On 5/9/2025 at 3:27 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Show everything you can - Proof of funds (savings), house ownership (documents need to be translated into English).

 

You will need an 'invitation letter' from your parents, addressed from their house, saying that you will both stay there for the duration of your visit (you can write this letter yourself, from you, but the address needs to be listed as your UK address).

 

 

An interview is very unlikely - solid documentation is key.

 

 

 

Get everything you can...  You can also 'fast track' at VFS - which wont actually make the visa process itself any quicker, but you will get 'dedicated assistance' at VFS and a quicker appointment time.

 

https://visa.vfsglobal.com/tha/en/gbr/super-priority-visa

Good suggestions

 

Id also present a letter by you as the spouse saying you financially support her during trip. 

 

 BUT most important give supporting evidence that she is going to return to Thailand. While having property is one, it's not a strong one, A job in Thailand is a good one or family in Thailand (another albeit on the weak side) 

 

Another word of caution. VFS is brutal to deal with!   They have no problem rejecting applications for any reason.  And since they answer to no one they don't care (they are not the UK government they are just an agent). So make sure everything is don't 100% correct.  They don't care if you leaving in June. They only care about themselves!!! 

 

Overall. Tourists visa for. Spouse is not that hard or difficult. And usually approved. Just make sure application is filled out in full and correctly. 

 

Good luck

 

3 minutes ago, thjames007 said:

Good suggestions

 

Id also present a letter by you as the spouse saying you financially support her during trip. 

 

 BUT most important give supporting evidence that she is going to return to Thailand. While having property is one, it's not a strong one, A job in Thailand is a good one or family in Thailand (another albeit on the weak side) 

 

Another word of caution. VFS is brutal to deal with!   They have no problem rejecting applications for any reason.  And since they answer to no one they don't care (they are not the UK government they are just an agent). So make sure everything is don't 100% correct.  They don't care if you leaving in June. They only care about themselves!!! 

 

Overall. Tourists visa for. Spouse is not that hard or difficult. And usually approved. Just make sure application is filled out in full and correctly. 

 

Good luck

 

VFS cannot refuse applications. That's not their job.

18 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

VFS cannot refuse applications. That's not their job.

Thats exactly their job, yes or no! 

17 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

2023 when the 3 year visa was granted. It is automatically approved for longer periods once you have had X number of previous Schengen visas.

My wife had 4 prior to 2023, obviously not enough to get the 3 years in 2024 but doubt we well go back to Europe or transit through Amsterdam.

Morocco this year, easiest visa I have ever done for her, one sponsor letter and had it in 48 hours.

29 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Thats exactly their job, yes or no! 

No. VFS have no authority to refuse applications. 

27 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Thats exactly their job, yes or no! 

Give over with the distortion.

VFS cannot refuse to accept a completed application.

58 minutes ago, thjames007 said:

Another word of caution. VFS is brutal to deal with!   They have no problem rejecting applications for any reason.  And since they answer to no one they don't care (they are not the UK government they are just an agent). So make sure everything is don't 100% correct.  They don't care if you leaving in June. They only care about themselves!!! 

I have been dealing with VFS for over 15 years, not just UK, also Europe and Canada, and have had many issues in that time. You are quite right, they did have far too much power. Also more interested in selling a service than providing one.

However time has moved on and these days with self online submission they have a lot less opportunity to stick their nose in. If you upload yourself and avoid involvement with their services there shouldn't be a problem from them.

A few years back we had to do Canada visa followed by UK visa, They screwed up on the Canada visa making the time for the UK visa tight.  When I threatened to report them to the UK embassy they wrote across the top  of the UK application "Urgent Fast Track" in large red letters.

Then there were people saying VFS had no influence on visa applications.

5 hours ago, thjames007 said:

Another word of caution. VFS is brutal to deal with!   They have no problem rejecting applications for any reason.  And since they answer to no one they don't care (they are not the UK government they are just an agent). So make sure everything is don't 100% correct.  They don't care if you leaving in June. They only care about themselves!!! 

True - but it’s in their interest to make sure you have everything on order….

… so they usually ask for more than is required. 
 

My Wife has dealt with them a lot for various Schengen visas over the years & knows the requirements in detail.

They always try to get her to buy extra insurance etc & threatens my wife that she’ll be rejected if she doesn’t go with the insurance on their list (we have good insurance already - never an issue).

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Olmate said:

Thats exactly their job, yes or no! 

 

Absolutely not.

 

VfS are simply agents for UKVI and are obliged to submit whatever you put in your application. Their role is simply to obtain biometrics and forward applications........inserting the visa into a passport is their toughest challenge.

 

VfS have become more efficient , and user friendly, over the last 15 years.

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

I have been dealing with VFS for over 15 years, not just UK, also Europe and Canada, and have had many issues in that time. You are quite right, they did have far too much power. Also more interested in selling a service than providing one.

However time has moved on and these days with self online submission they have a lot less opportunity to stick their nose in. If you upload yourself and avoid involvement with their services there shouldn't be a problem from them.

A few years back we had to do Canada visa followed by UK visa, They screwed up on the Canada visa making the time for the UK visa tight.  When I threatened to report them to the UK embassy they wrote across the top  of the UK application "Urgent Fast Track" in large red letters.

Then there were people saying VFS had no influence on visa applications.

 

VfS have no influence on the decision making process.

 

In the past they have come across as being obstructive on occasions, not so in recent years.

 

 

Morocco......that's an interesting choice @sandyf not a place I have considered. 

31 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

VfS have no influence on the decision making process.

You would have to show me where I said they did.

 

In the days where you had to had to hand over all the documentation to VFS, they had a great deal of influence on how quickly that documentation was passed to the embassy. Which in turn affected the time taken to get a decision. The point I made was they could speed that up if they chose to do so, or as things still stand, you can pay them to speed things up.

As I already said, current procedures have limited some of the influence they once had.

3 hours ago, sandyf said:

You would have to show me where I said they did.

 

In the days where you had to had to hand over all the documentation to VFS, they had a great deal of influence on how quickly that documentation was passed to the embassy. Which in turn affected the time taken to get a decision. The point I made was they could speed that up if they chose to do so, or as things still stand, you can pay them to speed things up.

As I already said, current procedures have limited some of the influence they once had.

You did say "they had far too much power", in reply to a comment suggesting they can reject applications. 

 

That eoukd suggest, at least, partial agreement.

14 hours ago, sandyf said:

You would have to show me where I said they did.

 

In the days where you had to had to hand over all the documentation to VFS, they had a great deal of influence on how quickly that documentation was passed to the embassy. Which in turn affected the time taken to get a decision. The point I made was they could speed that up if they chose to do so, or as things still stand, you can pay them to speed things up.

As I already said, current procedures have limited some of the influence they once had.

Both you two blokes are having a bob each way, VFS have a say/ no they don,t. Clearly they do or they would,nt exist. Ask any agent working in Trendy Building! 🤪

3 hours ago, Olmate said:

Both you two blokes are having a bob each way, VFS have a say/ no they don,t. Clearly they do or they would,nt exist. Ask any agent working in Trendy Building! 🤪

All UK visa decisions are made by UK civil servants working for UKVI.  

VFS have NO part in the decision making. They just take and check the applications before forwarding them on to UKVI.

4 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

All UK visa decisions are made by UK civil servants working for UKVI.  

VFS have NO part in the decision making. They just take and check the applications before forwarding them on to UKVI.

 

On 5/11/2025 at 9:05 AM, Olmate said:

Thats exactly their job, yes or no! 

I was responding to the comment "they dont refuse the visa", not specifically UK.

2 hours ago, Olmate said:

 

I was responding to the comment "they dont refuse the visa", not specifically UK.

There are no specifics.

 

VFS do not have the power to refuse applications, regardless of which country the application relates to. It's that simple.

7 hours ago, Olmate said:

Both you two blokes are having a bob each way, VFS have a say/ no they don,t. Clearly they do or they would,nt exist. Ask any agent working in Trendy Building! 🤪

 

They have no authority whatsoever. VfS are simply processing agents for UKVI.... a glorified post box if you like. That said, they have become more professional and helpful over recent years.

30 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

They have no authority whatsoever. VfS are simply processing agents for UKVI.... a glorified post box if you like. That said, they have become more professional and helpful over recent years.

Gullible Englishmen aplenty here🤣

14 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Gullible Englishmen aplenty here🤣

The thread is about UK visas.

19 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

You did say "they had far too much power", in reply to a comment suggesting they can reject applications. 

Only a certain mentality would come to that conclusion.

55 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The thread is about UK visas.

 

6 hours ago, Olmate said:

 

I was responding to the comment "they dont refuse the visa", not specifically UK.

And one cant read, same reply to you as.before! 🙃

9 hours ago, Olmate said:

Both you two blokes are having a bob each way, VFS have a say/ no they don,t. Clearly they do or they would,nt exist. Ask any agent working in Trendy Building! 🤪

In the early days of VFS, they took over from the embassy about 20 years ago, they had a great deal in the handling of applications. At no time have I ever indicated they were involved in making a decision, but if your application never passed through VFS no decision would be made. For some reason some want to distort the context of what gets said.

When my wife did her first application at Regent House she was interviewed for about 20 minutes by VFS staff. Some will dispute "interviews" were held, and I would agree, "interrogation" would be more appropriate. The view is that if it didn't happen to them,  it didn't happen to anyone.

VFS is a parasite used by governments to underhandedly deter people from applying for visas. When the Ukraine war started Priti Patel misled the House when she said she would put more staff on processing visas. She wasn't in a position to employ VFS staff and they would only allocate 2 members of staff.  

To my country everything is done by the net Easy and fast.I know this is not about UK visa but just mentioned it anyway.

The problem now is family reunion visas with the spouse.Because my country have give visas to 80.000 Ukrainians the prosess is now 18 months.The Ukrainians allways first.About visit visa its about 15 working days.The fastest i have experienced is when my ex mother in law applied visit visa for the fourth time and it was granted after just 30 minutes.She was here 6 times with the longest stay 9 months.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Only a certain mentality would come to that conclusion.

I agree. A mentality able to comprehend.

14 hours ago, sandyf said:

In the early days of VFS, they took over from the embassy about 20 years ago, they had a great deal in the handling of applications. At no time have I ever indicated they were involved in making a decision, but if your application never passed through VFS no decision would be made. For some reason some want to distort the context of what gets said.

When my wife did her first application at Regent House she was interviewed for about 20 minutes by VFS staff. Some will dispute "interviews" were held, and I would agree, "interrogation" would be more appropriate. The view is that if it didn't happen to them,  it didn't happen to anyone.

VFS is a parasite used by governments to underhandedly deter people from applying for visas. When the Ukraine war started Priti Patel misled the House when she said she would put more staff on processing visas. She wasn't in a position to employ VFS staff and they would only allocate 2 members of staff.  

Thanks, exactly the case for Aust now: this time last year  Albo the PM said he would make the process easier, in fact it became impossible without using an agent here, or in Oz. Agents in Pattaya and Bkk  gaurantee a holiday visa (approx 20kbaht). Do they have Oz Embassy contacts? .. No its VFS.

Agree on the interview/interogation process, partner or relative not allowed in the VFS office, why is that, to appeal the knockback is expensive and fruitless! 

18 hours ago, Olmate said:

 

And one cant read, same reply to you as.before! 🙃

I know.  I was just pointing out your comment was off topic.

4 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I know.  I was just pointing out your comment was off topic.

Doesnt seem to effect other posterswho are contributing to the actual subject matter! 

Just received the Wife's visit visa for UK, so thought it would be useful to list out exactly what we provided:
 

• Wife's Passport
• My Passport
• My Passport Copy
• Letter from Sponsor (me) explaining:
  • Why I'm paying for the trip (Because I earn more than she does)
  • How long we have been together, how long we have been married, when child was born, that we own a house together.
  • Reason for UK visit (friends and family)
  • Very rough itinerary (visiting for approx. 1 month, staying with parents, might go on holiday to the coast -  that's as in-depth as it got)
• Letter from my Dad explaining:
  • He's my Dad
  • Will be providing food and accommodation for majority of our stay
  • Google map link to Address
  • Copy of his Passport Page
• My work contract (not a Thai company)
• My UK current account statement past 6 months (showing salary deposited each month)
• My Thai savings account statement past 6 months
• My UK Savings account statement past 6 months
• Marriage certificate
• Marriage certificate Translation

That's all we supplied, no other evidence, documents or photos.

This is the 3rd UK visit Visa she has had. However, when we applied for the first one 9 years ago we weren't married, didn't own a house nor have a child and supplied almost exactly the same documents. Only difference being that time I was working for Thai company so provided copies of my work Permit and only my Thai Bank statement.
 

Also just double checked and the first time we applied, we also supplied our Condo rental contract and copy (which was in her name).

Forgot to add, took 12 days to get the Visa.