Big Bo***xs

[cutethaigirl]

But the reason you took the time to write in to this forum was to get some information you could benefit from. If you would like to have a dialog with me you may contact me at my e-mail address:[email protected] I do not believe I will have the time in the near future to enter this forum again.

So now we know Guys

Just email Brian instead of wasting time at the Forum

[the scouser]

But the reason you took the time to write in to this forum was to get some information you could benefit from. If you would like to have a dialog with me you may contact me at my e-mail address:[email protected]

..........and very reasonable rates, too. Only $500.00 per hour.

Scouse.

[BKK_banger]

Weatherbureau,

You are knocking posters on this Forum as having little or no knowledge of the process or the law and hold yourself out as having the right knowledge and experience tinged with empathy for his situation.

Very strange as some here clearly know the letter and the spirit of the law and are very free with posting it to help other posters. Indeed some appear so knowledgable you might almost believe they worked in Embassies.

Some understand the immigration laws of particular countries and have experienced the application process a number of times. Such practical advice as can be given is normally most welcome by those who come here to seek help, advice and support.

In particular I have been impressed with the level of knowledge of US immigration procedures which are so convoluted as to confound a US citizen's human rights.

The original poster will have gained some useful insight into the process and the posters have not held back, avoiding sugarcoating the process. It will be difficult for him but not impossible and he will have to be prepared to answer some tough questions at the Embassy for which he and his lady will have to prepare.

He has also doubtless perused other threads which will have laid out both the criteria and the process used at the British Embassy. He would be well advised to enlist the help of an agent in compiling the application and holding his lady's hand through what can be a traumatic experience.

What is a little off is to suggest a PM and give all the advice off line. I can only presume this is because you intend to charge to give advice. Cruising this site looking for customers?

[A. BOOZER]

Well said Bkk banger, my sentiments entirely!

[the scouser]

Indeed some appear so knowledgable you might almost believe they worked in Embassies.

I did.

Scouse.

[12call]

Sick Buffalo/Mother story(well thats a new one).No job.You had to interrogate her to find out the truth.Give us a break Man Falang.Wait the 3 +- weeks and if she is still around the try to get it sorted.

[OxfordWill]

Weatherbeureu (sp?) smells distinctly phoney.

I particularly enjoyed the paragraph about Bill Clinton.

Ha ha ha - Buyer beware

[simey]

Now now Will, what attitude is that to someone trying to help? He made it perfectly clear - any problems you have (any at all) just feel free to email him and he will sort them out for you. Try it now, I'm gonna ask him about that rash that suddenly appeared....

[Darlek]

I notice you have left out of your list proof of abode , you dont mention any council tax bill or payments .

they are very critical of this matter .

i know a gent who's wife was refused because he lived with his elderly mother .#

she is 99 years .

for some reason they didnt like this fact .

you figure it

[OxfordWill]

Now now Will, what attitude is that to someone trying to help? He made it perfectly clear - any problems you have (any at all) just feel free to email him and he will sort them out for you. Try it now, I'm gonna ask him about that rash that suddenly appeared....

Sorry, you're right of course.

I have just winged off a diatribe of epic proportions regarding my love life.

What a gent he is.

[BKK_banger]

I have sent him my cash flow problems to see if he can help.

But he might only make them worse.

[Roger13]

Hi Big Spuds,

You clearly told us that neither you nor your G/F have Knowledge of

Visa Applications.

You obviously had great difficulty finding out from your G/F

exactly what happened.

First I would say - the UK Embassy has a Handout about Sponsors.

I do not have a copy with me - but it does make the point that no Sponsor

can possibly "Guarantee" anything about the Traveller.

For example Thinking as the Embassy might - if your G/F gets a Visa and after arriving in UK she says Good Bye - or even just dissappears - to go and stay with a Friend (planned previously without your knowledge) what can you as a Sponsor do about it? Nothing. You cannot keep her to her promise to return to Thailand.

Yes - you say you are both genuine - but this is the Official Line on Sponsors.

So ... The outcome of the application has to depend on your G/F and her situation - not YOU & your situation.

My suggestions.

Mother Sick - if there is an established routine of your G/F and her Sister

of taking care alternately of their Mother - assuming she does not have a life threatening situation - then I would have thought that this was a reasonable

reason for returning - but who knows what the Visa Officer Might think.

Ramkamhaeng University - this is like the "Open University" in UK

- the student has to collect points within a given time frame.

- it is well worth investigating.

My best advice to you and your G/F especially - DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING YOU SAY - Interviewing officers have a habit of coming back to previous questions

- if previous answers were lies they may be difficult to repeat again - if the applicant has a bad memory. And in such situations a poorly educated person might think - oh! he didn't like my first answer - I will try a different answer this time - which subsequently leads to the Reason for Refusal of dishonesty.

If all does go wrong - and you wish to pursue the matter - after seeing the

interview officer's Manager - contact the Deputy Ambassador - he (at least in the past) - is responsible for the Section.

In another country I phoned the Deputy Ambassador from UK

and as Sponsor I was able to clarify a "Misunderstanding"

and the Visa was granted.

Please re-read what Cute & Scouser have written -

they sound like very wise words to me.

I wish you success

Roger

[Roger13]

Big Spuds

Another thought.

If your G/F 's previous employer appreciated her work,

maybe he would be prepared to say - in writing - that she had been granted

unpaid leave for two months to visit UK and that her job will be waiting for her upon her return (even if he really doesn't mean it)

Roger

[Darlek]

dont feel too bad you are just one of the 1000s of applicants rejected for no good reason other than the whim of the ECO on duty.

just imagine how much bu11shit stories they have heard there over the years,

no wonder they make crazy decisions .

despite you having made all the right answers and having the correct paperwork

better men than you have been rejected and complete and utter asshholes have been awarded visas.

and so it will always be down at the British Embassy in wireless road ..

the staff (ECO)dont stay there too long prolly because of the threats to their lives by rejectees

[BKK_banger]

Darlek,

Perhaps then you or someone else like Scouser can clarify something for me.

You say these ECOs do not stay too long. Are we talking about the Foreign Office employees who are on 2 year rotations or the locally hired staff, including farangs?

I often wonder how the Visa section in the UK Embassy is recruited and trained. It does not look a particularly pleasant job and quite demanding. Are the staff attracted to this work or is it something they fall into?

If they are local hires are their pay and conditions quite good or completely crap?

[the scouser]

BKK Banger,

As you stated, within the visa section of any UK embassy or high commission you have 2 different classes of staff, U.K.-based and locally engaged.

The U.K.-based staff are employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and generally work in a given post for 3-4 years. FCO staff are not necessarily specialist in visa work as they can be expected to fulfil any function for their grade within the embassy. So on one posting they may be a visa officer and on the next responsible for communications, for example. In order to fill this gap in experience the FCO takes immigration officers from the Home Office on secondment to work in busy visa sections. This can be either a long-term posting of 3-4 years' duration or a short-term posting of 4-6 months. As an immigration officer I undertook 2 short-term postings, one in Kuwait and the other in Manila. To answer your question, people who join the FCO don't necessarily do it to become visa officers but may end up fulfilling this role. It can be a demanding job but it depends at which visa section you are based; for example, the visa officer in the embassy in Rekjavik would have an easy time of it.

It is the responsibility of the embassy/high commission to recruit locally engaged staff and they can be drawn from either people indigenous to the particular country or British/Commonwealth expats who happen to live there. Locally engaged staff are not bound by the 3-4 year rule and it is not uncommon for such an employee to work at an embassy for his/her entire career. The embassy sets the levels of pay and conditions. There are 4 grades of locally engaged staff from LE1 to LE4 and the salary is commensurate with the cost of living in the given country but is not a fortune. However, terms and conditions tend to be good. Generally speaking, the locally engaged staff within a visa section undertake the administrative functions as well as interpreting. It is uncommon for a one to be employed as a visa officer but this does happen occasionally.

Scouse.

[BIG SPUDS]

Thank you all for the advice.

Without meaning to seem too ungratefull, i have heard a lot of the responses before and already know alot of what has been posted. (as i have been looking into this for 8 months). However a lot of valuable info has been given thank you.

I just want to take this opputunity to right a few wrong conclusions made by some and to answer a few questions.

1. I admitted a long time ago GF worked in a bar, When i left i told her i didnt like her working there and wanted her to get another job (shop, hotel, etc) I only mentioned this did not tell her she must do it. At this stage i wouldnt have called us BF and GF. She called me next day and told me she was sacked due to refusing to go with "clients" she just wanted to serve drinks. I asked her what she would do for work and she told me she did not want to work in a bar anymore as she loved me and did not want to go with anyone but me. Following the sacking she was out of work for 2-3 weeks living on money i had left her before i went home. She found work in a shop. I know all this to be true as i called her different times throughout the day/s every day and still do. I can tell she is asleep, watching TV. blah blah. I believe she is where she says she is. She tells me should would never lie to me as she doesnt want to lose me. my Gf is not like alot of BG's. Shes very quiet, not all in your face love you sexy man kinda girl. And very honest. She told me how my mates were getting ripped off by other BG's and really looked after me in thailand, not just your average in the bedroom stuff, suntan lotion on your back, but looked after me when i was sick for two days and was geniunely caring.

Since then we have spoke every day except one since i have been back (7 months) more than once a day, over 40 mins of conversation a day. She has called me when she has had problems and when i have had problems, NEVER once asked for anything. While i was in thailand and at home. She wouldnt take money off me on my holiday and it took me 3 days before i could pay for her food.

So please dont tell me she is after money or is still working in a bar because i know she isnt. GF did not lie in the interview and told all this to the ECO.

2. The reason she left her job after 2 months was to go home and see her family who she had not seen for a almost a year, i told her to do this and i would support her as long as she wanted to stay home. she stayed for about a month.

3. She returned to pattaya to see friends and to look for resturaurant work. She stayed there for 2 months but being lazy really and not really looking, trying to sort out school to learn english and sorting out bits and bobs for visa blah blah

4. She did try and go to her employer from the shop to ask for a reference but the owner said as she had only worked there for a short time she would not. She was paid cash in hand from the little thai convienience shop.

5. Didnt really have a lot of difficulty in finding out what happened from GF at the visa, it was just at the time of the visa interview her mom had been calling her to return home as she was sick (so she was worried, and she was peed off she didnt get the visa) And besides my GF speaks very very little english, far far less than most bar girls. Therefore making it difficult to translate what happened in the interview over the phone.

6. GF's mother has a bad leg and cannot really get around, this gets worse from time to time and sometimes gets better. Although not life threatening her mom went to see a fortune teller some time ago and from what i can work out was told she wouldnt make it past her 52nd birthday, shes 52 now and as her leg is bad at the moment she is worrying and wants her family around her. So GF is staying with her till i return. GF thinks her mom is crazy for thinking this too. However her mom has asked her not to go to the UK yet, as a result of what she thinks. GF is postponing next visa interview till April. As her mother requested this and GF thinks she will worry too much if she is in the UK.

7. I had included where i lived, her living arrangements in the UK all that kind of stuff in the visa application.

8. GF has £700 in her account which she has had in the bank for about 5 months.

9. I never interegate my GF. She tells me every thing. She gets very upset if i dont believe anything she says and tells me, if i cannot trust her to forget her because she doesnt want me to think shes a liar/ butterfly or after me for my money. GF knows i am not rich, and dont really have much money, she has even offered to send me money from her bank when i have told her i cant go out some weekends to the pub due to lack of funds. She wants nothing from me, all she wants is to be with me no matter what we have, where we live.

I understand that there maybe unbelivers of all i have said, but thats their problem not mine. I know what kind of person my GF is, we have spent enough time talking about each other.

So now i wait to see her on the 9th of sep to visit her parent, family, Talk shops, and our next step for our future. I think i will try and push her to go to school (which she wants anyway), and to try and find a shop to buy and decide what to sell. All ammunition for our next visit to the man from bangkok that likes to say NO!

[BIG SPUDS]

Do you think asking for 2 months is too long and is pushing it?

What if i asked for 2 weeks then she stayed 2 months?

could that be why they want to refuse her?

[simon43]

Big Spuds, asking for 2 weeks and staying for 2 months is NOT good!. That's what my GF did earlier this year. She intended to stay in the UK for only 2 weeks (and got a 6 month Visitor's visa), but ended up staying 4 months in the UK because I had problems with my UK job and couldn't return to Thailand. I thought this was ok because she had a 6 month visa but no!! It means that next time you apply for a visotir's visa they will either say no or will get her to sign an undertaking only to stay for x number of days...

[BIG SPUDS]

Looks like might have to try for fiance visa.

[lopburi3]

Looks like might have to try for fiance visa.

That sounds like a very good idea to me. Your time is not critical now so start the process. Good luck.

[BIG SPUDS]

What extra info do we need to supply that i already dont have for the tourist visa?

What would be the consequences if we dont marry when in the uk if on the fiance visa?

Probably asked the if we dont marry question before but would just like some more opinions.

[lopburi3]

Will let the Scouser give you details as he is up on that. But a lot of your information is really better suited to finance visa so I expect it will just be filling in the forms and waiting.

It should not be a problem if you don't get married as it is designed to allow for a change in thinking - but they would likely not be keen on giving you another trial run next year.

[Yohan]

As you stated, within the visa section .......etc.etc.

Thank you for your perfect and informative explication.

Only to add, it fits about most embassies of the European Union countries quite everywhere in this world.

Big embassies like the British ones are getting very busy in the consular section, and therefore cannot offer personal services anymore....Visitors, foreigners or own citizens are often like a number out of many many requests....It is impossible for the staff there to consider all and everything....

This is different, if you work in a small embassy with little staff, coming from a small country. (in my case Austria) It is still possible there to check out the individual reasons of every single applicant easier and to assist your own countrymen in a personal way, if there is something unclear about formalities.

Otherwise no much difference about organisation, daily work and staff.

[twix38]

Not sure which phone company you use to call your gf from UK, but I am with BT and it's a rip off cost.

I dial Yim Siam 0871 99 000 99 and then a voicemessage asks me to dial my number in Thailand. The cost is 10p per minute and comes on my BT bill as 'Special Service'. Much better.

Infact I think the cost is less than 10p per minute now as they told me the price had reduced.

Good luck in your visa request

[the scouser]

Big Spuds,

Firstly the application form is different. Click here for a copy.

There follow the rules which your g/f will need to satisfy to get the fiancé visa:-

"13.4 - Fiancé(e)s and how they qualify (Rules paragraphs 290 -295)

For an applicant to qualify for admission as a fiancé(e), you must be satisfied that:

the sponsor is present and settled in the United Kingdom, or is to be admitted for settlement at the same time as the applicant arrives in the UK;

the sponsor is aged 18 or over and the applicant is aged 16 or over;

each of the parties intends to live permanently with the other as his or her spouse after the marriage;

the parties to the proposed marriage have met;

adequate maintenance and accommodation without recourse to public funds will be available for the applicant until the date of the marriage;

after the marriage there will be adequate accommodation for the parties and any dependants without recourse to public funds in accommodation which they own or occupy exclusively;

after the marriage the parties will be able to maintain themselves and their dependants adequately without recourse to public funds." End of rules.

Your g/f will need to show the visa officer evidence that you either own or rent your house or live with friends/family and should produce a declaration of how many bedrooms the house has. If you live with family/friends this should also include a statement that they have no objection to you and your g/f living there. She will also have to show your bank statements and wage slips for about the last 6 months. If you are self-employed then your audited accounts for the last 2 years should be shown. Additionally, submit any evidence that the two of you have an ongoing relationship; e.g. photos of the 2 of you together, phone bills, e-mails, greetings cards etc. Your g/f must also present evidence that the 2 of you are free to marry. If either has been married before a divorce certificate should be provided. If not, a simple statement that both parties are single will suffice.

A fiancé visa is designed to enable the applicant to marry and settle in the UK. Therefore, your g/f must not tell the visa officer that you may not marry on this occasion. If the visa officer thinks that your g/f has applied for a fiancé visa just to use it as a tourist visa then he will refuse the application. If she gets the fiancé visa and you do not marry whilst she is in the UK you may find it difficult to get a 2nd fiancé visa if you later decide to get hitched in the UK unless you can come up with a good enough reason why you didn't previously do so.

Hope that's of help,

Scouse.

[the scouser]

Big Spuds,

There are 2 similar threads running side-by-side, this one and the one started by Twix 38. For some more info on fiancé visas take a peek at Twix's thread if you haven't already done so.

Scouse.