Advice needed UK Visitor Visa for Thai girlfriend .Which I have only known for 3 months.

[MichaelT1988]

Is it worth applying for a UK visitor visa for a Thai Girlfriend I've only known for 3 months? Has anyone been successful in the visa with a similar scenario and can give me tips and advice. I have pictures of us together on a 3 week holiday back in December and we have called/messaged each other every day since.

She can prove reasons to come back to Thailand, with land ownership and a car. She owns two bars in Bangkok but unfortunately they're not registered businesses ,which is another hurdle to prove her income.

 

Any advice welcome, Thank you!           

[Kenny202]

Bro hate to say it, but all sounds like a recipe for disaster. Id be asking myself how she got the bars, and I bet it wasnt hard honest graft. These meet for a few days / week and then back home for a few months long distance relationships really magnify and distort ur feelings, like an ache in the guts. Please forgive me and ignore what Ive said if you are certain of what you are doing or more to the story, but I am sure many would tell you sounds like a classic copy book Thailand story of going down the rabbit hole of disaster. Best of luck with whatever u decide my friend

[beano2274]

try it, if it gets rejected look why it got rejected and address those points

[Chris.B]

Use an agent to improve your chances. ????

 

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Chris.B

[FritsSikkink]

Which 2 bars does she own?

[billythehat]

3 hours ago, MichaelT1988 said:

Is it worth applying for a UK visitor visa for a Thai Girlfriend I've only known for 3 months?

Sure, go for it; what could possibly go wrong?

 

If she’s as minted as you say, I’m sure she’ll have no problems financing the return tickets for the trip herself.

 

I strongly advise you buy a lucky-amulet as soon as you can.

 

Do bear in mind that the immigration mob here has heard every tale before and can sniff BS as quickly as any trained drug pooch.

 

My own observations have been that relationships between the two cultures tend to last longer if you are there. Should she jump all the hurdles and get here, keep her away from other Thai women. You’ll learn the hard way the reasons why.

 

Finally, give it time and really get to know her. If there is a snake hiding in the grass, it will show itself and should it appear, run Sir, run like the wind.

[bigyin]

The fact of the matter is that, despite what others suggest, UKVI, are only concerned with 2 main facts. Can you, her or both of you together fund the trip and will she return to Thailand at the end of the trip. You need to provide the evidence for both of these things. They don’t want pictures anymore or details of messages just hard facts. I assume the money won’t be a major problem so you need to concentrate on the returning to Thailand aspect. Having a car won’t impress them. A job with holiday letter from employer is the best thing but she doesn’t have that so you will just have to make the best case you can. Good luck.

[Kenny202]

In Australia what they really like to see is you have funds or a sponsor to provide funds, own land and have proof of a long relationship. Owning land is a reason to return to Thailand. And keep her away from other Thai women expats (most will be ex bar workers) +50

[meatboy]

5 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Which 2 bars does she own?

MILKY BARS????

[theoldgit]

bigyin makes some valid points, I would add that you don't apply for a visa for this lady to visit you in the UK, she's the applicant and it's her that needs to satsify the Entry Clearance Officer, the person who decides whether to approve her application, that she's a genuine visitor, her proposed short trip is affordable and that, on the balance of probabilities, she will would return to Thailand at the conclusion of her proposed visit.

 

As bigyin points out the ECO will base their decision on hard facts, pictures of you lounging on a beach are meaningless and prove nothing, in fact photos are not accepted with applications, and neither is proof of ownership of a car.

 

An unregistered business is of little help, ECO's, even though they are not based in Thailand, are fully aware of the current position of bars here, they are hardly a reason to return.

 

Your girlfriend will certainly need to prove her strong ties here, an ECO may well consider a plot of land to be meaningless, unless she owned a house on it, employment or a fully operational business may well do the trick, with evidence of who would operate her business during her absence, but she seems to have neither.

 

You could of course provide financial support for her proposed visit, you would need to satisfy the decision maker that it's affordable and reasonable to do so, and submit evidence. Evidence of two way communications, insitgated by you both, may help satisfy the decision maker that you're in a genuine relationship.

 

I personally think she would have an uphill struggle in getting her application approved, but a robust submission with strong ties to Thailand could work. 

[RichardColeman]

I would imagine they will be looking at you as having a 3 week Chrsitmas fling - and now want a 6 month visitor visa, with her having absolutely no reasons to return to Thailand. Land ownership will mean nothing - unless maybe she is doing something with it - maybe if she is returning to harvest something, that could work. Car will mean absolutely nothing - she could be living in it for all immigration know. Does she have a decent rent agreement with history of paying rent ?  She basically does not own the bars as they are not registered and telling immigration that will make her look like a criminal ! And any income if the bars are not registered would be showing no taxable income and again looking like tax avoidance.

 

 

That said , I dare say if you have tons of money in the bank it may be worth a try, but personally I cannot see it working  . But I still wish you well in any attempt.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by RichardColeman

[John Bird]

Why doesn't she apply herself for a Tourist visa? Surely a visitor visa will be frowned upon after just three months of courtship... 

[Will B Good]

As someone suggested I would definitely use a 'good' agent.

 

Go ahead and apply, but why tell them you have only known each other for three months?

 

Or you could do what I did and get married (after just three days).......still married after 16 years).

[Kenny202]

17 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

As someone suggested I would definitely use a 'good' agent.

 

Go ahead and apply, but why tell them you have only known each other for three months?

 

Or you could do what I did and get married (after just three days).......still married after 16 years).

I had a couple of bad experiences with agents here. Promise you the world and give u an atlas. Theyre not cheap either. They tell u anything to get your money. There's no nudge nudge wink wink, heres a couple of thousand applying for a foreign visa. They have no one they can bribe or whatever. All they can do is sort the paperwork out and present it on your behalf, and you will have to provide much of that yourself anyway and give to her. Cost you about 10 to 18k thb for nothing but a bit of admin and the hope she has someone on the inside...and she just wont

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, Kenny202 said:

I had a couple of bad experiences with agents here. Promise you the world and give u an atlas. Theyre not cheap either. They tell u anything to get your money. There's no nudge nudge wink wink, heres a couple of thousand applying for a foreign visa. They have no one they can bribe or whatever. All they can do is sort the paperwork out and present it on your behalf, and you will have to provide much of that yourself anyway and give to her. Cost you about 10 to 18k thb for nothing but a bit of admin and the hope she has someone on the inside...and she just wont

Wouldn't disagree. We had a (I think) a good one, much cheaper than you quote, but she was based in Chaiyaphum. 

 

After years of doing visas for the wife, I got fed up last time and just handed everything to the agent.......and then with covid we never ßloody used the visa.

[Golden Triangle]

Personally I would say 2 hopes, Bob & no. 

[Upnotover]

35 minutes ago, John Bird said:

Why doesn't she apply herself for a Tourist visa? Surely a visitor visa will be frowned upon after just three months of courtship... 

A visitor visa is a tourist visa.

[sirineou]

How long you know her makes no difference, in fact she don't need to know you at all to apply for one. Which leads me to believe that this is a troll thread designed to get the dog howling. 

The only thing she needs to do is convince the immigration officer at het interview that she is coming back, If she can do that, she will get a visa. 

[Kinnock]

1 hour ago, John Bird said:

Why doesn't she apply herself for a Tourist visa? Surely a visitor visa will be frowned upon after just three months of courtship... 

I think the UK visitor visa is the same as a tourist visa?

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

The only thing she needs to do is convince the immigration officer at het interview that she is coming back, If she can do that, she will get a visa. 

There are no interviews for Standard Visit Visas, applications are normally decided on the strength of the application and supporting evidence.

[Kenny202]

1 minute ago, theoldgit said:

There are no interviews for Standard Visit Visas, applications are normally decided on the strength of the application and supporting evidence.

Must be like Australia, no interviews for any visas now. Which is a PITA as some of the visas are $10000+, non returnable and be nice to get an idea of likely eligibility before parting with the hard earned  

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

There are no interviews for Standard Visit Visas, applications are normally decided on the strength of the application and supporting evidence.

Thank you, That's good to know, in case I get a GF and want to take her to the

UK. ????

 

As far as I know there is one for a tourist visa for the US, and I assumed there was one for the UK,

So I guess then she will have to convince the Immigration officer with supporting documents.

[Guest Isaanlife]

21 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Bro hate to say it, but all sounds like a recipe for disaster. Id be asking myself how she got the bars, and I bet it wasnt hard honest graft. These meet for a few days / week and then back home for a few months long distance relationships really magnify and distort ur feelings, like an ache in the guts. Please forgive me and ignore what Ive said if you are certain of what you are doing or more to the story, but I am sure many would tell you sounds like a classic copy book Thailand story of going down the rabbit hole of disaster. Best of luck with whatever u decide my friend

"Going down the rabbit hole of disaster"

 

Great one!

[overherebc]

If all goes well and she gets the visa and you have shown booked flights for eg to uk 1/××/2022 and back to Thailand 30/××/2022. Do not decide to stay another 4/5/6 weeks past the return date. If you do want/need to extend email to uk Imm' with why, how, where etc etc and keep a copy of the email and any reply. If you stay longer than the dates you stated on the application they will know and it could cause rejection for any other visa application.

Edited March 8, 2022 by overherebc