TickTock

I always thought being in the country illegally was pretty serious stuff. Thanks for the clarification 7by7.

yer i no what you mean tango been back ourselfs approx 1.5 months and its definitly grim mate.

keep getting these feelings that i want to be back in thailand but the mrs wont have none of it.

maybe we will go back and live there in a couple of years ,cant wait lol

Based on current government thinking for the future then +ve points for Mrs Chanthas "Britishness" and -ve points for Chantas Be careful in future they might revoke your British Passport.

Hi all.

The wife went to the VAC yesterday. She said there was loads of people getting refused for visas. I think the government is making it harder to pass for a visa. I think its going to get worse as well. I was watching the news last night (News in UK) and they were saying the government is making it harder to get citizenship. If they are making that harder then i think visas are going to get harder too.

Congrates to everyone who has won this week. good luck to you all.

Two days to the wifes interview. I have everything crossed.

Good luck to the Mrs dean. Be good if you could post what questions they ask.

Information given to you by the Visa Application Centre (VFS) - Thailand, our outsource partner, on submission of your application as well as guidance on their website, (www.vfs-uk-th.com) adequately informs visa applicants about the recomended supporting documents to be provided with their application...... You were advised at the visa application centre that in order to put the Entry Clearance Officer in the the best position to make the correct decision on your application you should provide correlating evidence of maintenance and accommodation in the UK. You were warned that failure to provide such evidence might have a bearing on the outcome of this application.......there is no evidence of, either his occupation while in Thailand or his impending occupation in the UK (v). Furthermore, you have not provided reasonable evidence in respect of the accommodation you propose to occupy, and I am not satisfied that it is adequate or sufficiently spacious for this purpose. Neither have you produced evidence establishing its present occupancy. (iv)

If you decide to appeal against the refusal of your application , the decision will be reviewed in conjunction with your grounds of appeal. If you have any additional documentation which addresses the reasons for refusal, you are strongly advised to submit it with your notice of appeal, as it may be possible to resolve the points at issue without the necessityu for an appeal hearing.

So, despite being warned at the VAC, you failed to provide the required evidence. You could have withdrawn the application at that point (without charge), obtained the missing evidence and then submitted a proper application.

Of course the application was refused. ECOs are not mind readers; they need to see documents showing that you meet the requirements; and the rules and guidance clearly state that the onus is on the applicant to provide this evidence.

They have given you the opportunity for a second chance; so do as the refusal notice advises. Submit your appeal notice and include with it all the missing documents to show that you do meet the maintenance and accommodation requirements. There is then a good chance that the ECM will overturn the refusal.

From the Mrs' experience with submitting the application at the VAC it feels more like a cursory look through ( ie a completed application form etc) rather than a check on the quality of the information. The patter about being warned at the VAC in ridgydidge's refusal notice is, I believe, standard.

Congrats to all you guys, and just a quick note for all you long timers like myself, the wife had the baby tonight, little girl we are over the moon now our new life is complete

Congrats mr n mrs Roly on new baby girl. What name have you choosen? My Mrs is now 30 weeks with a girl too.

Heyal, looks pretty comprehensive to me, I did not include 1/2 the stuff you are including. Danger of raising the 'information bar' for future applications. On a serious note, along a similar line to gypsymoth, you don't want your file to be labelled as "HEAVY" and pass the parcel around the ECOs!.

As far as certifying the passport is concerned I went to the solicitors and they photocopied the cover, the stamps and obviously the bio page and stamped the front page only as "true and certified". No problems with Embassy.

Unfortuntaely I think Castor got a rejection, he is running a separate thread. Chrisspurs I seem to remember was asked to pick up his Passport ages ago, when he got there was told that thay did not have his passport back and was told to come back tomorrow. Have not heard since, but I assume he has received a Yeah or Nay.

Chew, your situation has got to be unique and I wish you a speedy Visa. I don't know you from Adam, but the Mrs and I are going to have a large one whne you get a result.

Fluid, how are you getting fella? I've seen you logged in but not post, where are you at?

With respect to Q1 Roland the ECO has Visit Visa guidelines. My understanding is that 'normally' a visitor should only be in the UK six months is a 12 month period. From your post your 12 month period started in May when she arrived in the UK and she will have 'used' her 6 months by October.

I had a similar situation last year when my GF came to the UK on a 6 mth visit visa granted in Jan but travelled in April and left the UK in July. I wanted to submit another VV with her travelling back to the UK within six weeks. I was told that this would probably be rejected and it was suggested that I wait approximately 3 months. We did this and GF came back to the UK in November.

With your situation, from the ECO point of view, it looks like you are trying to get here on a pseudo perm basis via Visit Visas - i.e. within a 12 month period your GF will have been in the UK approx 11 months. That is against the spirit of the VV. Providing documentation again is not the issue. Don't forget you can apply for 6mth, 1 year etc 10 year Visit Visas but the ECO guideline still holds that you should only be in the UK 6 months in a given 12 month period.

My personal view is that you are applying for the 2nd VV too early. I'm sure other members will add their comments.

Hi Dean

Not sure if you've heard all this before but as I understand the interview will be with just your wife although you can asked to be interviewed as well. Normally they are looking for inconsistencies in your stories'. When I was first looking into applying for a settlement visa i talked to a UK immigration lawyer about what to expect. He said they will ask you about how you met, what you have done together, has your wife met your family and vice versa, have you all spoken about moving to the UK, where will you live together etc etc. I actually found a pdf on this and I think the link to get it was on this site? Anyway my point is the interview is normally to prove that you really know each other and that its not a sham marriage. I hope this helps a bit mate. Lastly if you have any problems can your CO not wade in with a letter saying that your RN and therefore a porper chap and all that jazz?

Cheers

Mark

In addition to the above, don't forget it is the Mrs who is applying for the Visa, so get the balanace right. I am not suggesting you do this but using a bona fida Agency might be worth considering. No doubt others can add to this, but I've heard that they perform 'mock' interviews in preparation. Just a thought.

Dean999 I don't know how long you will have to wait but from now on put all your efforts into preparing your wife for the interview. Make sure she knows everything about you and your background and family. They can be very stressful and no doubt will make her feel like a criminal. I have listened to other peoples interview stories.

thank you for the advice chewy.

I should find out tomorrow how long till the interview. The misses is going to ring.

I have been racking my brains, trying to think what they don't believe. I have a secure job (royal navy). A house that i got from the navy. A garanted income, which the navy wrote a letter confirming how much i earn. Pic's from are wedding we had down her village. ect ect. I'm so angry and confussed. Why do i put my life on the line for a country that helps people that don't deserve it.

I should of flown my wife to Bahrain where i can talk to the embassy staff, even the ambassador. When i was working out there we could go right in to where he lived. not a chance in Bangkok.

Dean, bit of a stab in the dark here but it might be that you are a member of the forces and have access to sensitive information. Just guessing, but thay may want to do a drains up on your Mrs' history.

Really sorry to hear that.

What she will have got is a letter from the ECO explaining reasons for the refusal, though I doubt very much if it would have been ten pages, unless she has a right of appeal.

It's the reasons for the refusal that needs to be fully addressed in any future application.

Sad news Castor. When we get our refusal the note is about three pages long and then the appeals form is like a booklet. Get the Mrs to scan it and email it over to you. That's what we did. The decision was overturned within hours.

However, I might be getting you confused with someone else, apologies if that is the case, but did the Mrs have a colourful immigration history i.e overstay vv 4 yrs. I fear the worst...bans on applications for 10 yrs are banded around the UKBA website for Visa infringements. I hope you don't fall into that category. Good luck.

Thank you guys for your wishes, and very good luck to all of you, especially Chewy & chrisspuresbkk1 hope you get yours visa very soon

wishing all those that have just got there visa's a very happy future especially Kate 64( i bet you can not wait to hold your grand child)

picked the wife up last Saturday and spent time with family in London and the isle of wight, so sorry for the late congratulations

chewy and chrisspuresbkk1 it is a disgrace nothing is sorted with your applications and i hope you both get your answers soon

peace and light to one and all

Kate, waiting for the visa has put years on you .

I thought chrisspures got a message to pick up the passport from the embassy. Not sure if he has posted since.

Chew, the only thing I can think of is maybe security checks? Have you had an interesting history.........e.g. worked in sensitive industry, government etc??

Not at all. No crime records etc Good boy all my life

Many attempts at the embassy switchboard today and the just put you onto the answer machine.

God knows Chew. When the Embassy grant your Visa they should also give the UK a special Bank Holiday to celebrate.

The processing times/stats for JUNE are now on the VFS site.

Processing times

13% in 60 days. Crikey

The link you have put on is for May.

The link is for June 2009 maybe you have the file saved on your PC as May? you will need to change name of file to save it.

Well done to the many who have their answers today, busy day.

I can't understand why ours has been ignored and we are about to start week 19 tomorrow. My wife got the VFS to phone the embassy this morning to give us 100% assurance it hasn't been lost. They said they are awaiting something from the UK but wont tell us what it is. They said that on the 2^nd July

Any ideas what it could be?

Chew, the only thing I can think of is maybe security checks? Have you had an interesting history.........e.g. worked in sensitive industry, government etc??

Cinnamon, Kate - excellent news. Dom - goodluck, sure everything will be ok.

What on earth is going on at the Embassy, a right rush of blood

congratulations andyjoy.

Well done AndyJoy. Excellent news, all the best for the future.

Another satisfied customer c/o British Embassy Thailand.

if the backlog is so big why carnt they do more overtime or take on extra staff

they say the£600 for a settlement visa is for adim fees my arse just another tax by the british goverment

if it takes much longer if my wife gets her visa she will have to go for another tb test more money

we are at the mercy of the good old british goverment yet again and thers jack shit we can do about it

makes you proud to be british

Scotland - small comfort I know, but you should be OK on the TB certificate. I've read on here that as long as it is valid on application you are OK.

How far do you think you would get if you wrote to the papers.

Dean, unfortunately I feel not far. I believe joe public probably would not give a toss, indeed the wait times would probably be seen as positive, especially bearing in mind the news last month about Pakistani students attending so callled 'fake educational establishments', whether true or not.

As it is now impossible to talk to anybody by phone at the embassy visa section about applications, tomorrow morning 10 am I have another appointment with my MP. Tonight I have drafted a letter to fax with a covering letter from the MPs office. I presume that this fax number would get a response (The Visa section fax 00662 254 9579) After this I have run out of options after 17 weeks and 1 day.

Chewy, when the embassy asked me to fax something to them I was asked to use the fax number you have quoted above and include the reference number on the fax. I'd also get a copy of the letter, scan it and send it via email to the visaenquiries email address. Good luck.

Hey all just got a text from a friend of mine who used to work at the embassy visa section and now helps people to get visas as he didnt want to leave Bangkok when his tour was up. He tells me that visit visa's (i assume he means tourist) delivery rates, have sped up considerably and he believes that settlement visa waiting times may come down as a result. I do not want to be the bringer of false jhopes but this guy seems to know his stuff and this weekend I have had the Mrs constantly crying as all in all this process has caused us to be apart for six months which sucks. So lets hope that this is the truth.

P.S. I anyone wishes to help me overthrow the government after we have all got our visas pls let me know.

P.P.S In case you are a government worker reading this, it is a joke now pls go and work on getting us all of our visas rather than wasting our time!!

Marky1600. Any chance of tapping your mate up a bit more on the SV waiting times/embassy policies? I'd be interested in anything that helps Joe Public understand the process a bit more (without breaking any confidentiality etc.)

Pingit, an excellent result and well worth the additional effort. Saved the money with a re-submission and time/effort of formal Appeal. Have a few large uns.

Excellent news to FP .. Congratulations.

FP this is fantastic news. Good luck for the future to you and the Mrs and family. Can't believe the Embassy got the visa to you before Thursday, they must be hopping mad that they missed an opportunity to inconvenience you further.

This is the fax number on the embassy website .......Fax: +66 (0) 2 255 9278 the 0 in brackets do you leave this out??????????

I think that is the general embassy fax number. I would not use that. The Visa section fax is +662 254 9579.

Thanks for your advice theoldgit, I know it seemed a silly question but i have heard of some stories , the same as you have warned me about , i think i will just get her to book her own flight from Bangkok, its not about the price but maybe its safer that way,Thanks

I booked online from uk with a thai/farang travel agent (www.moxtravel.com). No problems, paid with my cc online, mrs travelled alone from bkk.

Just got back from Heathrow from picking the Mrs up. Her flight arrived at 19.10 and she emerged 2 hour 10 mins later...........UKBA having a last laugh.

Would be interested to learn a bit more about your wife's experience at Heathrow, was the Border Control particularly busy with long lines or did they give her a hard time?

The most important thing is she is home now and you can get on with your lives.

I wish you both every happiness.

Thanks oldgit, she is due on the 4th October, so this week will be running around to find a GP etc. Oh, and the sister in law is coming over a Visit Visa in September.......need to think about applying soon. Maybe I'll start a thread, "Visit Visa....How long have you been waiting".

Heathrow - the wait was down to the fact that everywhere was rammed. As soon as I got to the Arrivals at T3 I knew it was bad news. Last time I picked the Mrs up on a VV I had no problem getting a front row place on the rails. This time it was about seven deep. The Mrs said it was very busy at Immigration. When she eventually got to the desk no hassels at all. A couple of questions, checked the TB certificate and through.

A further delay was at customs. The Mrs always gets stopped for the bag search......the chillies and lemon grass survived.