UK Visa for wife

[lelapin]

I have a recently married friend who is trying to organise a  long term UK visa for his Thai wife. He has been quoted greatly varying timescales and costs to do this and is happy to pay extra if there is some form of express service to obtain it. He lives in Pattaya and would be happy if someone could recommend a reliable company that could help him. I would appreciate any knowledgeable comments from members re what  costs and timescales would be reasonable.

[theoldgit]

When you say long term visa, do you mean that your friends wife wants to settle in the UK or does she want to visit the UK for longer periods, or a visa that allows her to visit a number of times over a longer period?

 

Before spending times addressing all the combinations it would be helpful to know what they actually want to do. Neither route is complicated but they need to get it right and there are traps that they could possibly fall into. Does your friend live in Thailand or the UK, that can make a difference for a visit visa?

 

For straightforward applications an agent isn't really really necessessary but a good agent, I can only name one in Pattaya, Thai Visa Express, can certainly advise on the pitfalls and the best way to go.

 

Applications can be fast tracked at a cost.

[lelapin]

11 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

When you say long term visa, do you mean that your friends wife wants to settle in the UK or does she want to visit the UK for longer periods, or a visa that allows her to visit a number of times over a longer period?

 

Before spending times addressing all the combinations it would be helpful to know what they actually want to do. Neither route is complicated but they need to get it right and there are traps that they could possibly fall into. Does your friend live in Thailand or the UK, that can make a difference for a visit visa?

 

For straightforward applications an agent isn't really really necessessary but a good agent, I can only name one in Pattaya, Thai Visa Express, can certainly advise on the pitfalls and the best way to go.

 

Applications can be fast tracked at a cost.

He is planning to get a settlement visa. He has lived in Thailand with her for several years and last year spent 6 months in the UK with her in a house he owns there. She has already passed the TB health test and English reading / writing test..

[wobblyjohn]

Go have a chat with Paul King at easy visa on Pattaya Klan roughly opposite friendship 

My missus had been to the UK 3 times we had a house and land in her name and I could meet the financial requirements 

Paul sorted the visa with a work permit I can't remember how much he charged but to save me all the hassle it seemed quit reasonable 

He a nice down to earth guy and easy to talk to

[theoldgit]

In which case it’s quite straight forward, she needs to apply and pay the application fee online and then either upload the supporting evidence or take it to the Visa Application Centre and pay for VFS to scan and upload.

She needs to provide evidence of her English test pass as well  as confirmation that’s she’s free of TB.

Should provide the evidence of their marriage, where they intend to live in the UK and confirmation that her husband meets the financial requirements.

Applications are processed in Sheffield.

An agent shouldn’t be needed, but if they feel they’d like the comfort or using one, then my earlier recommendation still applies, they are the only agents registered with the OISC.

Theres a pinned topic near the top of the forum giving further advice along with the later process.

[FracturedRabbit]

I have just been through this.

The standard processing time for the application is around 3 months.

When you apply for the visa online you can elect for a priority service which is several hundred pounds more but gets you and answer in 30 working days (assuming there are no issues with your application). Ours came back in 17 days.

Using an agent will not get you an answer quicker. We did it ourselves and it is a load of work but straightforward enough. If you have the facilities, scanning the supporting documents yourself saves time and stress at the application centre when they decide to break up your carefully ordered documents into different categories.

Oh, and read theoldgit's guide as he indicated; very useful. Also this: https://www.migrate.org.uk/spouse-visa-uk-2018/#1544388557814-f271df79-069a

[Jip99]

1 hour ago, wobblyjohn said:

Go have a chat with Paul King at easy visa on Pattaya Klan roughly opposite friendship 

My missus had been to the UK 3 times we had a house and land in her name and I could meet the financial requirements 

Paul sorted the visa with a work permit I can't remember how much he charged but to save me all the hassle it seemed quit reasonable 

He a nice down to earth guy and easy to talk to

-

Edited December 16, 2019 by Jip99

[rasg]

A far as I know, a TB test only lasts for six months.

[FracturedRabbit]

4 hours ago, rasg said:

A far as I know, a TB test only lasts for six months.

Correct. The TB certificate has to be valid at the time the application is submitted; it does not need to be still valid at the preferred travel date stated on the application. My wife's TB will have expired by the time we travel. It is apparently extremely unlikely that she will be asked to show it at UK immigration; but if she is, then she will just have to submit to another test at the airport. Obviously it is best that the cert is valid both when you apply and when you travel; but given the timescales involved this is not always possible.