holiday visa to UK - pay an agent or not

[nomad2019]

friend wants take his girl to uk for approx 1 month holiday

they have been together 3 years ( genuine relationship ) 

they have proof of relationship for 3-4 years.

she has funds in her bank

she has one child in bangkok 6 year old boy to return home to.

she works in a restaurant / bar ( not girly bar ) 

he has his own home in uk in his name bought, he has a thai bank with funds, he has a uk bank with funds.

he has no wage slips as he had an injury at work,  he has been on sickness benefit now approx 6 months and this monies goes into his UK bank .

 

visa agent in has told  him he can get him the visa,     10k baht down now and a further 30.000 ( i think ) upon getting visa granted. 

 

should he use an agent or just do it himself ?   i mean what is the difference ,

 

could they be granted this visa based on info i have stated ?   

do they need any more evidence etc ?  

CHEERS in advance !!!! 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by theoldgit
Post edited to remove defamatory remark, which is in breach of Forum Rules.

[CharlieH]

Off his trolley to pay like that ! 

 

The process is simple, tell the truth, support it with doc evidence where required.

The key aspect (mostly) is reason to return, the child and a letter from employer holding job open should be cover that aspect.

 

Cover the bases and it should be straight forward to do it himself.

 

He can get all the help and support he needs right here !

[CeeGee]

It will cost you about £100 to apply for a visa directly,if you(she) gets the visa, good,

If the visa is not granted,you will be given the reason why not,which can then be addressed and it has cost you £100.Look on that £100 as a learning fee.

 

If you do it through an agent you will end up with the same decision but a lot ,lot poorer.

No agent can guarantee a successful visa .Read through this forum and you will find all the answers that are needed to do it yourself

[theoldgit]

There is no need to use the services of an agent unless the application is particularly complex, a half decent agent will tell you that.

The applicant will still be required to supply supporting evidence and attend the Visa Application Centre to have their biometric details captured.

Some applicants do find the services of an agent comforting, if you do so be very careful which one you choose, no agent can guarantee a visa.

[BanMuangFarang]

Although I used an Agent on my first application, which cost 12,000 baht. I still found it useful to understand the visa process from an expert with being a newbie. Thereafter I've done all the visa applications myself on behalf of my wife and all have been successful.

[sungod]

Visa agents are leeches

[nomad2019]

6 hours ago, sungod said:

Visa agents are leeches

 

i agree , telling lies & living off those who do not fully understand the procedure

[rasg]

If you insist on using a visa agent don't go near an agent that is not OISC accredited. If you use an agent you will still need to do 90% of the work as most of it is gathering information. With the help of the people on this forum it's fairly straightforward.

 

If you are her sponsor she will need to prove that you are a couple in a genuine relationship, show that you have sufficient funds to pay for the trip and your girlfriend will need to show that she will return to Thailand at the end of the trip. You will also need to show that there is somewhere to stay. It might be at your place, it might be hotels etc, depending on your plans when she gets here.

 

It wasn't clear from your post if you live in Thailand or the UK. I would approach the visa in a slightly different way depending whether you live in Thailand with your girlfriend or not.

 

[Duffman88]

I used an agent because of the reasons below. I think it's pretty difficult to present your case in the best light unless your partner has everything going for her in terms of job, property etc:

 

My girlfriend didn't have a job and was struggling for reasons to return.

 

I live in the UK and trying to explain to her what do get in terms of documents and were to get translations etc was difficult, and would have been quite time consuming for me.

 

The cost is actually relatively small compared with the actual cost of the trip - flights, entertaining, tourism, cold weather clothes, kitchen equipment etc.

 

Increasing the chance of success from say 80% to 90% from me making a mistake or presenting something wrong was worth it to me, I wanted to move things forward.

 

If my girlfriend had a decent steady job and nothing anomalous on her bank etc, I would have done it myself.

 

 

[davejonesbkk]

You dont need an agent and as long as you present lots of evidence in a clear and concise way you should be fine:

 

For her

 

6 months or more bank statements

 

6 months or more payslips

 

Letter from employer (if in Thai needs to be translated by an official company and then they stamp each document with their contact details).

 

Childs birth certificate translated to English

 

Id also include a translated copy of her tabian baan (it wont hurt) and her Thai ID card too.

 

Her rental agreement in Thailand or evidence of where she lives.

 

For your friend

 

6 months or more bank statements UK

 

6 months or more bank statements Thailand

 

Thailand rental agreement (if he has one)

 

Council tax bill or something similar in his name to show home ownership

 

Letter of invitation/sponsorship - in this he should confirm that he will be fully supporting the trip and her financially. Give the approx. dates when the trip will happen. Confirm the address of his home where she will be staying. Confirm all the above supporting evidence.

 

I would strongly recommend that your friend applies at least 6 weeks before they want to take the trip, if that isnt enough time then they will need to pay around 4k baht to get a quicker VFS appointment to submit the docs and I would strongly recommend they pay another 10k baht to get a visa decision within a week.

 

 

 

 

[rasg]

 

7 hours ago, davejonesbkk said:

You dont need an agent and as long as you present lots of evidence in a clear and concise way you should be fine:

 

For her

 

6 months or more bank statements

 

6 months or more payslips

 

Letter from employer (if in Thai needs to be translated by an official company and then they stamp each document with their contact details).

 

Childs birth certificate translated to English

 

Id also include a translated copy of her tabian baan (it wont hurt) and her Thai ID card too.

 

Her rental agreement in Thailand or evidence of where she lives.

 

For your friend

 

6 months or more bank statements UK

 

6 months or more bank statements Thailand

 

Thailand rental agreement (if he has one)

 

Council tax bill or something similar in his name to show home ownership

 

Letter of invitation/sponsorship - in this he should confirm that he will be fully supporting the trip and her financially. Give the approx. dates when the trip will happen. Confirm the address of his home where she will be staying. Confirm all the above supporting evidence.

 

I would strongly recommend that your friend applies at least 6 weeks before they want to take the trip, if that isnt enough time then they will need to pay around 4k baht to get a quicker VFS appointment to submit the docs and I would strongly recommend they pay another 10k baht to get a visa decision within a week.

 

 

 

 

Lots of evidence isn't needed. Sufficient evidence is needed to show the sponsor can fund the trip, proof of relationship and that the applicant is likely to return to Thailand. Also that there is accommodation that will be provided in the UK. It might be in the sponsor's house, or a hotel if they are travelling around. She doesn't need to provide bank statements at all. Or payslips. Most payslips in Thailand are nothing more than the amount written on the envelope. I would advise against submitting either. Just explain that she is paid on cash each month. Child's birth certificate - No. Not needed. Thai ID is already in English and Thai. Translation not needed. Passport. Proof of her permanent address and a translation. If she has been divorced or changed her name, provide the documents and a translation. If she's had a visa and travelled before explain it in the sponsor letter so that the ECO checks her passport.

 

For the sponsor. Latest bank statement showing the balance the day my girlfriend applied showing that trip is affordable. A good truthful sponsor letter. Passport and a copy of the pages with stamps in and out of Thailand. I provided a letter of invitation for my girlfriend to visit me. Mortgage statement or house rental agreement. If somebody else is on the agreement a letter from them explaining that they are happy for the sponsor's girlfriend to live in the house.

 

Employer's letter - if it's in Thai and the ECO calls to confirm he or she will speak in Thai. If the letter is in English, the ECO will speak English.

 

Proof of relationship. We provided old flight and hotel bookings we had taken together. Whatsapp and Skype logs. In 2015 we also provided photos but they are no longer needed.