No more Non O Spouse multiple entry?

[Skipalongcassidy]

22 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

 Note: Can anybody explain to me the reason for that requirement that you are only allowed to apply for an eVisa when physically in your home-country. 

Perhaps they like to have large crowds at IO's... or perhaps their IT capabilities would be overloaded if everyone did e-visas

[Bday Prang]

On 12/5/2023 at 2:41 AM, RotBenz8888 said:

Seems like theyre making it increasingly difficult for those with a Thai wife.

Not surprising really and I don't really blame them.   Many countries around the world have problems with foreigners evading immigration regulations by getting "Married"  I am from the UK and it is a problem there, It would be a bit hypocritical of me to suggest it should be allowed continue over here or anywhere else, just for my own personal convenience

[Bday Prang]

On 12/5/2023 at 5:58 AM, Skipalongcassidy said:

Perhaps they like to have large crowds at IO's... or perhaps their IT capabilities would be overloaded if everyone did e-visas

Its not exactly normal to apply for a visa, online or otherwise, to gain entry to a country where one is already residing.  Although its not that difficult to find away around this, some have suggested the doubtful possibility of using a VPN.  Personally I can think of another way, if one has a friend living in one's own country.   Just be careful if the stamps in your passport prove you were in Thailand at the time you applied, as a keen eyed immigration officer might notice this 

[RayC]

26 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Not surprising really and I don't really blame them.   Many countries around the world have problems with foreigners evading immigration regulations by getting "Married"  I am from the UK and it is a problem there, It would be a bit hypocritical of me to suggest it should be allowed continue over here or anywhere else, just for my own personal convenience

 

There is no significant problem with sham marriages in the UK

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/home-office-immigration-sham-marriage-hostile-environment/

[Bday Prang]

8 hours ago, RayC said:

 

There is no significant problem with sham marriages in the UK

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/home-office-immigration-sham-marriage-hostile-environment/

 That is not exactly true,  your link is from the open borders brigade,   think you might find  this government website a little more informative .. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c321340f0b674ed20f74d/Sham_Marriage_and_Civil_Partnerships.pdf  

[RayC]

On 12/7/2023 at 6:54 PM, Bday Prang said:

 That is not exactly true,  your link is from the open borders brigade,   think you might find  this government website a little more informative .. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c321340f0b674ed20f74d/Sham_Marriage_and_Civil_Partnerships.pdf  

 

I think that you should check the source of the data quoted by the "open borders brigade"; it's the Home Office.

 

The report you link to is from 2013 so is now completely outdated and irrelevant. The link that I provided is from July this year so still very much relevant.

[Bday Prang]

3 hours ago, RayC said:

I think that you should check the source of the data quoted by the "open borders brigade"; it's the Home Office.

same thing these days, !    Even registry office officials can spot them a mile off.   

                      Many marriages here are just as dubious, and are undertaken for a variety of reasons by either of the parties involved whether or not they intend to travel to the UK

                        There are people I know , some  in their 70's "adopting" Thai kids   don't try and tell my its for purely altruistic reasons, I know otherwise

Edited December 26, 2023 by Bday Prang

[RayC]

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

same thing these days, !    Even registry office officials can spot them a mile off.   

                      Many marriages here are just as dubious, and are undertaken for a variety of reasons by either of the parties involved whether or not they intend to travel to the UK

                        There are people I know , some  in their 70's "adopting" Thai kids   don't try and tell my its for purely altruistic reasons, I know otherwise

 

Official Home Office data vs. individual anecdotal evidence. Which is more credible?

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, RayC said:

 

Official Home Office data vs. individual anecdotal evidence. Which is more credible?

Its irrelevant what you choose to believe, what is relevant is the reaction of the authorities regarding the issue of sham marriages.  As can be seen from the OP  the authorities here are not exactly unconcerned about the matter, that is why they are not exactly relaxing the regulations

Meanwhile the UK government has drastically increased the financial requirements for importing foreign wives, most would consider that to be  an indication of their concern. 

Regardless of what figures are released by the woke infested home office Actions speak louder than words

Edited December 26, 2023 by Bday Prang

[RayC]

3 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Its irrelevant what you choose to believe, what is relevant is the reaction of the authorities regarding the issue of sham marriages.  As can be seen from the OP  the authorities here are not exactly unconcerned about the matter, that is why they are not exactly relaxing the regulations

Meanwhile the UK government has drastically increased the financial requirements for importing foreign wives, most would consider that to be  an indication of their concern. 

Regardless of what figures are released by the woke infested home office Actions speak louder than words

 

The (non) issuing of Thai Non-O spousal ME visas has absolutely nothing to do with UK Home Office data and/or sham marriages in the UK. I would have thought that much was blindingly obvious but apparently not.

 

The UK government has not increased the financial requirements for family visa applications in order to curb sham marriages, although I guess that might be a possible tiny by-product: It has done so in order to reduce the number of immigrants.

 

It's just nonsense to suggest that the Home Office is "woke infested".

[Bday Prang]

9 minutes ago, RayC said:

 

The (non) issuing of Thai Non-O spousal ME visas has absolutely nothing to do with UK Home Office data and/or sham marriages in the UK. I would have thought that much was blindingly obvious but apparently not.

 

The UK government has not increased the financial requirements for family visa applications in order to curb sham marriages, although I guess that might be a possible tiny by-product: It has done so in order to reduce the number of immigrants.

 

It's just nonsense to suggest that the Home Office is "woke infested".

Believe what you want it's no skin off my nose,  

You are correct , the issuing of non o's does indeed have nothing to do with the Uk's sham marriage problem,  but it has everything to do with the OP

[RayC]

14 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Believe what you want it's no skin off my nose,  

You are correct , the issuing of non o's does indeed have nothing to do with the Uk's sham marriage problem,  but it has everything to do with the OP

 

As long as they don't expect me to follow their lead, people can believe in the Tooth Fairy for all I care, although I doubt that I would understand their reason for doing that either.

 

Neither you nor I know anything about the OP's marriage situation, so you can't possibly rationally assume that the issue of sham marriage is of any relevance in this particular context.

 

As the data shows, there is no significant sham marriage "problem" in the UK. It's just another attempt to beat the anti-immigrant drum.

[brianthainess]

On 12/2/2023 at 10:14 PM, RotBenz8888 said:

So I understand that the multiple entry option for spouse visa is no longer available. I travel from Europe to Thailand 4 times per year and stay 8 weeks each time. Would 4 Tourist visas per year be a better option for me now, perhaps less hassle and cheaper?

My friend just got a 1 year retirement one from Switzerland. only prob. he has to do a boarder run every 2 months so he tells me, and immigration have told him.

Edited December 27, 2023 by brianthainess

[Bday Prang]

29 minutes ago, RayC said:

As the data shows, there is no significant sham marriage "problem" in the UK. It's just another attempt to beat the anti-immigrant drum.

Nothing wrong with that, 

[Bday Prang]

40 minutes ago, RayC said:

As the data shows, there is no significant sham marriage "problem" in the UK. It's just another attempt to beat the anti-immigrant drum.

Again off topic   but its a drum that needs banging a lot louder.  

[Bday Prang]

45 minutes ago, RayC said:

Neither you nor I know anything about the OP's marriage situation,

That is why I am not commenting on the OP's personal situation.  

[RayC]

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Nothing wrong with that, 

 

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Again off topic   but its a drum that needs banging a lot louder.  

 

So if I've understood you correctly, you are saying that there is nothing wrong with being anti-immigration?

 

Presumably, you don't see the irony in holding such a view whilst, at the same time, being an immigrant yourself?

[RayC]

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

That is why I am not commenting on the OP's personal situation.  

 

But you see it as relevant to the topic to suggest that sham marriages are a problem in the UK (without any data to support your view)?

[Bday Prang]

1 minute ago, RayC said:

 

But you see it as relevant to the topic to suggest that sham marriages are a problem in the UK (without any data to support your view)?

yes I do   and your problem is?

[RayC]

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

yes I do   and your problem is?

 

I don't have a problem. It's your opinion.

 

But there's no point in discussing matters any more if all the evidence you have amounts to, 'I know what I know'.

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, RayC said:

 

I don't have a problem. It's your opinion.

 

But there's no point in discussing matters any more if all the evidence you have amounts to, 'I know what I know'.

Are you of the opinion that sham marriages never happen?  Surely not as  regardless of what any statistics may tell you, that would be somewhat naive.  

The website you linked to mentions over  1300 sham marriages  in my opinion that is a  "significant" problem  as just 1 is 1 too many

here is a link that explains why the above numbers are not representative of what is actually happening

  https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/466/how-effective-is-enforcement-action-against-sham-marriage

 As usual "human rights" legislation is getting in the way

 

Further discussion is indeed pointless

 

 

 

 

[RayC]

12 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Are you of the opinion that sham marriages never happen?  Surely not as  regardless of what any statistics may tell you, that would be somewhat naive.  

The website you linked to mentions over  1300 sham marriages  in my opinion that is a  "significant" problem  as just 1 is 1 too many

here is a link that explains why the above numbers are not representative of what is actually happening

  https://www.migrationwatchuk.org/briefing-paper/466/how-effective-is-enforcement-action-against-sham-marriage

 As usual "human rights" legislation is getting in the way

 

Further discussion is indeed pointless

 

 

 

 

 

1319 marriages in the UK were found to be sham between 2016 - 2022; that's an average of less than 200 per year and 1.2% of the total number of cases highlighted as suspicious.

 

You consider this to be a "significant" problem: I don't. I would consider it an act of folly - and a misallocation of resources - to spend any additional time, money and effort investigating matters further given the current figures. If the number of referrals increase then my view might change. 

 

Your latest link contains data from the 2013 report which you previously referred to, and even the more recent data is from 2019 so, yet again, it is outdated and largely irrelevant. 

[Bday Prang]

28 minutes ago, RayC said:

You consider this to be a "significant" problem: I don't

So let's just leave it at that then. You are entitled to your opinion, as indeed am I