Settlement Visa Application

[scotty123456789]

Ive wrote a couple of posts recently regarding a visa for my wife.

If you have read them you will know me and my wife are about to put together an application for a settlement visa, for her to join me in England.

The trouble is im abit paranoid of not getting the application right.

Ill briefly tell you how im about to put together the application.

Page 1. I will put together a letter stating my name, age, my home address, i am a uk resident and that i am supplying documents for my wife ( her name ) to make an application for a settlement visa to join me in the uk.

( I will attach a certified copy of my passport )

Page 2. I will explain my home residence. My address, how long i have lived here, explain i live with my mother and brother, how many rooms she has and attach a word processed letter from my mother stating she allows me and my wife to live in her rented home. I will also attach original utility bills to proof this is my mothers house and also i will attach photos of the house including the rooms.

Page 3. I will provide a letter stating my employment. In this i will state my occupation, how long i have worked for my company, the address and show an original copy of my contract of employment, (although the last contract given out at my company was in 2004-2005 i think).

With this i will attach my last P60 end of tax year form ( original ) and original payslips.

Page 4. I will state my income and expenditure.

I shall include original bank statements for the last 6 months.

Page 5. I will provide information regarding our relationship. How we met, where we met , where and when we married and how we have kept contact.

I will also provide information of my trips to her home, our trips together with me, my wife and her family.

With this i will attach a copy of my passport showing visa stamps, bank statements showing hotel and flight bookings.

I will also attach photos of her home, me with my wife and her family too.

I will also attach original phone bills, envelopes and jiffy bags with the dates stamped showing i have sent her gifts to her home during our relationship.

During our relationship my wife has used 3 numbers so i shall state this and explain i use different phone companys to call my wife as it is cheaper.

Thai phone cards, tele-savers, voip-discount etc and that her number does not always show up on my phone bills, only txts.

Page 6. In this i will state and attach a full certified copy of my passport, my wifes passport and her 2 passport photos.

Each page shall be printed off a computer put into individual plasic sleeve folders with all the relevant documents for each section.

I will sign each page and stick a small white label on each of the folder sleeves stating what is inside each folder, Bank statements, employment history, relationship history etc etc.

With this there shall be the completed VAF settlement form and a bankers draft of the embassy fee.

The above is more or less how im going to set out our application, so if you think i have missed something out or think everything should be fine with what you have seen please let me know.

Like i said i realy need to get this right and need expertise advise ( scouse + manhout ).

What you think????

I have realy considered paying an agent, VISANO1.COM but £599 is abit expensive for me.

I cant thank you all enough.

Scotty...............

[scotty123456789]

Forgot to mention i will also provide i have support my wife and always have done during our relationship.

The first 3 months of our relationship i transfered money from my account to her account but i was getting charged £17.50 every time.

So i opened up a basic bank account ( no overdraft ) and gave her the card.

Now i transfer each week through internet banking, money to the card i gave her, it saves the charges plus i have original bank statements proofing the transfers.

[Mahout Angrit]

Scotty

Cant see your marriage cert in that list (you must include the original and 1 photocopy)

The evidence of accomodation also should be original and 1 photocopy.

Your wife will need to get a certificate to show she is free from TB too and include that

The fee must be in the form of a bank draft which can be purchased at a bank.

You can complete the VAF2 form and just get your wife to sign it.

You seem to have everything well and truly covered, do not waste your money on an agent you have done nearly all the work already.

Are you going to take these documents to Thailand yourself because you sure do not want to lose them?. You can send them to her by "International signed for" from the P.O. or if you want to be really safe you can send them by DHL for £30 if you can get them all into an A4 envelope.

Good luck

[scotty123456789]

T.B certificate, marriage certificate got it mate.

I knew we needed these but must have forgot to include them in the post before.

We are expecting for her to be called for an interview but do you have any advise on what she should wear?

Any questions you expect to be put her way etc?

Im taking them myself, im due just over a weeks holiday at my work so ive booked a flight and arrive later this month.

£422 direct, thaiairways.

Thanks manhout pal...

[Mahout Angrit]

We are expecting for her to be called for an interview but do you have any advise on what she should wear?

Any questions you expect to be put her way etc?

She should wear Thai style clothes, (like the girls in offices or department stores!!) or casual but none of the off the shoulder/ bare midrift stuff. I'm sure she knows anyway. There is another thread running at present about likely questions, check it out, but it'll be how you met etc and questions about you and your family. She should know your birthday and brothers name etc and of course everything you have stated in the application.

My gut feeling is that she'll be coming back with you.... good luck with it

[scotty123456789]

One last thing manhout.

Ive read alot lately that you should tell the truth in the interview, well do you think she should tell the truth that she once worked in the bar in bangkok, and thats how we met?????? ( bargirl)

[scotty123456789]

Im also over drawn most weeks by about £1000, i dont realy see this as a problem as there is no urgency for it to be paid back.

I just pay around £7 debit interest each month.

[sgunn65]

Hi Scotty

Rather than go over the same thing have a look at what I wrote about the interview and honesty on DWALDO's thread which is on the same page at the moment. It is titled Settlement Visa.

I cannot stress strongly enough coaching your gf in understanding how we Brits think.

In terms of the application. Each section should replicate the section on the VAF2. All supporting evidence (the more the better) should be numbered and referenced in your appication. Go through it yourself; if you find it hard to find something or don't understand something then the person looking at the application will also find it difficult. And they won't waste time looking.

Like you I am always overdrawn but it didn't seem to matter. I think its more that you have a regular salary coming in etc and that your gf will not be a strain on the public purse.

Good luck

[Mahout Angrit]

One last thing mahout.

Ive read alot lately that you should tell the truth in the interview, well do you think she should tell the truth that she once worked in the bar in bangkok, and thats how we met?????? ( bargirl)

Scotty

I've no experience of this but I do know that lies are difficult to perpetuate, if she intends to lie then she had better have and know the complete lie. The people who will interview her are professionals, they have seen and heard every trick in the book, if they ask her what she was doing between the time she left school and meeting you will she be able to tell them and will it sound viable?

The truth is that ex bar girls do get visas (after all she is now married to you and you have been supporting her to stay at home) but if she is thought to be lying then the visa will definitely be in jeopardy.

I cannot advise you, only explain from the wisdom gained from the 'university of life'

[scotty123456789]

I know that if called for an interview she has to be honest yes?

Well do you realy think we should be honest about where we met?

I meen she was a bar girl when we met, and we met in the bar.

What do you think?

[the scouser]

Scott,

There is no duty of candour. What this effectively means is that your girlfriend does not have to disclose any information unless directly asked the question. If asked in what circumstances you met, she should answer honestly.

Scouse.

[scotty123456789]

Hi,

So if asked where we first met, she should say the bar where she worked in Bangkok yes???

If she is asked were you working as a prostitute when you met she should say yes?????

This realy makes me paranoid telling them this.

I realy need some advise from someone who has had a settlement visa granted with a ex bargirl.

I meen did you tell the truth about her job, how you met etc when she was called for an interview???

HELP.

[connor]

Hi

I worried about this to mate. In my intro letter i stated we simply met in BKK during approx month & year. Our plan was to tell the truth if asked directly in a interview. However they just rang & asked a few questions to her such as.

My age.

How many kids i had from previous relationship.

There age.

Names.

What i do for work.

When we married (she forgot lol).

When we met (not where).

Visa came 2 days later & took 4 days in total.

I do not recommend lying under pressure in a direct interview is very hard. Its not your average lie "Darling i never play cards promise, i really good ladie!" lol

Sounds like u got most covered, did u say u had pics of u together there? Also any letters from her family & yours saying the obvious. I think there are lots of little extras u can do to help. All helps as they see u are very keen.

Let me know if u need any help.

[scotty123456789]

Hi conner,

I just presumed that if she was called for an interview, and she told them she was a working girl when we met, then the visa would not be granted because of her past work.

So you say that if she has to go in for the interview she should tell them how, where and what she used to do????

Ive talked to her about this and she is paranoid about telling them this same as me.

We have photos from all of my visits, pictures of us on her family farm with all the family, our trips together, photos at her home but we dont have any emails ( we realy have not emailed eachother ) what she does have is envelopes and jiffy bags from where ive sent her little gifts since we have been together, on these show the stamp dates, my address where they were sent from and received at her home in Phetchabun.

When we first met she spent a month with me and when i returned home she returned home a day or two after.

Since that day we have talked every and i meen every single day ranging from 3 to 5 times a day.

I have all my mobile phone bills to prove this.

The trouble is i use 3rd party phone companys (cheaper) and her number does not show up, only the acces number.

I save all my used thai phone cards.

She also has used 3 mobile numbers since we met.

I realy need to get this right mate.

Im confident of the visa its just telling them how we met and what she did when we met thats putting the s***s up me, if she is called in.

Any advise would be so appreciated.

[connor]

Hello mate

You are worrying about nothing. Get all your docs in plus anything else as we discussed. You have everything to show that you are in a true relationship. I do think a bit more money in the bank would help however you are working. Are you getting a letter from your employer stating pay & contract details etc. If your self employed like me i simply got a letter stating i had work for the foreseeable future. I also had a letter from family offering support if required however many specialists say on here it has no point, i believe all helps.

IF she does get asked in for an interview. She HAS to tell the truth. I have not heard of a visa being refused due to someone previously being a bargirl. (big debate coming up!). If refused they do have to give the reason & i am sure they cannot say because she used to be a bargirl. You can re-apply mate & amend any issues.

Ok she worked in a bar. So do most girls coming here. They know that. What they really want to see is are you having a holiday romance or is the true love can you support her etc etc as you know already.

My phone situ was the same, simply state the obvious & put the evidence in there. My wife also changed numbers a few times.

I would try to relax. Make sure once you get the docs ready you get a few people to look through it.

Remember the more questions you answer in the docs the less they have to ask.

[scotty123456789]

I only take home after tax £220 a week, will this be a problem???

[connor]

Obviously yes depending on your outgoings.

Can i ask how old you both are?

What is your occupation?

[scotty123456789]

I am 26 my wife is 24.

I work as a warehouse assistant and have done for the last 6 years.

[connor]

Sounds fine to me mate.

Nothing to worry about.

I would get a reference letter from your employer if poss saying your a good fella, hard working asset to company etc.

Otherwise sounds straight forward. Have you prepared it yet? When you hoping to submit it?

Dont forget to get some docs translated & take copies of everything. Make it presentable & easy to flick through. In future if she wants to bring aany family members (kids) over (likely) then you may need to refresh your memory they do keep certain bits.

Take copies of all your passport stamps.

I take it you married at a reconised Embassy Amphur?

Also let them know your plans to the future.

[scotty123456789]

I have not prepared it yet but have everything ready to do so.

Ill tell you how im going to prepare it.

I will first of all state who i am, where i live and that i am supplying documents for a settlement visa for my wife.

I will state that each section is numbered with the relevent docs.

Example,

1. Who i am etc where i live and details of my wife, my age her age etc. ( certified copy of my passport )

2. My employment, giving details of my job, address how long ive worked there etc ( p60 form, pay slips, reference from my boss )

3. How we met, how we have kept contact, my visits etc etc etc.

Anyay i guess you get the picture, i will put each section into plastic folder sleeves and label each one.

I have photos, bank statements, letter from my mother welcoming my wife to live with her, my mothers utility bills, passport stamps, proof of hotels we have stayed at.

Proof we have traveled to Phuket and singapore together.

You get what i meen mate.

Like i say i will keep each relevent section seperate.

What you think mate??

Im also going to be writing each section of a computer and signing each section (page).

We have our marriage cert, orig and photo copy.

[connor]

Hi

I would tab it a bit better, something like this

INTRODUCTION & SPONSERSHIP LETTER

1) VAF 2 COMPLETED take copies for yourself

2) YOUR PASSPORT, BIRTH CERT (get a cert copy of Birth Reg site for a £10), Copy the pages on the passport & highlight the Thai stamps - Your passport must be cetrified copy (helps) you can do this at the Embassy UK

3) HER PASSPORT, ID CARD, REG BOOK, BIRTH CERT all translated with 2 x copies enclosed

4) EMAILS

5) CALL'S & SMS'S

6) WESTERN UNION OR BANK TRANSFERS

7) PICTURES

8) DIVORCE PAPERS?

9) MARRIAGE CERT + 2 X COPIES

10) LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM MOTHER

11) LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM BROTHER

12) ACCOMMATION IN UK, TENACY AGREEMENT OR MORGAGE DETAILS + COPIES

13) EMPLOYMENT DETAILS, PAYSLIPS, P60'S

14) LETTER FROM EMPLOYER

15)6 MONTHS BANK STATEMENTS

16) TB CERT + 2 X COPIES

Simply print out this after the intro letter & they can refer to the tab.

All her passports etc has to be the originals submitted when she goes, they may copy & stamp some ID etc.

State the whole of your relationship in the intro letter first as they will look at this first (first impressions ok). Before each docs put a cover note with brief about what is there. At the end of intro letter say how much you love & miss & want to start your life etc etc

Job Done! Let me know what you think.

[scotty123456789]

Tell me more about the introduction and sponsership letter mate.

[scotty123456789]

Conner,

Is everything ok to be writen out on a coputer and printed off? then signed by myself?

Also is this ok for my mother to do this alo?

Thanks bruv..

[scotty123456789]

Regarding showing the funds available for my wifes airticket, im going to transfer the money into my other account which my wife uses in Thailand.

I am going to transfer the funds for the ticket then show the statement at the embassy which will show the funds there for the airticket.

Does this sound ok????

Thanks.

[connor]

Why are u doing that?

You have not got the visa yet!

[scotty123456789]

I just thought that if i did this then they would see the funds available if the visa is granted pal

[connor]

No need. Plus she will probably spend it lol

Need anymore help let me know but i think u have this covered now. Wont be online for a while, when you submitting?

[scotty123456789]

So i dont need to show them the funds for her ticket, if granted?

Plus cooner, one last thing.

My introduction/sponser letter can be done on a computer and signed right??

That also applies to my mothers + brothers letters?

Apart from this i think i have everthing covered matey.

[connor]

Yeah on a pc is fine, where in the UK are u?

[scotty123456789]

Sheffield mate, you???