bobrussell

Legally there is no requirement to possess a return ticket. Entry should not be refused on that alone.

There is a need to be able to demonstrate the ability to pay for such a ticket.

It is (was?) easy to add a foreign partner to a credit card account and we did this (carried card and a statement confirming the credit limit). Much, much harder to get added to a bank account!

We always went to the shortest queue which often was the non-EU one as it was better staffed and quite fast moving.

Generally the marriage certificate should suffice but a limited amount of evidence confirming the length of the relationship is unlikely to do any harm.

Bombarding the person processing the application with a ton of documents is as likely to cause more harm than good.

A small amount to clear evidence, presented clearly is better than a lorry load of useless or surplus information.

Quality not quantity!

I am not a fan of Teresa May but the Home Office she inherited was considered unfit for purpose. The one she left was largely unfit for purpose. Some improvement perhaps but still a desperate mess.

The arguments for and against the 'life in the UK' test have occupied several threads here but it should evolve over time.

My sister-in-law passed the test but did have to put in quite a lot of work. A bit like the driving test theory test. 

True but a three year degree course and possible work after graduating are an opportunity for the family to remain together.

Working after graduation is more difficult than it used to be but is not impossible.

A lot can change over a few years but settlement will always be problematic.

Another option might be to get the boy onto a UK based education course.

A local example to me:

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/uni-life/international/your-country/asia/thailand.page

Also:

https://www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/study-uk

There are various categories for applicants:

1) Partner of someone settled in the UK (Spouse/Civil Partner/Unmarried Partner).

2) Child dependent (under 18)

3) Adult dependent (over 18)

The third category is for those that, in effect, require long term care that is not available in the home country. The rules are very specific and do not include a healthy adult that happens to be living at home!

In effect:

As a result of age, illness or disability, you require long-term personal care (that is help performing everyday tasks, e.g. washing, dressing and cooking).

Therefore the likely answer is no unless there are medical or similar reasons.

My understanding is that if you are a citizen of the country your spouse is going to reside in then you have to fully comply with the rules of your country. EU freedom of movement rights do not apply as you have a right to live there as a citizen and it is not legal for any restrictions to be applied to reduce these rights. Similar to a British citizen not being able to hold a British visa.

Clearly someone else may know better!

The rules were specifically designed in a way that prevented any form of affordability argument. If you can show the income, you should not have a problem with the visa. You could be up to your neck in debt but that would still not affect whether the rules are met.

An overdraft that is used responsibly would not be a problem for any application but a poorly handled one might make an ECO doubt the affordability of a visit for example.

I don't see the need for an agent either!

Not sure if the time limit was related to the abuse of the system that was far from unheard of. Exams where the answers were read out to the candidates! Made BBC Panorama.

If the test did not have an expiry then ancient ones could be used. If you decide to put a time limit then what should it be? 2 years? 5 years?

A two year validity keeps the system fairly up to date and they could make the applicant take a further test for FLR. Thankfully they don't until ILR where the level only goes up a bit.

A court may require the visa holder to attend or attend mediation as part of the divorce process. It may be they do not consider the relationship to have broken down permanently until a divorce has been finalised. I don't know if divorce is specifically mentioned as a reason to allow someone to remain. That said the Thai's in my wife's circle of friends have been able to remain after divorce (perhaps because they have met the requirements for a different type of visa). 

Just as likely is UKVI may consider it a lot less messy to allow the visa holder to remain until the end of their current visa.

Curtailing a visa is discretionary as has been said but people are still married until the divorce comes through!

My point was that little happens automatically on notification of a breakdown of a relationship and none of it is controlled by the resident spouse. Use of the threat of 'deportation' to control a non-EEA spouse forms a degree of domestic abuse which thankfully UKVI take a pretty dim view of in my experience. It happened to my sister in law and has happened to some of her friends since.

Clearly without mitigating factors the visa holder may well have to leave the UK under the terms of their visa. 

The UK government do not recommend anyone to give immigration advice.

In the UK advisors are regulated by the OISC (or a qualified solicitor) but there is no such regulation in Thailand. The agent referred is regulated in the UK so would probably be a good place to start.

The sponsor cannot curtail anything. He or she can inform the immigration authorities but that is all.

This is to avoid anyone being 'forced' to remain in a relationship because of a threat from an abusive partner. My sister in law was in this position and it was dealt with promptly and efficiently by the authorities and she was granted ILR within a week!

You don't have a route to go down beyond reporting the breakdown to the authorities. They will act as they see fit but it is very unlikely that someone embroiled in a divorce would be told to leave until that has been resolved.

You are not the one with power to decide once a relationship has broken down. UKVI and the legal system do. It will not get messy for you as you will not be part of the review process.

In the past it was included in some advisory notes as an example rather than a rule. As stated the real test is whether the visa is being used as a means of circumventing the settlement rules.

The fundamental problem is there is no visa type for those that spend six months in the year in one place, six months in another. A six month stay is 'too long' for a visit but 'too short' for settlement. A bit of a catch 22 situation.

As I understand it the norm is to allow the visa holder to continue to remain until the visa is due for renewal when, obviously the holder would no longer meet the requirements for extension. There may be a few situations where this might be considered undesirable.

It would be very unjust for a spouse to be removed from the UK while there is legal work being done on the divorce etc.

With suitable legal advice I would expect the visa holder to remain in the UK for as long as it is reasonable to do so.

The resident spouse has little or no say in the decision process as it is not their visa!

If you were living as a couple in Thailand then include that. If you were not resident then my advice would be to stick with the time you were living together!

Anything in between can be documented in the covering letter.

Most of the 'old hands' on this site keep giving similar advice because that is what works most of the time.

Sometimes the ECO's make mistakes, sometimes they miss things but in reality for most people that meet the criteria all that is required is a well thought out application.

We cannot judge the quality of any application because we don't see them!

Padding bank accounts with unexplained money will ring warning bells. 200 page applications are likely to fail because the ECO's are unlikely to see the wood for the trees. 

Arrogance and an I am entitled to have my wife/husband/gf/bf come to visit me because I am British will hold no sway. It is their application, not yours.

The requirements of ECO's are quite simple. They have to be convinced that on the balance of probabilities the applicant will comply with the terms of the visa. 

Anything that affects credibility will make it easier for an ECO's decision process to end in rejection. 

Just include that writing papers and dissertation allow freedom to take a holiday at will. It is quite normal for PhD level students not to attend classes as such. 

Centre on the own house, family and previous good record of complying with visas.

Demonstrate that the centre of life is Thailand, financial resources for the visit are there and mention the purpose of the visit and hopefully things will be fine.

If any formal studying is planned it may complicate matters.

Each application is judged on its merits but the level of scrutiny and 'trust' will vary depending on the country of residence. This is generally based on behaviour of previous applicants.

A history of people overstaying will increase the risk judgement. Not really racist or prejudice, just learning from previous experience.

Sadly every time someone gives up the poor quality of some decisions go unquestioned. 

Any applicant living with someone British 'settled' in Thailand should not really have much of a problem with a visit visa. It is, in itself a pretty good reason to return.

I have no doubt that some decisions are distinctly dodgy. My wifes best friend was refused a visit visa partly on the grounds that she might have to work to pay for the visit. Not likely as her husband is a multi-millionaire living in Switzerland (as does she!). They are 'boycotting' the UK now and I suspect this has reduced Harrod's income!

It was a bad move removing ECO's from any real form of accountability. 

Really?

Unless things have changed you can ask for a review of the decision.

https://www.gov.uk/ask-for-a-visa-administrative-review

This is worth doing if you have provided information and you believe the ECO has made a mistake.

If you provided the information then this s worth a try.

I have not seen anyone that appears to be saying the system is OK.

In principle it probably is but it is almost completely unaccountable. The Chief Inspector of Borders does not seem to believe it is OK. It is probably fine much of the time but wrong too much of the time. I do wonder if they allow too many dodgy ones through. 

Spelling and grammatical errors do nothing to inspire confidence and I would suggest a formal complaint once you have sorted your visa.

Assuming what you have said is accurate (not accusing you of anything but frustration and anger can cloud minds) then I would reapply and make it clear where you believe the ECO missed things. Don't get aggressive as the next ECO will probably not be the same one and it was not them at fault. Don't get backs up until you have got what you want.

The system does not stink in my opinion but having experienced the complaints process a number of times, the unaccountably of the individual ECO is where the faults generally lie.

For a spouse it is a five year route as long as she meets the financial, language and Life in the UK test requirements. If at this stage she does not meet these requirements as I understand it, she will follow a ten year route.

This has been dealt with on other threads but the idea of the minimum income system was to stop the tax payer contributing to 'lifestyle choices' of British citizens wishing to settle their families in the UK.

Families earning below this figure are entitled to income related benefits. 

In theory I have no objection to that as a UK tax payer but and it is a big but, there is no flexibility to the system and that discriminates against those with lower income but few outgoings.

You cannot extend a visit visa in the UK. The applicant has to apply in the country of residence.

If you intend to marry in the UK and settle immediately then your partner should apply for a marriage visa which is in effect a settlement visa. It is a much more costly route.

There is a marriage visit visa which is pretty much the same as a visit visa but you will need to demonstrate reasons to return to Thailand. This will be tricky if you intend to settle immediately after marriage. 

Unless you are exercising your rights to free movement within the EEA then you cannot use this route for entry to the UK

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/entering-the-uk-as-the-holder-of-an-article-10-residence-card/entering-the-uk-as-the-holder-of-an-article-10-residence-card

Assuming you are British (as would seem likely if both children have British passports) then you can use this route if moving to another EEA country, not the UK.

The rules are daunting enough if you follow them closely but there are very few, if any ways to by-pass the settlement rules.

Worth making sure you include a working phone number. If there are concerns or questions then you can be contacted. 

These are important checks to try to reduce the risk of abduction and/or trafficking so the inconvenience is a small price to pay.

There may be questions on arrival in Denmark so try to be available at the arrival time as well.