Short Stay Visa Uk

[Chelseafan]

I am married to a Thai national. My wife has visited the UK twice. First time on a 6 month short stay and secondly on a 2 year short stay. We have no plans for her to live in the UK and I am planning to retire to Thailand in 5 years. Can I continue with short stay visas every year or will UK immigration refuse after 2 or 3 visa applications? 

[BangkokAlan]

You can continue my Thai wife has had 4 or 5 2 year visas.

[theoldgit]

The UK won't automatically refuse her visa after so many stays, but on each and every application she will need to satisfy the decision maker that she is still a genuine tourist and that her main centre of life is in Thailand.

 

That said, if she stayed with you in the UK for prolonged periods on each trip the decision maker could suspect that she is effectively living in the UK through frequent or successive visits, and refuse the visa, worst case scenario would be that a Border Force Officer could suspect the same and deny her entry. Both scenarios are not that common, but they could happen.

 

Has she considered applying for another long-term Standard Visitor visa if she intends to visit the UK regularly, she's already had a two year visa, maybe a five year visa, though of course the fee is higher and wouldn't be refunded if the application was refused, or a visa with a shorter validity issued.

[Will B Good]

Done it dozens of times, but don't be tempted to go for the five year visa......I did and was refused and the application money was not returned.....plus no explanation offered.

 

 

[Chelseafan]

3 hours ago, theoldgit said:

The UK won't automatically refuse her visa after so many stays, but on each and every application she will need to satisfy the decision maker that she is still a genuine tourist and that her main centre of life is in Thailand.

 

That said, if she stayed with you in the UK for prolonged periods on each trip the decision maker could suspect that she is effectively living in the UK through frequent or successive visits, and refuse the visa, worst case scenario would be that a Border Force Officer could suspect the same and deny her entry. Both scenarios are not that common, but they could happen.

 

Has she considered applying for another long-term Standard Visitor visa if she intends to visit the UK regularly, she's already had a two year visa, maybe a five year visa, though of course the fee is higher and wouldn't be refunded if the application was refused, or a visa with a shorter validity issued.

That's my worry. I suppose if she did get refused we could always apply for a residency visa but it's not something we both want. I might apply for the 5 year visa in the hope that they see we're married but as you say they might see this as a circumvention around the system. 

[Tony M]

4 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Done it dozens of times, but don't be tempted to go for the five year visa......I did and was refused and the application money was not returned.....plus no explanation offered.

 

 

You should have followed up on that. Guidance to ECOs is clear :

 

Long-term visit visas (multiple entry)

 

Applicants for a Standard visitor visa may apply for a visit visa that allows multiple visits of up to 6 months at a time over a period of: • 2 years • 5 years • 10 years. You can issue a shorter duration visa if the applicant meets the Visitor rules relevant to their visit but you have concerns about issuing a long term visit visa. Entry Clearance officers must obtain the authority of the Entry Clearance Manager before issuing a visit visa of shorter duration than that applied for. You must provide clear reasons for the decision to grant a visa for a shorter period than that applied for in a covering letter when the passport is returned. In such cases no refund (full or partial) is available.

[Will B Good]

17 hours ago, Tony M said:

You should have followed up on that. Guidance to ECOs is clear :

 

Long-term visit visas (multiple entry)

 

Applicants for a Standard visitor visa may apply for a visit visa that allows multiple visits of up to 6 months at a time over a period of: • 2 years • 5 years • 10 years. You can issue a shorter duration visa if the applicant meets the Visitor rules relevant to their visit but you have concerns about issuing a long term visit visa. Entry Clearance officers must obtain the authority of the Entry Clearance Manager before issuing a visit visa of shorter duration than that applied for. You must provide clear reasons for the decision to grant a visa for a shorter period than that applied for in a covering letter when the passport is returned. In such cases no refund (full or partial) is available.

Is that for the UK?.....Cheers

 

Memory is a dodgy thing at the best of times......but my recollection was the 'reason' offered in the letter was the officer "felt it best not to offer a five year visa at the present time".......and that was it.

 

[Tony M]

41 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Is that for the UK?.....Cheers

 

Memory is a dodgy thing at the best of times......but my recollection was the 'reason' offered in the letter was the officer "felt it best not to offer a five year visa at the present time".......and that was it.

 

Well, that's not a "clear reason".  If it was recent, you should make a complaint to the UKVI, and ask for clear reasons or a refund.

[mvdf]

I believe they will only grant the 5 or 10 year if the ECO is absolutely satisfied that the applicant is financially and professionally secure in the long term (evidence of affluence and well established ties to Thailand that is unlikely to change over the years).

 

So many elements are taken into consideration such as a positive travel history, sufficiency of disposable funds, historically solid savings and immovable assets, employer's references providing persuasive and compelling assurances of employment after the UK trip. The more, the better the chances of a positive outcome.

 

 

[SidJames]

My missus has been visiting the UK with me nigh on most years over the last 10 years so this year she applied (I paid of course) for the 10yr short stay one & got it back in no time at all.

 

[SidJames]

For all I wrote my niece has been waiting 6 weeks with no answer on her first ever short stay visa to the UK.

She an 8 year school girl & my missus dots on her so wants her to see the sights.

How do we chase up these applications?

Is there a VFS contact number or email address?

[SidJames]

Just had another look on the VFS site for contact info & saw this:

 

Please note: VFS Global does not provide updates on the progress of applications that have been made, nor can we give advice to the public about UK visa applications in general.

 

Can anyone offer advice on our options?

We're due to fly at the end of the month which will be 2 month after the biometrics etc at Trendy Buildings?

 

[SidJames]

I just got an email from UKVI in Delhi informing me that visa applications are now taking 10 weeks or more to process.

How do they expect people to travel at all if you can only start the process 3 months ahead of travel & then only book flights once you get a visa?

Availability would be minimal on flights meaning they would cost a fortune & families most likely would not be seated together.

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by theoldgit
Inappropriate comment removed

[SidJames]

I went to Trendy Buildings today to ask in person as I was getting no luck via their other channels & was told UK visas are now taking 9 weeks to process.

 

[Tony M]

It seems to be a kind of Catch-22 situation.  Applicants and sponsors don't want to wait almost 3 months for a decision on their application.  So, UKVI offer a couple of "Priority" services which give quicker decisions at a fairly high cost.  Some cynics might say that the 3 month processing time is forcing applicants to pay for these priority services, but I wouldn't be so unkind as to even suggest that.  However, if a fair number of applicants do pay for the priority services, then it seems probable that those taking advantage of the priority services, if there are a lot (business travelers, students who need to start their course, etc), then this makes other "ordinary" applicants wait even longer in the queue.  Could it actually be a  "manufactured" queue, to persuade applicants to use the priority services (oh....I did suggest it after saying that I wouldn't !) ?  

[Excel]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:50 AM, Will B Good said:

Done it dozens of times, but don't be tempted to go for the five year visa......I did and was refused and the application money was not returned.....plus no explanation offered.

 

 

And they wonder why some of us prefer to live here, a den of thieves, rather than our home country, an even bigger den of thieves.

[GroveHillWanderer]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:27 PM, SidJames said:

I went to Trendy Buildings today to ask in person as I was getting no luck via their other channels & was told UK visas are now taking 9 weeks to process.

 

They actually told my wife 11 weeks when she handed her application in. She just got her approved visa back today, exactly 3 weeks later.

[SidJames]

On 7/1/2022 at 8:16 PM, GroveHillWanderer said:

They actually told my wife 11 weeks when she handed her application in. She just got her approved visa back today, exactly 3 weeks later.

My lad's visa will be 10 wks tomorrow with no sign of it, my missus got her's in 2 weeks, application & biometrics done at exactly the same time.

There is no rhyme or reason to such an inconsistent process & they are <deleted> with people's lives.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

8 minutes ago, SidJames said:

My lad's visa will be 10 wks tomorrow with no sign of it, my missus got her's in 2 weeks, application & biometrics done at exactly the same time.

There is no rhyme or reason to such an inconsistent process & they are <deleted> with people's lives.

 

That's incredibly frustrating.  Appalling service.