theoldgit

The OP’s problem has been resolved, I think it’s time to close the thread now.

3 hours ago, Johnny Mac said:

 

Jeez. I know that!! I am saying that one cannot renew a British PP unless it is either out of date, or close to it, or there are no more pages left.

I wasn’t aware of that, thank you very much for clarifying.

I always thought you could renew a passport at any time, I’ve certainly renewed a passport early and not been subject to the restrictions you quote.

Maybe you could provide the source of that condition, I’m sure many of us would find it helpful.

14 hours ago, ukrules said:

It's the next level of infections which are going to sting here - when they go home to their families and back to work (already happening now) based on something I read about a police head honcho who went back to his office in Petchaburi after visiting this Maya place - many staff sent for some form of isolation.

I was sitting in Svensens in BluPort on Thursday when I received a phone call from a member of staff from a local golf club where my wife and I had gone for a Sunday Brunch, the lady told me that a member of their staff a member of their staff had tested positive for Covid-19 and they were informing all attendees of the brunch of the fact that they may have had contact with the infected member of staff.
She also said that I was with a lady and could she have her contact details, I responded that lady was my wife and was sitting with me now, that seemed sufficient.
I was impressed that the Banyan traced and informed those in attendance at their brunch, maybe their member of staff was at the pub, who knows, they closed the golf club to do a deep clean so clearly are taking the threat of infection seriously.

It seems like you're wishing to return to Thailand, so I'll move your question to a more appropriate forum.

Posts in breach of Forum Rules edited:

You will not post phone numbers, email addresses, business names, or Social Media addresses in posts or signatures.

36 minutes ago, Tony M said:

That's good news for you both. But it doesn't answer your question about extending the validity of a visa beyond the expiry date by an FLR application. Now we won't find out about that !  

Ha Ha, given the application fee, I imagine there aren’t too many wanting to go down that route.

1 hour ago, Chill27 said:

The Visa states "Duration 180 days"

 

Anyway, this morning I have an update.

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

Good news and a huge weight off my mind !

Now we will try to both get vaccinated and hopefully enter Phuket or Koh Samui on 1st July without needing to quarantine.

Thanks for all your replies.

I’m really pleased for you both, well done and I hope your girlfriend enjoys her stay.

My wife and I have just returned from a mini break in Phuket, I’d honestly forgotten how lovely it is, especially without the crowds.

@7by7Yes, of course the visa vingette still has a valid from and an until to date, and most of us know that means that the holder must leave the UK on or before the valid until date, but nevethertheless the OP could be forgiven for assuming that means the holder could enter by that date and stay for the period applied for as Thailand, and no doubt other countries, allow.

I'm pleased to learn that the guidance is now part of the application process, at least it's still somewhere, but I think that there's a strong argument for the criterea being published on the UKVI website so that potential applicants could fully research the criteria and process in advance of the actual application process.

Whilst there are guidance notes available from the link, they are guidance for caseworkers who need a fairly long training process before they need to refer to these notes. 

We made a return trip from Bangkok to Phuket last week, stayed in two resorts, I'd forgotten how lovely Phuket could be, especially without the crowds.

We flew Thai Smile, out at 14.00, returning at 16.25, whilst the flights were full in both direction I was very impressed with the way the flight crew managed to boarding and disembarking. Flights were boarded and disembarked a few rows at a time, there was no pushing and shoving with passengers actually remaining seated when the seatbelt signs were swithched off, I thought the process was actually quicker than the old way.

Before we left Bangkok we were aware that there was heavy rain forecast for every day of our trip,I suspect we had rain for no more than a couple of hours throughout our stay, that will no doubt increase as the rainy season gets fully underway.

I do have some sympathy with the OP, whilst the vignette does state that there is an expiry date, and many of us are aware that expiry date means that the visa holder must leave the UK on or before that date, the UKBA website no longer makes it clear.
It certainly used to do so, but if it’s there, I can’t find it, at least without trawling through tens of pages of guidance, and I’m pretty much up to speed with the rules, so know what to look for.

As he points out the Thai Visa has an enter before date, which is completely different to its UK counterpart, so could be forgiven for being confused.

I’m afraid this is yet another example of the UKVI websites being less than clear whilst expecting ‘customers’ to comply with the regulations.

On 3/28/2021 at 4:35 PM, Chill27 said:

I'm angry that Border Force at Heathrow told me the only thing we could do was leave the country and apply for a new visa for her whilst outside the UK!

They knew nothing about this ability to extend.

From what I am reading, she can legally stay until she receives a decision, which at least gives us more time. Not cheap at a thousand quid, but cheaper than flying everywhere, quarantines, Covid Tests etc!

To be fair on the Border Force Officer probably wouldn't be aware of the remote possibility of FLR for your girlfriend in the circumstances you describe, such applications would be routed through the UKVI rather than the UKBF, and would normally only be granted in exceptional cases, like medical treatment.
Whilst your girlfriend could apply from Turkey she would still need to provide documentary evidence similar to that in her initial application, finances, ties to Thailand etc, including letters from her employer, and of course there's always the possibility of travel restrictions being tightened, in any case you wouldn't be able to travel to Turkey with her.
To be frank, I've never heard of an extenFurther Leave being granted for applicants in your girfriends position, that doesn't mean that it never happens.
I think I'd be inclined to seek out an Immigration Advisor in the UK who is registered with the OISC, a Level 1 advisor should surfice.
Good Luck

https://www.gov.uk/find-an-immigration-adviser

Have you tried this route, you don’t actually get to talk to anybody, but your concerns will be looked into.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about/complaints-procedure

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.