theoldgit

4 hours ago, superal said:

I am wondering if there is an agency that could review applications prior to submissions .  Food for thought theoldgit ?

There are numerous agencies who would, for a price, assist with and maybe even review applications prior to submission, one or two I'd have no hesitation in recommending, others I'd strongly advise to stay well away from, if Thai defamation laws allowed me to do so.

On this forum there are some very experienced members, including retired UKBA staff who have held  various posts within the organisation, along many who will offer anedotal advice based on their own experience.

At the end of the day people have their own reasons and expectations when applying for a visa, and whilst other members of the forum can offer advice, members can't say an application will succeed, only the person sat behind a desk in Croydon, or wherever can decide that.

Nevertheless a good point superal. 

When your girlfriend applies for her visa, remember it's her application, you don't just "bring her over", and it's her that needs to satisfy the decision maker that her proposed visit is genuine, affordable and that on the balance of probabilities she will return home at the conclusion of the trip.

If you are paying for her proposed trip then the actual cost to her is zero, she can safely put that and explain in her covering letter that you are sponsoring her travels, hence the nil cost, you will need to prove that it's affordable to you, and in your covering letter explain why it's reasonable for you to do so.

As Charlie H rightly says, one of the most important factors in her application is her "reasons to return", so of course she'll need to prove her strong ties to Thailand, including her finances and accomodation. You mention that she has a restaurant, so she should provide details of that and who will be running the business when she's visiting for a short holiday.

Charlie has picked up on the fact that you propose purchasing a one way ticket, the UKVI strongly advise that non-refundable flight tickets aren't purchased before a visa is issued, though she will need to supply details on how long she intends to stay in the UK for and, should her application succeed, on her arrival at the UK Border the Border Force Officer may well ask for sight of her return ticket, if she doesn't have one she'll need to demonstrate that she has the means to leave the UK as detailed in her application, the Border Force Officer can access her original application.

She should be totally honest in her application, if she has limited funds in Thailand then she should say so.

Good luck

9 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

  and M&S are linked to a UK address (courtesy of an amicable ex-wife).

Did you see that M&S have announced that they're closing their retail banking arm later this year?

5 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

He would like to appeal on the basis that the decision was harsh for a "technical" shortcoming. I think that would be pointless and I agree with previous posters who have said that the ECO was within his rights to decline the application. I maintain that there should be some degree of flexibility to allow minor transgressions like this to be corrected. 

I'm not sure that the UKVI would accept your friends argument that the decision was based on a "technical short coming", you have mentioned that your friends salary increased prior to the application and that he submitted a P60 for the tax year 2019/2020, considerably well before the application date.

You added that your friend submitted 4 x weekly payslips and 2 months bank statements, rather than the six months required for both, and thus he meets the financial requirement, I'm sorry that simply doesn't add up, it certainly doesn't prove that the requirement has been met.

You can argue your friends case and I can listen, but he needs to satisfy whoever hears his appeal that the decision to refuse the appeal was flawed, not you and I, I personally think he'll face an uphill battle to get the decision overturned, I nevertheless wish him every success.  

16 hours ago, connda said:

Do they even have domestic flights?  I checked into trying to book flights from CM to HH are few years back.  Finally just gave up and drove, well, to Cha Am.  Wife and I tend to travel native Thai.

Yes they do, as it says in the opening post "The news comes as Air Asia is expected to resume flights between Hua Hin and Chiang Mai and Udon Thani from April. The services had been stopped due to the new wave of coronavirus infections in Thailand". Flights are on sale now for flights to Udon Thani and Chiang Mai from 2 April.

I flew to Udon Thani from Hua Hin last November, and also flew to KL from Hua Hin in December 2019.

16 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Not worried about immigration. The retirement visa doesn't see that hard to live by.

It's not hard at all, if it's applied correctly and consistently.

@nomad2019Thanks very much for your response to my request for clarification, first of all I'm very sorry to learn about your illness, and I wish you well.

The fact that you hold duel nationality is of no benefit to your girlfriend, she's planning on visiting you in the UK, so that's where she should apply for a visa for.

You say she's visited a former partner in Sweden for six months using a visitor visa, Sweden is in the Schengen Area and the maximum stay for a Thai National is 90 days, that could cause her a problem.

You add that she has 700,000 Baht in the bank, is she in employment or is that just savings from over the years, does she use that to live on or does she have an income?

You mention that she has a disabled child who is cared for by an institution in Korat, you go onto say that he has no other carer, your answer may well put doubt in the decision makers mind, either she cares for her child or the institution does. The Entry Clearance officer will be fully aware that some Thai parents have no problem with leaving their children with grandparents whilst they go to find a better life, I'm not suggesting that's her plan, but the ECO will consider it.

As I mentioned before, she needs to detail the duration and the purpose of her visit.

Are you proposing to fund her visit, you mention that you have an income of about £1,000 per month adding that you're in rented accomodation, does that £1,000 cover all your living expenses, including rent, the ECO will need to be satisfied that if you are funding the trip that it's affordable for you to do so. Of course if your girlfriend is funding the trip herself, then the ECO may consider that she has sufficient funds to do so.

The figure you've quoted for an agent is about the right level, as I've mentioned before anybody can call themselves an agent here, it's important that you choose an agent is properly qualified and competent.

Good luck.

Post in breach of forum rules removed.

Cheapest isn’t always best, try and find an agent who is properly qualified, and even better still registered with  IOSC in the UK, whilst that isn’t a legal requirement here in Thailand, where anybody can set themselves up as an agent, be they a lawyer, travel agent or barstool expert, it’s a legal requirement in the UK, and to be registered in the UK, Immigration advisors need to pass an examination to qualify.

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

 

@ThailandRyan must get you to explain Kasikorn "cellular application" at some stage. I only have ATM card. 

https://www.kasikornbank.com/en/personal/digital-banking/kplus/pages/index.aspx

Off topic troll post removed.

13 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

I haven 't asked. He spoke of the need to provide evidence to support the required income criteria and I know his earnings are over £25,000. I think a significant pay rise only happened recently but I am pretty sure he was earning in excess of £18,600 prior to that.

I think it was ignorance of the 'specific' requirement that Tony M referred to regarding 6 months' documentation. I can't help thinking that it would have been rather nice for UKVI to come back and say something like "You have provided x number of payslips and bank statements evidencing compliance with the financial requirements but we require 6 months etc...... You have 14 days to provide this full information or we will have to refuse your application"....... but, then again, I am firmly on the side of the applicant.

So your friend was fully aware of the requirement to prove that he met the the income criteria, but chose not to do so?
The criteria has been shared numerous times on this forum, and it would seem that your friend was fully aware of it.
The ECO can use "evidential flexibility" in certain circumstances, but I'm not sure that your friends error really falls into this category.
Yes of course it would have been nice for the ECO to get back to the applicant and advise her that she's failed to meet the published requirements, but where do they draw the line regarding an incomplete application.
Sadly a lesson learned, and an expensive one.
 

@hotandstickydid your friend say why he didn’t supply the required evidence?

It certainly seems a tad strange if he does meet the requirements that he didn’t supply the evidence required, without that evidence the Entry Clearance Officer had no option but to refuse the application.

As Tony M rightly says, an appeal would fail, and she would need to reapply, a very costly mistake. 

You need to provide a lot more information, the nationality of your son, the nationality of his son,, what does the child’s mother think about his plans?

On 3/8/2021 at 1:30 PM, Globaleyes said:

After browsing this forum, I'm still not 100% sure, but am guessing it is the Affirmation of Residency letter - is that right?

The affirmation is just that, it's not a letter from the Embassy, you fill out the template affirming that you live in Thailand, at a particular address, and the Consular team member will confirm that you've signed it, it costs £50.

This disclaimer is at the bottom of the affidavit "The service provided by the British Embassy, Bangkok on this document should not be taken as to certifying that this document is binding in law (whether under UK law or otherwise). Individuals are advised to seek independent legal advice as to the validity of this document under the relevant law".

It serves no useful purpose whatsoever than to satisfy the bank official that somebody has witnessed your signature on said affidavit.

As others have said, if you haven't done so already, just try another bank, when I opened an account with Bangkok Bank last year all I needed was my passport and 500 Baht, I was in and out in 30 mins or so with my account, Internet Banking access and an ATM card. 

On 3/8/2021 at 5:40 PM, userabcd said:

Doubt you can use the embassy for this. You need to write directly to special branch in Bangkok and apply for the PCC from them.

Some Thai Embassies provide this service, but not all.

@nomad2019It really would be helpful if you would give us a bit more information about your girlfriends intentions and background.
You don't appear to be posting from your claimed location, you mention Sterling & Dollars and that your girlfriend was in Sweden before, though you don't say why, a bit more information would be useful. 

On 3/8/2021 at 8:49 PM, GinBoy2 said:

Doesn't his location say London?

No, hence the question.

You haven’t said which country your girlfriend wants to visit, but as you mentioned £, I’m assuming it’s the UK, that said you also mention $’s.

Your girlfriend need to apply for the visa and satisfy the decision maker that her proposed visit is genuine, affordable and that, on the balance of probabilities, she would return home at the conclusion of her holiday.

if you’re intending to finance her trip then you should say why and that you can do so comfortably, the fact of your illness shouldn’t affect her application.

The biggest hurdle is for her to demonstrate her strong ties to Thailand, and to satisfy the entry clearance that she would leave the UK.

Her application would be considered bu UKVI staff in the UK, not the UK Embassy in Thailand.

They're selling tickets, and whilst that doesn't mean they'll actually operate they have announced in the media that they're increasing their flights

On 3/3/2021 at 3:21 PM, Mister T said:

My wife tried to register and was rejected and told because she had a foreigner last name. She called her sister down south, married to a Norwegian, got the same answer. The rest of her Thai family all got it.

My wife registered and, like Sandyf's wife, has a Western surname, and qualified for her "money from the army", which was loaded onto her phone.
She's been prudent with her spending, cleaning materials and beer from the Mama Papa shop, meat from the butcher and dinner from the night market, she thinks it's a wonderful initiative and well worth the hassle of registering.