UK Visa for Thai GF with previous prison sentence

[Seagull Sam]

My gf of 1.5 years requires a tourist visa for UK but we have a problem. She receieved a custodial sentence for 18 months for possession of ice. She got out around 6 or 7 years back I understand. I won't go into the whys and wherefores here, suffice to say she has not been involved with this in the time I have known her and has no other criminal convictions.

We can meet the necesary conditions comfortably, I am not afraid of long forms or interviews and have sufficient lovey dovey correspondence involving bunny rabbits and teddy bears on Line ID. 

Having been around Thailand for extended periods for the last five years I am more than happy that I have made a good choice and that she will return to Thailand as required.

I think an agent might be useful for this job. We are currently in Pattaya, does anyone have any recommendations please?

Please keep any general comments on the situation either factual or funny.

Thank you in advance.

[Joe Farang]

The most important thing to consider is the future. If there is a possibility that ye may one day wish to settle in the UK and go the citizenship route, then under no circumstances lie on a tourist visa application. You may get away with it if the checks for a tourist visa are not thorough. But they will be thorough for a future Citizen application.

[Celsius]

Not a chance she will get admitted to UK.

 

 

[Tony M]

You will need to know when she got out of prison.  Any visa application must be refused unless 10 years have passed since the end of the sentence. Unless there is an exceptional reason why a visa should be issued.

 

Here is the guidance on criminality

 

Criminality.pdf

[Salerno]

13 minutes ago, Seagull Sam said:

She receieved a custodial sentence for 18 months for possession of ice.

Not sure if there's a time limit on it or not but:

 

9.4.1. An application for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay must be refused where the applicant:

1. (a) has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-9-grounds-for-refusal

[FritsSikkink]

25 minutes ago, Tony M said:

You will need to know when she got out of prison.  Any visa application must be refused unless 10 years have passed since the end of the sentence. Unless there is an exceptional reason why a visa should be issued.

 

Here is the guidance on criminality

 

Criminality.pdf 287.47 kB · 2 downloads

According to your pdf the 10 years must have past is for applications before Dec-1-2020. For applications after that date the rule is: "Where a person has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months or more you must refuse their application" see page 16.

[Seagull Sam]

Obviously not what I wanted to hear but thanks for your input. It looks like 10 years until the conviction is spent. I guess any solicitor / lawyer will gives us chapter and verse re details of the offence. 

True love will find a way. Err...perhaps ????

[Tony M]

14 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

According to your pdf the 10 years must have past is for applications before Dec-1-2020. For applications after that date the rule is: "Where a person has been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a custodial sentence of at least 12 months or more you must refuse their application" see page 16.

Apologies, you are correct. It looks like no visa ever !

3 minutes ago, Seagull Sam said:

Obviously not what I wanted to hear but thanks for your input. It looks like 10 years until the conviction is spent. I guess any solicitor / lawyer will gives us chapter and verse re details of the offence. 

True love will find a way. Err...perhaps ????

See FritsSikkink's post above. It looks like the visa ban is permanent.  THis all changed  a couple of years ago,

it seems. I'm out of touch !!!!!

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, Seagull Sam said:

Obviously not what I wanted to hear but thanks for your input. It looks like 10 years until the conviction is spent. I guess any solicitor / lawyer will gives us chapter and verse re details of the offence. 

True love will find a way. Err...perhaps ????

Don't mention the conviction on the application, they don't check.

[kevinbraysford]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Don't mention the conviction on the application, they don't check.

how do you know this? if the did check and not disclosed she will never get a visa for uk

[roo860]

'I am not afraid of long forms or interviews and have sufficient lovey dovey correspondence involving bunny rabbits and teddy bears on Line ID.'

 

If you apply for a visa they don't want to see any of that, also no photos of you together, they state this on the website.

Good luck if you apply.

Ps. You can do it yourself, it's easy enough. 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, kevinbraysford said:

how do you know this? if the did check and not disclosed she will never get a visa for uk

If she does disclose it she will never get a VISA for the UK either.

So nothing to lose.

[Seagull Sam]

21 hours ago, Tony M said:

Apologies, you are correct. It looks like no visa ever !

See FritsSikkink's post above. It looks like the visa ban is permanent.  THis all changed  a couple of years ago,

it seems. I'm out of touch !!!!!

Not as I read it. It flies in the face of natural justice but I have 5 years to consider the matter if I am being optimistic. 

I voted Remain and would certainly never put my cross by the name of any of the self entitled public* school boys running the country now. 

* NB in England 'public school' means elitist private school.

[proton]

Name change and new ID card/PP seems to work main thing is the reason to return to Thailand

[GinBoy2]

On 2/23/2023 at 4:33 AM, BritManToo said:

If she does disclose it she will never get a VISA for the UK either.

So nothing to lose.

I think the bigger issue is if ever they want to move to the UK.

 

I'm American, but I'm sure the UK immigration system isn't much different, where you have to obtain a police report as part of the process.

 

For us at least, you have to list previous tourist applications.

 

If you lie on the tourist stuff, it'll come back to bite you

[Seagull Sam]

19 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

If you lie on the tourist stuff, it'll come back to bite you

It's not really in my nature to lie on official forms. I need a police form to get into Thailand from UK so it's likely we will need something similar travelling in the opposite direction. 

I don't think the Thais are sharp enough to keep information about minor offences, only the backhanders paid to the right uniform. 

I'll check with an agent or lawyer but I'm not holding out much hope. 

Thanks for your contribution nonetheless. 

 

 

[The Fugitive]

18 months custodial for possession? Seems extremely harsh unless the quantity involved was deemed excessive for personal use only. That could be an arguing point. Unfortunately, we're talking about UK. In some Countries possession isn't a criminal offence. For touristic application go with BritManToo's advice. Disclosure at this stage will guarantee refusal. If it comes to the crunch a Visa Agent/Fixer will be the way to go.

[soi3eddie]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:03 AM, proton said:

Name change and new ID card/PP seems to work main thing is the reason to return to Thailand

I know a Thai lady who served nearly 10 years in Thai jail for a drugs conviction from about 2003 to 2013. On release she changed her name and got a new passport. She remarried her fomer British husband (long story) and they have been living happily in the UK on a settlement visa for the last 5+ years. I beleive she now has, or is about to receive British citizenship. One thing for sure is that regulations and checks will get ever more stringent in this data collection/sharing age. Good luck to OP - I would not mention it on application. As @BritManToo say's there's "nothing to lose".

  

 

[sandyf]

24 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

I would not mention it on application.

It is a Yes or No answer.

 

At any time have you ever had any of the following in the UK or in another country?

A criminal conviction
A penalty for a driving offence, for example disqualification for speeding or no motor
insurance
An arrest or charge for which you are currently on, or awaiting trial
A caution, warning, reprimand or other out-of court penalty
A civil court judgment against you, for example for non payment of debt, bankruptcy
proceedings or anti-social behaviour

[oxo1947]

On 2/23/2023 at 6:10 PM, BritManToo said:

Don't mention the conviction on the application, they don't check.

Ditto..... The answer is no to the Question, any slip ups you just miss read it.  (oh.. sorry I thought you just meant convictions in England )

 

Play it the honest way & I think her chances of getting a visa would be low.

& as BritMan mentioned, I dont see them trolling through all police records of every country for just a  Tourist visit. 

[The Fugitive]

11 minutes ago, sandyf said:

It is a Yes or No answer.

 

At any time have you ever had any of the following in the UK or in another country?

A criminal conviction
A penalty for a driving offence, for example disqualification for speeding or no motor
insurance
An arrest or charge for which you are currently on, or awaiting trial
A caution, warning, reprimand or other out-of court penalty
A civil court judgment against you, for example for non payment of debt, bankruptcy
proceedings or anti-social behaviour

Far, far too broad. Some of us could answer yes to all (except anti-social behaviour).

[sandyf]

On 2/24/2023 at 1:03 PM, proton said:

Name change and new ID card/PP seems to work main thing is the reason to return to Thailand

What do you mean "work".

Applicants have to declare all previous names. As any financial advisor will say, previous performance is no guarantee of future performance.

The OP would be well advised to kick it into the long grass for a few years rather than risk it going pear shaped at this point in time. If as he suggests the application would a bit stronger as a spouse than a GF.

My wife got her passport back on Friday, 15 days after the appointment at Trendy, not a lot of time for checking up.

[Callmeishmael]

24 minutes ago, sandyf said:

It is a Yes or No answer.
A caution, warning, reprimand or other out-of court penalty
 

So you can be denied a visa if you were given a ticker for having a broken taillight????  ????

[The Fugitive]

1 minute ago, Callmeishmael said:

So you can be denied a visa if you were given a ticker for having a broken taillight????  ????

I thought that! Surely they should only be concerned about arrestable offences? They mention disqualification too?

[sandyf]

25 minutes ago, Callmeishmael said:

So you can be denied a visa if you were given a ticker for having a broken taillight????  ????

What on earth makes you think a yes answer means denial.

Comments like that are how false information gets spread.

[sandyf]

27 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

I thought that! Surely they should only be concerned about arrestable offences? They mention disqualification too?

I would have thought that you would have realised that a 16 page application is nothing more than an attempt to deter people from applying, the answers themselves are subject to guidance.

The EU tourist visa application is 4 pages and free to family members.

[The Fugitive]

7 minutes ago, sandyf said:

What on earth makes you think a yes answer means denial.

Comments like that are how false information gets spread.

That would depend upon the number of yes answers and the weighting applied to each one. A fixed penalty traffic ticket if unpaid can result in arrest and even a prison sentence. Essentially for the same 'offence'.

[sandyf]

5 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

That would depend upon the number of yes answers and the weighting applied to each one. A fixed penalty traffic ticket if unpaid can result in arrest and even a prison sentence. Essentially for the same 'offence'.

This is what was said.

"So you can be denied a visa if you were given a ticker for having a broken taillight???? "

Where exactly does "depend" come into it, distorting the context also leads to false information.

[GinBoy2]

So again I am not British, and Brit's can comment more on specifics.

 

Generally for tourist visas Western countries don't do background checks, but be aware the UK and the US are tough for single women, especially if young.

 

So you can tick that box for no criminal convictions if you want. 

 

And lets not conflate a traffic offense with a felony and jail time.

 

Then you get down the line should you get to it, wanting to take your tillack back to the UK as a bride.

 

Thats when things get tricky.

 

Thai's often think that emigration to mystical magical farang land only requires the MFA clearance they get when they go work overseas. I 'think' any convictions for that are expunged after a few years.

 

And again, I can only speak for the US, but emigration visas require that Police report, where nothing is expunged.

 

Maybe the UK is different

[Seagull Sam]

4 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Maybe the UK is different

Probably not by a lot. Since Brexit things have become a lot worse and government seems to have entered a time machine where all imigrants are treated with suspicion and 1970s style strikes are in fashion again.

Going back to the original question the lady in question isn't so young, although I am significantly older, I have no plans to marry her and she takes her family responsibilities seriously.

We are only looking at tourist visas perhaps summer in UK, winter in Thailand.