Uk visa for Thai girlfriend

[dereko169]

I am living in Newcastle Upon Tyne uk at the moment and my Thai girlfriend is staying with me on a 6 month visitor visa. I want to extend her visa possibly a settlement visa. Does anyone have any advice or can recommend a local company to deal with this.

[hotandsticky]

I will stand corrected but I don't think your GF can stay longer than 6 months on a standard visitor visitor.

 

Get your paperwork together and get her back to Thailand to apply for another visa. I still think that coming to Thailand to marry so she can apply as a wife gives a stronger case. A fiancee visa is another option

[theoldgit]

Unhelpful troll posts removed, along with some measured responses.

[theoldgit]

4 hours ago, dereko169 said:

I am living in Newcastle Upon Tyne uk at the moment and my Thai girlfriend is staying with me on a 6 month visitor visa. I want to extend her visa possibly a settlement visa. Does anyone have any advice or can recommend a local company to deal with this.

As @hotandstickyhas correctly pointed out your girlfriend cannot extend her visa to Settlement/Family Visa from within the UK, she would need to return to Thailand and apply from there.

Unless she can prove that you’ve been living together for in excess of two years, it’s unlikely that she would qualify just as a girlfriend, though she might be able to qualify for a Fiancé Visa if you have evidence of a forthcoming marriage.

A visit visa can only be extended in very exceptional circumstances.

Without wishing to appear pedantic, you cannot extend anyones visa, it’s your girlfriend that would need to apply and demonstrate that she meets the criteria, though you could assist her.

[NanLaew]

Girlfriend isn't a social status that qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

[theoldgit]

32 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Girlfriend isn't a social status that qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

If he and the girlfriend have been living together in a durable relationship for in excess of two years, and can provide compelling evidence of doing so, she could meet the requirements for a Family Visa, though that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, theoldgit said:

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Girlfriend isn't a social status that qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

If he and the girlfriend have been living together in a durable relationship for in excess of two years, and can provide compelling evidence of doing so, she could meet the requirements for a Family Visa, though that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Good points. In this brave new world of blissful unweddedness and cohabitation, the strictures or limitations of being in a de-facto relationship of say twenty years ago have relaxed. Such a couple have more rights and 'traction' than say twenty years ago with regard to their lives and entitlements in their homelands but when it comes to immigration, I think that in many countries, the 'old rules' still carry more weight. So maybe it's better if I say:

 

Girlfriend isn't a social status that easily qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

 

Good luck to the OP. It needs patience and honesty as well as basically starting over as the criteria for 'just visiting'  is different for those seeking the more permanent status of 'settlement'.

 

It's so much easier for a foreigner to flip there status after they get here than it is for a Thai to even get their foot in the door over there.

[hotandsticky]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Good points. In this brave new world of blissful unweddedness and cohabitation, the strictures or limitations of being in a de-facto relationship of say twenty years ago have relaxed. Such a couple have more rights and 'traction' than say twenty years ago with regard to their lives and entitlements in their homelands but when it comes to immigration, I think that in many countries, the 'old rules' still carry more weight. So maybe it's better if I say:

 

Girlfriend isn't a social status that easily qualifies for a UK settlement visa, regardless of the girlfriend's nationality.

 

Good luck to the OP. It needs patience and honesty as well as basically starting over as the criteria for 'just visiting'  is different for those seeking the more permanent status of 'settlement'.

 

It's so much easier for a foreigner to flip there status after they get here than it is for a Thai to even get their foot in the door over there.

 

As much as I disagree with that antiquated establishment view of relationships, I agree entirely that it will much harder trying to apply from a boyfriend/girlfriend point of view. A couple can marry out of convenience and live apart for chunks of the year - they would be in a much stronger position with their application. Fair? No, but the fact remains that it is much easier to provide the evidence of a marriage certificate than it is to supply evidence of a "durable relationship for in excess of two years" as an unmarried couple.

 

I think that the OP needs to bite the bullet and marry - cheaply in Thailand, then apply or (my favoured route) in the UK on the back of a fiancee visa. The later has a good chance of success with just the simple criteria for a standard visit visa, plus a registry office booking/enquiry.