Thai girlfriend relocating to UK

[MarkW123]

Hi all. Any comments on this from wiser and more experienced heads would be gratefully received.

Simply put, my Thai national girlfriend is now pregnant and the baby is due in October. What I require is some advice on whether and on what basis it would be possible for her to relocate to the UK post birth. She has visited before and currently has the benefit of a Visitors Visa which is due to expire next month.

I understand that the issue will be her and not the child since the child will automatically get British citizenship through me given that I, as the father, am a British passport holder who was born in the UK.

The questions are therefore:

1.      Is it possible for her to relocate to the UK and if so on what basis and how do I go about making that happen?

 

2.      Is it an absolute that we will need to be married beforehand? I would like to avoid doing so if at all possible due to having had a bad experience previously.

 

3.      Could somebody confirm my initial understanding as to the automatic issuing of a British passport to the child and again, if this is correct, what is the process for obtaining this.

Many many thanks to anyone who can bring some experience to bear on these issues.

Mark

[rasg]

I saw your post on a different forum and you have already had some good advice.

 

A partnership visa is nowhere near as easy to get as a marriage visa and the way I understand it, time spent together on a visit visa doesn’t count towards a partnership visa. If you marry in Thailand the Settlement (marriage) visa lasts for 33 months followed by Further Leave to Remain (FLR) (30 months) which your, then wife, will apply from within the UK. The same applies to Indefinite to Remain (ILR) after she has lived in the UK for five years.

 

The applicant needs to satisfy the ECO of the following.

1. That the relationship/marriage is genuine and subsisting.

2. You earn £18,600 or more.

3. Accommodation arrangements in UK.

 

To get the Settlement visa, she will also need an A1 English language certificate (£150) and a TB test (3300 baht) that she will have in Bangkok at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). For FLR she will need the A2 English language certificate. For ILR she will need the B1 language test and to pass the Life in the UK test. If her English is good, get her to take the B1 test for the first visa so that she, hopefully, won't need to take another language test. If the UK government don't change the rules as they did last year.

 

On top of the cost of the visas you will need to pay the NHS surcharge for the first two visas and expect the whole thing to cost north of £10K over the five years as the visas seem to go up by around 20% each year. It's over £7,000 at the moment. The NHS surcharge is £200 a year but will double to £400 a year, later this year. For the Settlement visa it is currently £600 and FLR will be £500. No NHS surcharge for ILR. Your wife will be allowed to work when she comes here.

 

 

[theoldgit]

@MarkW123, rasg has just about summed everything up, there’s just one question l would like to ask, do you live with her in Thailand or do you visit her from your home in the UK, your post doesn’t make it clear?
If you have been living with your girlfriend here in Thailand in a relationship akin to marriage for more than two years then she could apply for a Settlement Visa as an unmarried partner, if not then the rest of the advice you’ve been given applies.
As has also been pointed out her visit visa, and the time spent in the UK counts for nothing.


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[MarkW123]

 Hi and thank you both very much for your advice and contributions

 

To answer the question of the second poster: I didn't live with her in Thailand I only visit her from my base in the UK

 

Can anybody comment on what passport application process is for a child born to a British father in Thailand when applying for a British passport for the child

 

Thanks

[Fish Head Soup]

4 hours ago, MarkW123 said:

To answer the question of the second poster: I didn't live with her in Thailand I only visit her from my base in the UK

If that's the case then I would suggest a DNA test is the first thing you want to be looking at after the birth before you do anything else.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Fish Head Soup

[beano2274]

Passport application would have to be done in Thailand as that is where the child lives, it should be no problem, you just need a copy of your passport and ensure your name is on the birth certificate. Not sure the previous poster was serious about the DNA Test, take that comment with a pinch of salt.