What's the best way to get a UK visitor visa for Thai 12 year old ?

Half British but no UK passport .

Just for a visit to the UK for a month .

I have looked on line, but there's so much junk to wade through.

(Just spent 30 minutes speaking to bot who then asked for payment to proceed)

Edited July 9Jul 9 by Nick Carter icp

Why not apply for a British passport? Useful in the long time.

11 minutes ago, saakura said:

Why not apply for a British passport? Useful in the long time.

Unable to get hold of his Thai Birth certificate

If he's "half British" a visa will not be issued. He needs to get his UK passport.

9 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Unable to get hold of his Thai Birth certificate

You can obtain a copy from the Amphur where his birth was registered.

Tabien Baan would also be helpful, or address where he was registered in Tabien Baan.
His school should have that info.

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

If he's "half British" a visa will not be issued. He needs to get his UK passport.

People with a British parent cannot get a tourist visa for the UK ?

Since Feb 2026 uk dual nationals need either a UK passport or a 'Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode' shown with the Thai passport.

Suggest uk embassy best place to inquire initially

19 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

People with a British parent cannot get a tourist visa for the UK ?

That's essentially asking if you can get a tourist visa to your own country that you are a citizen of.

1 hour ago, Nick Carter icp said:

People with a British parent cannot get a tourist visa for the UK ?

Not if they are eligible for British citizenship. If the British parent is 'British By Descent' then the child is not eligible. But if the British parent is British 'Otherwise than by Descent' the child can. If you apply for a UK Visitor visa they will check.

Edited July 10Jul 10 by brewsterbudgen

3 hours ago, terryq said:

Since Feb 2026 uk dual nationals need either a UK passport or a 'Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode' shown with the Thai passport.

Suggest uk embassy best place to inquire initially

It’s worth noting that a CoE costs £589, a passport costs a little over £120 including delivery, but a passport can take a little longer.

On 7/10/2026 at 11:06 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

People with a British parent cannot get a tourist visa for the UK ?

A British citizen can't get any type of visa to enter the UK. One reason is because a visa restricts your length of stay, and a citizen can not be time limited.

The UK government will not knowingly issue a visa to a UK citizen and time limit them

On 7/9/2026 at 9:18 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

What's the best way to get a UK visitor visa for Thai 12 year old ?

Half British but no UK passport .

Just for a visit to the UK for a month .

I have looked on line, but there's so much junk to wade through.

(Just spent 30 minutes speaking to bot who then asked for payment to proceed)

Suggest:

1. Get him a Thai passport - easy and quick to get at a passport office (once you have his birth certificate). Use it for leaving and entering Thailand.

2. Get him a British passport - application form not too difficult to complete. Use for entering and leaving UK.

Better to think longterm and get these sorted out for him (your son?).

Having spent considerable time renewing sons Thai and British passports, and getting the wife a UK visa, by far the most difficult to do in my opinion was get the UK visa.

On 7/10/2026 at 12:44 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

Not if they are eligible for British citizenship. If the British parent is 'British By Descent' then the child is not eligible. But if the British parent is British 'Otherwise than by Descent' the child can. If you apply for a UK Visitor visa they will check.

That is not true. A child can enter the UK on a visitor visa even if registration for UK citizenship has not been applied for.

The application would be subject to scrutiny in repect of the intention to return.

A first passport application now requires a DNA test and that cannot be done until requested by UK immigration so it can be a protracted process.

This is what AI had to say

Yes. A foreign national child can enter the UK on a Standard Visitor Visa, even if they have not yet registered for British citizenship. However, the UK Border Force will closely scrutinize the application to ensure the child genuinely intends to visit and has not spent long periods living unlawfully in the UK.

21 hours ago, blackcab said:

A British citizen can't get any type of visa to enter the UK. One reason is because a visa restricts your length of stay, and a citizen can not be time limited.

The UK government will not knowingly issue a visa to a UK citizen and time limit them

The child is not a British citizen until an application to register as such has been made and approved.

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Not if they are eligible for British citizenship.

44 minutes ago, sandyf said:

That is not true. A child can enter the UK on a visitor visa even if registration for UK citizenship has not been applied for.

The application would be subject to scrutiny in repect of the intention to return.

A first passport application now requires a DNA test and that cannot be done until requested by UK immigration so it can be a protracted process.

Visa& Immigration

This is what AI had to say

Yes. A foreign national child can enter the UK on a Standard Visitor Visa, even if they have not yet registered for British citizenship. However, the UK Border Force will closely scrutinize the application to ensure the child genuinely intends to visit and has not spent long periods living unlawfully in the UK.

True, but first the child has to actually get the UK Visitor visa. In Thailand, I'm aware of more than one time when it has been refused as the child is eligible for a UK passport.

This is the relevant guidance to Caseworkers.

People who are British citizens or who have right of abode

A person who is a British citizen, or who has right of abode in the UK cannot be

given permission to enter or stay under the Immigration Rules. This is because

under section 1(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 a person with right of abode is not subject to immigration control.

If a person who has right of abode applies for a visit visa and you are satisfied that they have right of abode, you should advise them that their application cannot be considered, the application will be withdrawn, and they may want to apply for a certificate of entitlement to right of abode or a British passport instead.

If you believe the person may have right of abode in the UK, but they have applied for a certificate of entitlement to right of abode or a British passport and have been refused on the basis that they have not established their entitlement, you can issue a visit visa provided the applicant meets the Immigration Rules. Where you are not satisfied that they meet the Visitor rules, they can be refused a visa in line with the rules (for example: that they are not a genuine visitor).

22 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

True, but first the child has to actually get the UK Visitor visa. In Thailand, I'm aware of more than one time when it has been refused as the child is eligible for a UK passport.

That is the catch 22, eligible and approved are not the same thing. Were the refusals before or after the DNA requirement?

My understanding of current procedure is an application for first child passport is made to VFS. The application is then passed to immigration who will then advise the applicant they must attend VFS for a DNA sample, cost is £200. The results are then sent directly to immigration, applicant not informed. A successful outcome would then be immigration advising the passport office to issue the passport. From what I could see there is no guidance on timescale.

35 minutes ago, sandyf said:

That is the catch 22, eligible and approved are not the same thing. Were the refusals before or after the DNA requirement?

My understanding of current procedure is an application for first child passport is made to VFS. The application is then passed to immigration who will then advise the applicant they must attend VFS for a DNA sample, cost is £200. The results are then sent directly to immigration, applicant not informed. A successful outcome would then be immigration advising the passport office to issue the passport. From what I could see there is no guidance on timescale.

When I applied for my (infant) son's UK passport it was quite straightforward. We just needed his Thai birth certificate, my birth certificate to show that I am British Otherwise than by Descent, his mother's Lao documents and our passports. No DNA test required. Everything was submitted to and checked by VFS in Bangkok, then sent to the UK. HMPO issued his passport in about 6 weeks. Not sure who you mean by "Immigration"? It's all processed by HMPO.

52 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

When I applied for my (infant) son's UK passport it was quite straightforward. We just needed his Thai birth certificate, my birth certificate to show that I am British Otherwise than by Descent, his mother's Lao documents and our passports. No DNA test required. Everything was submitted to and checked by VFS in Bangkok, then sent to the UK. HMPO issued his passport in about 6 weeks. Not sure who you mean by "Immigration"? It's all processed by HMPO.

I did some research on this a couple of weeks ago and the indication was that UKVI dealt with proof of eligibility for citizenship, with DNA becoming more routine. There does however appear to be a contradiction on how results are handled, from VFS

4. DNA testing For first time child cases (first passport for a child) applying for British citizenship and who have been offered by HM Passport Office to take their DNA test at a VFS Global Visa Application Centre. VFS staff will contact you by email once we receive the notification from HMPO. The DNA testing company will send your results directly to HMPO, and to the email address you have provided to HMPO, after DNA samples have been collected for all family members. The cost of DNA testing is £200 per customer.

My situation is a bit more complicated, although my son is eligible I cannot afford the legal costs involved, so if what you say about visitor visa is true then my son would never be allowed to enter the UK on a Thai passport, banned for life.

34 minutes ago, sandyf said:

4. DNA testing For first time child cases (first passport for a child) applying for British citizenship and who have been offered by HM Passport Office to take their DNA test at a VFS Global Visa Application Centre. VFS staff will contact you by email once we receive the notification from HMPO. The DNA testing company will send your results directly to HMPO, and to the email address you have provided to HMPO, after DNA samples have been collected for all family members. The cost of DNA testing is £200 per customer.

Under the Immigration Rules, applicants are ordinarily expected to provide documentary evidence of their relationship, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, or adoption records. However, there are many circumstances in which such documents are simply not available, cannot be verified, or are not accepted as sufficient by a UKVI caseworker.

When a child is born abroad to a British citizen, where a parent is seeking citizenship or a passport for a child born outside the UK, a paternity or maternity DNA test can confirm the biological relationship between parent and child, supporting the application where birth registration documents are unavailable or insufficient.
If the child was born in wedlock, then the citizenship of that child is rarely questioned, however where the child was born out of wedlock, it's questionable who the Father is as any male can be named on a birth certificate. In this situation a paternity or maternity DNA test can confirm the biological relationship between parent and child, supporting the application where birth registration documents are unavailable or insufficient.

I have never known a passport application be refused or a voluntary DNA test suggested when the child was conceived whilst in wedlock of the British national and a foreign spouse.

Edited July 13Jul 13 by Liquorice

On 7/10/2026 at 11:06 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

People with a British parent cannot get a tourist visa for the UK ?

It's about 600 pounds for a dual nationality Brit citizen to get permission to enter the UK without a Brit passport (ETA). New rules brought in February 2026.

"The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is a digital permission to travel to the UK. It is not a visa and does not guarantee entry to the UK."

https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publications/2026/02/united-kingdom-travel-changes-for-british-dual-citizens

But you could just claim the kid is a Thai citizen not related to you, and apply for a normal VISA as a Thai foriegner.

Edited July 13Jul 13 by BritManToo

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

"The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is a digital permission to travel to the UK. It is not a visa and does not guarantee entry to the UK."

But you could just claim the kid is a Thai citizen not related to you, and apply for a normal VISA as a Thai foriegner.

Yes, the new ETA has caught a lot of duel nationals out, the ETA has to be obtained by non British Nationals, who travel to the UK without the need of a visa. Travellers who have, or have had, a British passport cannot apply for an ETA, a lot of people, particularly from Australia and the US, who have let their British passports expire have encountered problems, including my daughter.

The comment about claiming the OP’s child is only a Thai citizen is pretty risky, as he would have given his details in the visa application.

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

But you could just claim the kid is a Thai citizen not related to you, and apply for a normal VISA as a Thai foriegner.

Then I would have to tell the kid to be dishonest, to lie to immigration if asked .

Teaching him to lie is not something I am prepared to do .

A signed document from the mother is also needed for the child to leave Thailand.

If the mother and child have different surnames, the IO can ask to see his Thai birth certificate before allowing the child to leave.

Foreign parental kidnapping of a Thai child is something immigration take seriously.

To prevent issues at border control, a child traveling out of Thailand without both biological parents typically needs a notarized Child Travel Consent Form (Letter of Authorization) signed by the non-traveling parent.

If the mother is the one not traveling (or if the child is traveling with someone else), her signed and notarized consent is necessary.

Ensure the signed document contains the following specifics:

• Child’s Details: Full name, date of birth, and passport number.

• Travel Details: Exact dates of travel, destinations, and flight numbers.

• Accompanying Adult: Full name and passport number of the adult the child is traveling with.

• Mother's Contact Information: Address, phone number, and email for verification.

Note: Depending on the child's nationality, destination, and the specific Thai immigration officer on duty, they may also ask to see an original or certified copy of the child’s birth certificate to verify the relationship, especially if the mother and child have different last names.

Edited July 13Jul 13 by Packer

20 hours ago, Liquorice said:

I have never known a passport application be refused or a voluntary DNA test suggested when the child was conceived whilst in wedlock of the British national and a foreign spouse.

What you have known is a bit irrelevant, reality is the only thing that counts.

I would doubt that VFS would have introduced a DNA testing facilty if there wasn't a growing requirement. There were 3 UKVI accredited laboratories already in Bangkok.

The point that was in question was over a visitor visa for a Thai child that has not registered UK citizenship. Why should a Thai child be forced to have a UK passport for possibly the only visit in their life. You appear to have ignored my initial point.

Yes. A foreign national child can enter the UK on a Standard Visitor Visa, even if they have not yet registered for British citizenship