting a little worried now, we've applied for visa's before with quick results. Our application does the hoops and THEN some.

Any ideas why it's taking so long?

I've tried emailing the embassy but they've never ever replied.

Ideas/thoughts/input would be welcomed.

Cheers

Xieng-Mieng

Told her to go back in and tell them it couldn't be done

That really wouldn't help your application at all. The process is delicate enough without you telling them something "can't be done".

I appreciate that there's a lot of red tape/hoops to consider but when they ask you to jump. you jump!

As the good/helpful people that give advice here have said - it's a requirement, spouse/visitor whatever. They want to see YOUR movements in relation to time spent with your partner in Thailand/where ever.

US$35 - 2 passport photos - Friendship bridge - Nong Khai

Link

Marvellous

Thanks

Just a quickie

When/what date was the life in the UK test introduced/put into practice?

Thanks

Xiengmieng

Thank you very much 7by7, very helpful indeed!

Just wondering:

Once you get ILR (UK), how long before you can become a citizen? Cost? Requirements?

If you're not interested in being a citizen, what are the requirements of someone with ILR? Do you have to spend a certain amount of time in the UK annually?

Any help would be great

Thanks

I've been in lao for some years now and have often read on this forum of people "paying" others to either sort out or even do the visa run for them. In the latter case people have been really caught out, causing unnessessary grief.

Visas obtained at lao embassies used to have the bonus of getting one whole month, (instead of the 2 weeks you used to get on arrival) but that's changed and you'll get a month on arrival.

Just go to the friendship bridge and do it yourself, they are a lot quicker these days too. Don't forget passport photos x2 and have the cash in US dollars.

All sorts of grim practises spring from either people being unaware of how to do things themselves or just laziness. RUN YOUR OWN PAPERS.

No disrespect meant to the OP, just something I feel strongly about.

You need three months of financial statements to apply for a visa, then you have to live in the Uk together for two years before applying for a settlement visa which costs £750, after a further year you can apply for British citizenship

Erm.......

I thought it went like this:

1. Apply for settlement visa, go to UK
   
2. After 2 years apply for ILR (indefinite leave to remain) which costs £750 or possibly more by then.
   

I've actually done it twice on 2 month's wage slips/bank statements, but this was with a very good supporting letter from my boss. Once for a tourist visa and the second for a spouse/settlement visa.

I was lucky that I was returning to an old job and my employers were very happy about it and said so in the supporting letter, also stated that I'd be there long term.

Would be very interested to know if there's a way to actually view the whole online form without actually completing it online.

My wife will be applying soon and I'd just like to know the layout/questions in preparation.

Any ideas?

I don not know how to answer for the best. She will work if she is granted the visa and applies for an N.I Number, I can also provide a company letter from the place she will be working saying that they will offer her a position, but on the other hand is it easiest just to say no and prove that I will be able to support us both as they might think she is an economic migrant if I say yes!

This is an issue I'd also like to see cleared up

Would having a document from an employer promising work help or hinder a settlement visa application?