What Evidence For Uk Fiancee Visa ?

[Mocksy]

hi,

I was looking at the UK embassy in BKK and was wondering how difficult is it to get a Fiancee visa as opposed to a visitors visa. I did post a question about vistors visa and I am ready to go to BBK with more evidence than Poirot about my relationship with my GF. She has a sister in Ireland so we are going to see here an I have got all my payslips, kept all my asia phone cards and printed off emails that we send to each other and have a return flight ticket for her. So I have done all I can to get her tourist visa but I was wondering if it would be worth going for a fiancee visa instead ? how much more difficult is it ?

Thanks for even reading this waffle !!!

Mocksy.

[lopburi3]

It sounds to me that you have evidence for a fiancée visa rather than a tourist visa. She has to prove funds/job/home/intent to return to Thailand for a tourist visa and what you have is evidence that she may not return.

If she can qualify for a tourist visa no proof is required from you and the procedure is simple. Problem most girls below middle class or above will not have enough proof that they intend to return to be successful.

The fiancée visa allows entry for persons who may marry and not return so the standards are what you seem to have - long term relationship. It is time consuming and there will be paperwork but that is likely what you need to obtain unless she has previously traveled and has personal means.

[Mocksy]

Thanks Lopburi,

She will be providing evidence too, she has a letter from her employer which is a big one (she works in a hostel cooking, taking bookings etc), and like I mentioned she does have a return ticket to BKK so I thought that would be good enough for proof that she will be returning. The only reason I mention the phone cards and payslips is that I will be providing for her when she is here and proof that I have known her for more than a week.

That should be good enough for proof of return shouldn't it ?

[lopburi3]

I seriously doubt it will be enough but it can be a crap shoot. What is important is that she have access to more than enough money to afford overseas travel and have home/family to return to. Job is part of this but only one part and at a hostel/cooking level likely not too persuasive. I would suspect it to be vary hard for those below collage level employment and considerable assets to be confident of a tourist visa approval if a young lady.

[Mocksy]

hmmmmm,

you have me worried now. I do have a good IT job in the U.K. and have no problem providing for her while she is here. I honestly thought that an employers letter, return ticket and the fact that she will be visiting her sister in Ireland would persude the embassy that it is a genuine visit. Have you had first hand experience of this, or is it from people you have talked to etc ??? if this is the case, I am going to be left with a useless plance ticket... not good at all !!!

Any suggestions ?

[BIG SPUDS]

Would love to give you advice mate but dont really have any, i am in the same boat as you. I want my GF to travel back to the uk with me september, all i can say is what i have done.

We are applying for a tourist visa. have kept all records of when we have met, photos emails, letters, reciepts, phone bills. I am acting as her sponsor, have wrote a letter explaining this. Have copies of uk wage slips. have deposited £700 in her account, told her to write a letter why she must return to thailand , (take care of parents), she is supplying photos of her family, all letters and emails photos from me. Gave a letter from a travel agent showing the dates we attend to travel. Got her to go out and buy nice clothes for the interview.

A letter saying that the reason she is coming here it to celebrate my 30th birthday and meet my family and friends as i will meet hers first in thailand in september.

She will be going to submit her application june 15th

Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Its all we can do. as long as you do all the right things and show as much info as possible. I think at the end of the day it all depends on the mood of the person at the embassy conducting the interview.

[BIG SPUDS]

P.S. I too have been thinking would it be easier for fiance visa. As i have done all the same paperwork, the only intention is like you not sure if i want to get married and what are the consequences if we do not. But dont know the ins and outs, email me if you need any help or advice. Thats if you dont mind the blind leading the blind

[saowalack]

Lads at the end of the day it's so Bloody unfair You do every thing that is required. Most of your girl friends are put through months of worry and even greater ordeals when the interview takes place.

And only last night on BBC TV there was a POlice programme about the South Yorkshire Police trying to catch illegal immigrants and asylum seekers and as one officer said if we catch one thousand eventualy only ten will be deported.

I hope you catch the gist of my comments

[lopburi3]

Have you had first hand experience of this, or is it from people you have talked to etc ??? if this is the case, I am going to be left with a useless plance ticket... not good at all !!!

Any suggestions ?

Have not had experience nor am I British but have some knowledge of visa laws and try to keep up on others experience as posted.

The sister in Ireland is another factor to indicate she may not return to Thailand in the eyes of a consular officer. Any close relative living outside of Thailand would not be logged on the "return to Thailand" side of the page.

If the expense of visa fee is not a factor you can try this and if not successful go to the fiancée visa path. But please let her know that it may not be successful so she is not devastated if visa is refused. And again I say don't have her lie - if she is asked a question answer it. If they advise her to apply for finance visa upfront, that is what I would do.

[Mocksy]

i Think its what most people say, its just up to the officer you get on the day.

I heard all sorts of stories when i was travelling about Russian visas, and vietnam visas and how difficult they were to get, but in all honesty, I never had a problem whatsoever, got my vietnam visa in two days and the Russian one in 15 no questions asked. I've got the feeling its the same with the U.K. one.

I have to admit, I think we are going to go for the tourist visa, be honest and hope that the officer on the other side of the table likes us. I am gonna be really pissed if they do reject it as sudawan (my other half) has actually contributed towards the price of her flight. I am in a job and the flight for me is like a months salary so not really a big deal, but Sudawans contribution was a far bigger price to pay.

find it really ironic that you can jump onto a container ship these days and get into the U.K. and when you go through the proper channels all you get is a shit fight......

[Mocksy]

P.S. Thanks Big Spuds. I wish you all the best. good luck. I think we all need it.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

P.S. Thanks Big Spuds. I wish you all the best. good luck. I think we all need it.

How long have you known her Mocksy ? ( on a provable basis )

[whattodo]

hi mocksy.

Forget the tourist visa !

Apply for the fiancee visa as you will have more chance of suceeding with this application.

Tourist visas are rarly granted by the uk embassy here in Bangkok unless the applicant has social standings to a high level or you have a fat wedge ( I am waiting for the onslaught here) But i have evidence to back this up and will certainly be putting this forward to the embassy when we reapply again early next year for my wifes tourist visa if it is refused again.

Ps If Embassy officials are reading !!!!

You know who i am ( The guy that initially applied for my then GF tourist visa was refused,resubmitted application for fiancee .... result REFUSED ?

Remember ? 1 MIL T/O Business UK and still refused ?

OK you did us a favour in the long run as we have settled Thailand now for the last 2 years but we want and expect the Tourist application to be approve this time round. And yes me and wife will be coming back , again thankyou Embassy ,see you soon you know who i am.

[Mocksy]

Known her for 7 months now

I'm sure you have heard all this before but we are genuine, I want to do this properly. I have told her that England is not all its cracked up to be, we do have shit weather it gets dark for 4 months at a time near winter and for a foreigner who is not used to this it can get really depressing for them (###### it does for English people) So I truly want her to come over for a visit and see what it is like, see her sister and then go back and apply for a fiancee visa if she still wants to come here.

I am going to tell them this when we get to the embassy, a Fiancee visa is for people who intend to marry, we dont intend to marry yet. We want to see how we get on. Its the truth and i'm sticking by it.

the U.K. bangkok embassy website gives three points on how you qualify for a vistors visa. She meets all three, she doesn't intend to stay, she can make it without public funds and she is not going to work. If they dont allow her a visa I know it wont help but I will tell them they are in no uncertain terms being racist. Like i said it wont help my cause, but I really do have a problem with people jumping off ships claiming asylum (I know there are genuine cases) when I am willing to support her and perfectly capable of doing so.

Wish me luck.

[whattodo]

I wish you luck , and yes i totally agree with you regards the asylum seekers jumping off a ship etc it certainly ****** me off also .

[Mocksy]

So how many people have had success stories with tourist visas and what were there circumstances ??

[BIG SPUDS]

Another quick question, what is the actual difference between tourist and fiance visa? i know the obvious but what is required for a fiance visa that is different to a tourist visa?

[whattodo]

Spuds ..... Tourist Visa expected to return within 3 months of depature from the

Kingdom.

..... fiancee Visa not expected to return and continue with satisfactory

requirments to fulfill a marraige within 6 months

..... All a Scam (not the Thai Ladys ) uk goverment and dare i say again ?

Hello wireless Road ? are you listening ?

[Richard W]

Another quick question, what is the actual difference between tourist and fiance visa? i know the obvious but what is required for a fiance visa that is different to a tourist visa?

For a tourist visa, she must intend to return to Thailand and not intend to work in the UK.

For a fiancée visa, she must intend to remain with you, intend to marry you within 6 months, and, strictly speaking, not intend to work in the UK until she gets her further leave to remain (FLR) after your marriage. Likewise, you must intend to marry her within 6 months.

Financial dependence on you (and on you alone!) is evidence that she would wish to stay with you, but it probably counts much more strongly against a visitor's visa than it does in favour of a fiancée visa.

For accommodation, the time scales are different - it is more difficult to live off savings for years than for weeks. For a fiancée visa, you might in theory have to persuade them that she would be sleeping with you before the marriage.

For maintenance for a fiancée visa, in the long term you can include her income after marriage. In many areas that will normally be at least £160 a week BEFORE tax and National Insurance if there are no children in the UK to look after. Moat House Hotels are supposed to be good at getting useful work out of people who speak no English. Some girls prefer to find work in Thai restaurants, but beware of the fares for travelling to and especially from work.

An ECO told me, nearly six years ago, that the main reason for refusing marriage and fiancée visas was on the grounds of accommodation and maintenance.

The other big problem is persuading the ECO that the two of you really do intend to live together. There seem to be many cases of girls abandoning their partners as soon as they arrive in the UK. (I've no idea how many times this happens after the first time he beats her. A fair number of husbands and boyfriends could be labelled as 'rejected goods', and of course an enormous number are very much second-hand.)

I've no idea what the law is if the ECO believes the two of you intend to marry and stay married and together but for her to go on the game. There are such couples - Frederick and Rosemary West come to mind. However, an ECO would wonder why she would want to share her income with you, so possibly he would never believe the scenario I posit. (This is directed at Erco types, not at Big Spuds.)

[BIG SPUDS]

So are you saying as acting as sponsor for tourist visa (showing around £7000 in evidence of savings in my bank account) could actually go against me?

[BIG SPUDS]

So are you saying as acting as sponsor for tourist visa (showing around £7000 in evidence of savings in my bank account) could actually go against me? She does have £700 in her own account. But no job! as i send her money each money to stay home and take care of parents?

Financial dependence on you (and on you alone!) is evidence that she would wish to stay with you, but it probably counts much more strongly against a visitor's visa than it does in favour of a fiancée visa.

[BIG SPUDS]

Financial dependence on you (and on you alone!) is evidence that she would wish to stay with you, but it probably counts much more strongly against a visitor's visa than it does in favour of a fiancée visa.)

So are you saying as acting as sponsor for tourist visa (showing around £7000 in evidence of savings in my bank account) could actually go against me?

She does have £700 in her own account but no job as she has packed her shop job in to take care of parents, she lives off the money i send her each month.

[Richard W]

Financial dependence on you (and on you alone!) is evidence that she would wish to stay with you, but it probably counts much more strongly against a visitor's visa than it does in favour of a fiancée visa.)

So are you saying as acting as sponsor for tourist visa (showing around £7000 in evidence of savings in my bank account) could actually go against me?

She does have £700 in her own account but no job as she has packed her shop job in to take care of parents, she lives off the money i send her each month.

I am afraid I can even predict some of the wording on the notice of refusal:

"but you are a single woman financially dependent on your boyfriend in the UK..."

Mind you, that dates from when if a woman got in to the UK on a tourist visa, she could, after marrying, apply for further leave to remain (FLR) at no extra cost. Nowadays, she would have to leave before her tourist visa expired and then apply for a settlement visa. I don't see why a significant probability of marrying should be grounds for refusing a visitor's visa; perhaps the fear is that you will marry and then go into hiding. I get the impression that the probability of marriage is still used as a reason to deny visitor's visas.

Curiously, it theoretically used to be (and presumbably still is) possible to get a visitor's visa to come and marry in the UK, but the onus was on the visitor to persuade the ECO that the visitor intended to leave the UK after the marriage.

If your girlfriend does come to the UK, who will look after her parents? She may need a clear answer for the ECO, especially if she intends to use them as a reason to return. The answer could bite you later if you did decide to set up home together in the UK.

Richard.

[Mocksy]

Rich,

What do you reckon my chances are on the Tourist Visa. I am so worried about all of this now. We have been really looking forward to all of this and I can't help but get really downhearted about it all. the thought of getting to BKK and being refused is starting to make me ill.

Sudawan will be dependant on me for her finances, she has a return ticket to BKK at the end of her stay and she does have a job albeit in a hostel and not very well paid. she is going to return because I refuse to apply for a fiancee visa as I want her to see the U.K. for a holiday first. I know people over here in the U.K. who are married to Thai people and they do miss their homeland it is for that reason I want her to come over for a holiday first, moving to another country is a huge step for anyone more so I think for people like Sudawan. Doesn't my word mean anything ?

I cant believe I am hearing all of this, its a bloody holiday visa for gods sake ! arn't people who come from a poorer background entitled to holidays too ?

[dfwbkk]

Mocksy,

The way it works (even for a tourist visa) is that she needs to clearly demonstrate (read: prove) that she will be returning to LOS. Ties such as kids, returning to university, operating business in her name will be the deciding factor whether or not she is granted entry to the UK...

If the embassy sniffs out a non-desirable background (bar-scene) your chances are greatly reduced...they are definitely in a negative mode from the get-go...

Just a friendly heads-up...come prepared...

/// DFW

[Mocksy]

Thanks,

Unfortunately, she just works in a hostel (not the bar scene) she doesn't have any kids, does not own a business and she rents a place so it aint looking too good me thinks. I am trying to be positive about all of this but the more i read, the more depressed I get....

She does have 2 sisters over in BKK but her mum doesn't live in BKK.

I guess we just have to wait and see.

I will let you all know how it goes.

[dfwbkk]

Mocksy, good luck to you.

In their own warped way I guess the embassy is trying to protect yourself as well as the UK from being "ripped off". Too many strange incidents in the past, which of course is infuriating to have to factor in since it doesn't involve yourself and your GF.

In my case I was lucky enough to be working in a third country (the US), with only a temporary visa myself. That and the fact that my GF had a 6-month old baby girl staying behind made it very easy to get her initial visa. Now, 3 yrs later, they both stay with me in Texas plus a kid of our own and she's pregnant again...

Faced with the same problems you're looking at right now I decided to jump into marriage only 6 months after meeting my wife (albeit looking upon it as an advanced form of courtship at the time - we both figured that it might be very temporary should we not get along). We're doing great so far so...

/// DFW

[Mocksy]

Thanks DFW,

Good to hear a nice story for a change rather than all the bad ones. Good luck with the marriage and congratulations on the new baby. I hope everything works out.

I can understand the point of view about being ripped off, that is why I want to do the holiday thing first. I am trying to do this correctly and I really hope I dont get shot in the foot for doing so. There are people in all walks of life trying to rip others off that is why I think a tourist visa is the best way to go. It will help me as well as her to understand how we both are together.

I am going to try and make this point at the embassy. with a little luck they'll understand this.

[dfwbkk]

Mocksy,

I was going down pretty much exactly the same thought patterns which you are describing here but realised (after listening to a bunch of people with experience) that my GF wouldn't stand a chance of getting a holiday visa to the US.

I absolutely wanted to explore our compatibility before jumping into a major committment, but at the end of the day I felt it was to good not try only because "it might not work" so I took a chance...going into it eyes wide open...

I could've bailed out but unless you risk something it's not as sweet...

/// DFW

[Mocksy]

If this fails i'll invite you to the wedding !!!

where did you get married btw ?