I have been married to someone from Thailand for 15 years. We live in the UK. Early in our marriage, we tried to get a visit visa for my wife's sister to come stay in the UK with us for a few weeks. She doesn't have a job, doesn't have much money, isn't married, and has no dependents who live with her/ who she is responsible for supporting. The visa application was refused. We think we might try again this year, but we are very aware that we are still weak in terms of evidence that she has a reason to return to Thailand. Does anyone have any tips for how we can increase our chances of success?

Does she own land or property? She will need a sponsor as well. If no to all of them then your wasting your time. Who's paying for the flights? 

 

But if she does own land and you / your wife are going to be the sponsor...and she has her sister in the UK then it could be worth a shot.

 

You have to think like VFS....is she at risk not to return to Thailand? That's the harsh reality of refusing visa's.

 

If your planning on going ahead, my advice is to do it all yourself and not waste any money using an agent. It's relatively straightforward as most of the donkey work is from the sponsor anyway.

To be honest I think she's going to face an uphill struggle, not impossible but difficult, as she's going to find it difficult convincing the decision maker that she would return to to Thailand and not join her sister in the UK.

 

She doesn't work and has no money to speak of, how does she manage to survive in Thailand?

 

She doesn't have close family ties locally, so what are her living arrangments?

 

Whilst having a sponsor isn't a requirement, having one could be the tipping point if she could prove strong ties to Thailand, which doesn't seem to be her case, you could act as her sponsor and it wouldn't be unreasonable for you to do so, you would need to prove affordability.

 

The reasons for the trip would need to be set out, visiting her family in the UK would be reasonable, also the length of the stay would be taken into consideration, what do you mean by "a few weeks", the longer she wishes to stay in the UK the harder it can become, though with no strong ties to her home country, it's going to be difficult anyway.

 

A couple of points from the previous poster, I wouldn't worry about owning land, not many applicants do so, owning land wouldn't mean that she needed to return her home, also VFS have no say in the decision making process, they are a glorified drop box to facilitate the forwarding of supporting evidence to the UKVI, decsions are made by directly employed UKVI staff in India.

 

I do agree that the use of an agent isn't going to change the strength of her application, though a suitably qualified agent, which narrows the field down considerably, would advise on what sort of evidence would sway the decision in her favour, a good one would tell it like it is and may even advise her not to proceed with the application, and as the previous poster says she would have to do most of the donkey work anyway.

 

What were the reasons given for the previous refusal, have her circumstances changed since then?  

Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. Just for completeness: She doesn't own land. She lives with a boyfriend. Her boyfriend works, she does jobs like cleaning, but doesn't seem to keep the same job for long, and isn't ever an official employee of any company. I think we will probably have a go, but based on advice here, not use an agency to do the application. Thanks again.

How she is funding her trip? Are you paying her flights and living costs when in the UK? 

@Jakuten,

 

What you ask is not impossible. We have over the years obtained several visit visas for my sister-in-law who has been in a very similar situation to yours for as long as I have known her.

 

The following is an extract from my supporting letter for her first application in 2008, which was successful.

Quote

 

X has no full time employment, but obtains what casual work she is able to, from working in a market to decorating and laying floors in houses and shops. This gives her an income of between 7000 and 8000 baht per month. Her rent, food etc. comes to about 7000 baht per month and so we send her some extra money when she needs it. This is done via our joint bank account and our bank statements will show the amount and frequency of these payments.

 

 

Over the years X has managed to save about 35,000 baht in the bank, and will be using some of this money for her visit. However, I will be paying for her airfare and my wife and I will provide accommodation and food free of charge. Therefore I anticipate that her expenditure whilst in the UK will be minimal.

 

Hope this helps.

 

9 hours ago, 7by7 said:

@Jakuten,

 

What you ask is not impossible. We have over the years obtained several visit visas for my sister-in-law who has been in a very similar situation to yours for as long as I have known her.

 

The following is an extract from my supporting letter for her first application in 2008, which was successful.

Hope this helps.

 

Really helpful - thank you.

You would have to sponsor her, pay flights, show you have the finances to support her during her visit and provide proof of accommodation after that she has to provide proof that she would return too Thailand.

Good idea to search the forums as there can be many reasons to return. 

I wouldn't normally recommend this, but in your case, I would employ a very good Bangkok Agent to do the paperwork for you. The UK is a bitch of a place to get into as a  family visitor, doubly so if the sister has no assets or income.  An agent can 'address' these issues (don't ask and they won't tell). it's your best bet, but not cheap. Last time I heard of an agent being used, successfully, it cost a friend 30,000 Baht. 

Visiting her sister and yourself is a very plausible and good reason for her trip.

Do you know the reason the earlier application you made was turned down?

Bear in mind, that most of the requirements are there to satisfy the concerns of both UK and Thailand re her visit.

UK will be concerned that she would not be able to support herself during the visit or that she will not go back to Thailand.

Hence the need for yourself to demonstrate and declare that you will take care of all the costs involved, and for her to demonstrate that she has an incentive to go back to Thailand (e.g. if she has children or a husband in Thailand).

Thailand will be concerned that she will not be exploited, hence you need to provide a plausible reason for her vist and demonstrate that you have a clean record.

In a private message I did sent you the invitation letter I used to (succesfully) invite my then Thai girlfriend to Europe, as well as some tips that can be handy.

Success!

5 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Visiting her sister and yourself is a very plausible and good reason for her trip. That's already been pointed out.

Do you know the reason the earlier application you made was turned down? That's already been asked.

Bear in mind, that most of the requirements are there to satisfy the concerns of both UK and Thailand re her visit. The Thai authorities play no part in the decision making process.

UK will be concerned that she would not be able to support herself during the visit or that she will not go back to Thailand. The UKVI will indeed need to be satisfied that the proposed trip is affordable.

Hence the need for yourself to demonstrate and declare that you will take care of all the costs involved,  and for her to demonstrate that she has an incentive to go back to Thailand (e.g. if she has children or a husband in Thailand). A sponsor needs to provide evidence that any financial support they give is a affordable, a sponsor is not required to take care of all the costs involved. A sponsor is not required to demonstrate reasons to return, that's for the applicant to do.

Thailand will be concerned that she will not be exploited, hence you need to provide a plausible reason for her vist and demonstrate that you have a clean record. As I've already said the Thai authorities play no part in the decision making process, the sponsor is not required to prove they have a "clean record".

 

20 hours ago, theoldgit said:

 

We have clashed on this subject before and I have to say that UK tourist visa applications from Thais are often a lucky dip and one thing for sure is that decisions are consistently inconsistent and based on a UKVI officers interpretation / opinion .  I have no doubts that a well prepared app will succeed but at the same time it can also fail as I know happened to me and others with unreasonable & unqualified reasons of a visa refusal .

However my ladies cousin , a single lady , works in banking and has no problems with acquiring a UK visa as she has a long term well paying job and up market house .

There is another avenue that I have been told is often easier and that is to visit the UK with a well established Thai based tour company who will take care of the visa app . Now whether she could abandon the tour after arriving in the UK and stay with her sister for the duration and then reconnect for the return to Thailand is another thing . 

The ultimate statement on the application is to show that the applicant has positive proof or reason of a return to Thailand , however it did not work in my case .

( Waiting for theoldgit to hit me with his critique ???? )

1 hour ago, superal said:

( Waiting for theoldgit to hit me with his critique ???? )

I'm not sure what you were responding to, you've posted a blank quote from me.

 

I've never clashed with you, or indeed anyone else on this forum, my experience may of course differ from yours.