My Pathetic Experience With The British Embassy

[the scouser]

It does sometimes happen that the evidence is either misconstrued by the visa officer or is disregarded. In such instances you should write to UK Visas and complain.

Scouse.

[jason4656]

ok thanks to everyone with a constructive reply, and to the muppets with the silly comments

does anyone have a contact detail for uk visas?

[Ollie]

ok thanks to everyone with a constructive reply, and to the muppets with the silly comments

does anyone have a contact detail for uk visas?

Only muppets need to ask for help on the basics!

Bye now and good luck!

[the scouser]

does anyone have a contact detail for uk visas?

UK Visas - complaints.

Scouse.

[teacher]

chiang mai, i think you didnt read my post correctly, i suggest reading it again

I have already done everything they asked,

AS I SAID CLEARLY THE FIRST TIME

1 i provided 6 bank statements of my own with 10kgbp in them ( is this enough for 2 weeks in uk?)

2 in the rejection letter they stated, they are unsure of my financial capability of paying for her and ensuring her retun to thailand - they also stated clearly, my statement didnt have any name on it, however i have them here and my name is written clearly in red letters across the top!!!

now tell me that is not a joke please? i have left uk 1 year ago, surely it doesnt cost more than 10kgbp to go there for 2 weeks now? lol

ps i also sent other financial means of showing over 25g gbp

No I did read it correctly. I think that what the Embassy is saying is that with assets of £10k and a holiday that could cost half that amount or more there is a risk that at the end of the holiday you might decide to stay on in the UK and earn some "top up" money and that there's a risk your partner might stay also - don't know, can't read minds. If it helps though our three week trip this year was expensive, in excess of £5k so yes, the UK is bl**dy expensive these days.

Simple , you have not given the embassy enough of a REASON TO RETURN for yourself or your lady.

I understand your lady has had hospital problems and maybe she can not work at the moment but she is NOT working and, has no job to come back to. She has no assets, or any children. So why should she come back here is what they are thinking.

You say that you stay here in Thailand.

Have you shown proof of where you stay? (Tenancy agreement and past bills for furniture you have purchased water, electric, cable tv etc etc) have you shown why you stay here? how you maintain yourself here? By you showing you must return they will be confident she will return with you. it all helps her case.

[englishoak]

This is regarding a settlement visa rather than a tourist one but may be of interest.

One thing I learnt with UK Embassy is to clarify everything BEFORE applying more than once and go OTT with the info. Read the application form and get ALL supporting documents + more along with absolutely every bit of paperwork you have. 6mths statements ? make it a year, telephone bills ? get them itemised. Emails ? submit both yours AND hers, Photo's ? your house in UK dozens of them. Personal photo's ? every one you can get of both of you and the family members etc cousins, with friends make it Hundreds !. every document in thai you have should have a translation with it.

When I applied for my wife we handed over TWO baskets of photo's and documents to support, they refused the third basket saying there was too much.

I trusted nothing any one person had to say about the process and did it with the attitude that they would happily refuse the request for ANY reason they could find. I left NOTHING to chance and went totally OTT with the Info they said they wanted.

The result was a one week wait for an interview that lasted 5 mins ( even though the Thai Lady was quite rude to my wife and wanted to speak in Thai my wife just answered every question in English) The english guy apparently just looked at the pile of evidence stacked up rolled his eyes and told the Thai lady it was obviously a solid application and termanated the interview. He thanked my wife for making his job easy congratulated her and was told to collect her visa that afternoon.

We returned to LOS some months later when my wife had settled in the UK and did the same for our daughter, Totally OTT with everything again. And do you know what ? they remembered us . No interview and immediate visa no problems.

I found the embassy staff to be almost useless in conversations and answering questions. At one point I got 4 different answers to a question, I just kept asking until I got a confirmed answer by a senoir member of staff. After that I got to be a real pain in their ass, but until I applied there was nothing they could do but put up with me and answer my questions. By time we applied I probably knew more than they did about what the form said and what they really wanted .I also had to inform the embassy that the application form on their website was an old (out of date) one. After checking for any changes in rules AGAIN the day before I applied. They denied it and within the hour the online form had been changed

If you are going to apply just go OTT on everything until your sure it will give them a headache to go through it all. Chances are they will just look at it all and think " oh my god" and send you on your merry way visa and all.

If in doubt wait and get more stuff together, it beats paying more than once but most of all you won't feel like you've been treated like a W**ker.

The other route of course is pay an agency as I hear they are nearly always successful. Dunno the costs though.

Good luck to you all.

Edited November 19, 2007 by englishoak

[PattayaParent]

I was under the impression that ALL applications require an interview. We even had to appear for my then g/f second UK visa. Posted the application and all supporting docs, but interview still required. Hardly an interview, just show faces, UK visa issued within the hour.

Not necessarily so.

My wife (non-Thai) has received 2 visas for UK without interview, the first one on the spot, I was not present at either application.

A friend's wife (non-Thai) received a visa for UK on the spot.

None of them were applied for in Bangkok though.

A friend had trouble getting a visa for his Thai wife to go to UK for his mother's birthday, he applied 3 months in advance and they gave an interview date 2 months AFTER the birthday, when he complained they changed the date to 2 weeks AFTER the birthday.

A well known restauranter in Pattaya was refused a visa for his Thai wife of 5 years (with a 3 year old son) despite having everything requested and being known by the Embassy staff that have eaten in his restaurant!

While another friend met and married a bar girl within 1 month of arriving in Pattaya and got a visa with no problem.

The Embassy here just does not seem consistent in the application of the rules.

[distortedlink]

About 6 years ago the UK visa application primary purposed law was amended.

The primary purpose law is a rule that means, applicants must prove they have a legitimate reason for visiting the UK.

It used to be that the burden was on the visa applicant to show that they qualify for a UK visa. 6 years ago this primary purpose law was changed to that: the burden is on the Immigration officers to prove that the visa applicant does not qualify to obtain a visa to visit the UK.

If your girlfriend has been refused a UK visa and you feel for unjust reasons, you can appeal and ask the reason/s why she was refused a visa. If the immigration officer concerned cannot give an appropriate reason for visa refusal, your G/f will be permitted to enter the UK.

Edited November 19, 2007 by distortedlink

[v_needham]

Dear Jason,

Many British guys have been through what you are going through regarding getting their girlfriend/fiancee/wife over to the UK. My troubles were back in 1993-1996 but I eventually got my wife over using the free UKIAS service, I took the Home Office and British Embassy to court and beat the bastards.

The trouble is that so many British guys come over to Thailand and meet a girl but they have no idea about getting her a visa. Before you go to the British Embassy you should seek advice about whats the best visa to apply for, this will save us Brits so much money.

In your girlfriends case she should have applied for a fiancee visa because a single unemployed Thai girl will never be issued a tourist visa no matter how much money you got or how many houses you may have. The British Embassy will refuse every time because they will not believe she will return to Thailand.

The British Embassy love the fact that so many guys like yourself pay for these visa application fees knowing that they are going to refuse them. The visa applications are very expensive now, back in the early 90's they were very cheap and every tom. dick and harry were applying.

The trouble is now that your girlfriend has had 2 refusals and this will count against any future applications she will make. My advice is either try for a fiancee visa or come over here again and marry the poor girl and apply for a wife visa.

Good luck in the future

Vern

[jason4656]

thanks vern, good man, glad you won your case

and ok im starting to understand a bit more, honesty is not the best policy i guess

[Etrigan]

Tycoon - How did your mate "marry" at the embassy?

[frankinthai]

My recent experience with the british embassy in bangkok has left me baffled, and a bit angry to say the least, bare with me.

I recently sent my long term gf to apply for a visa to visit my mum for xmas, thought it cant be that difficult, everything about us is legit and above board, not that it matters but i didnt buy her in a bar and she has an education, i have a job and proof of salary and money in bank, how difficult can it be? I have sponsorship letters with bank accounts, proof of relationship, all the things they ask for.

So i studied the form carefully, i got together the following

1 letter of invitation from my my mother, her bank statement (15k gbp), her passports copies

2 letter of invitation from me including detailed description of my life here and our relationship, my bank statements (10kgbp) including my salary details paid in each month, my passport copies, my tabien rot(included anything that showed had a life here nad not just a scam), pics of ourselves together from over the last couple of years in different places at different times (real ones)

We clearly filled in the form stating my gf was unemployed at this moment, unfortunately we have been unfortunate enough to suffer 2 misscariages this year and its been pretty devastating. So i have been looking after her, although she is well educated with a BA from a decent school and has worked in the past before all this. I am trying to write all this without getting confused or angry again

Anyway, she goes for the interview for the first time, they wont allow me to go with her, so she goes alone.

Then she is refused the visa on lots of MESSED UP terms clear cases of incompetence.

In the previous June when she was first pregnant, i was meant to go over to a show for work in spain, however, i didnt go due to she was refused the visa and she was at that time pregnant, i didnt wanna leave her, so i rearranged it with work, no problem. However on the visa rejection they had clearly stated that something was obviously wrong as i didnt go to spain and it was for business.

Someone at the embassy is being paid to build a picture of yourselves based on the evidence you give them, however they obviously have not done that at all, if they looked at the hospital evidence we had submitted about the pregnancy and misscarriage they would realise that she was pregnant at that time, and why would i leave her that way.

Also the biggest joke of the rejection was that they had clearly stated we didnt have enough funds, and that i hadnt submitted any bank statements, when cleary, i had sent 6 with my name on them and sufficient money, this in itself was enough to really wind me up.

The list of other reasons were utterly stupid and i felt totally discriminated against, but those were the main 2, they also said she was lying in the interview about her work, lol, now i know thai people are known to lie, but we clearly told the truth and submitted seriously sensitive info about the past year and there was no way we would do all that and then my gf sit in the interview and say she had a job lol so god know about that

So i asked for an email address to complain in the UK, however they lied about that and gave me an email in Bangkok. I wrote a VERY VERY long email, copying their rejection letter and answering it point for point, i still have this. Some snotty nose guy that i had spoke to on the phone replied not noting any of the points basically saying your not having it cos we say so and thats it. So I then wrote back to him asking for some clarification of my points, someone else called me and while going through it, he couldnt answer about the bank statements, and kept avoiding the point, however he convinced me off the phone by saying if i apply again, it should be ok. So another 4600b, which i felt ripped off about but thought it maybe be the easiest way.

So we applied again and were simply rejected with a load of nonsense this time, obviously we had the experience of the first application and covered everything they had asked for this time, made notes of what was sent and filled in the forms carefully, and gave more in depth details of any points that they had suggested in the previous rejection. In the rejection letter the first paragraph clearly states each appication is taken on its own merits, however they are saying further on in the letter that they are still rejecting her due to she said she had a job in the first interview!

At this point, i am lost what to do, everything is genuine and would not even bother writing this email if it wasnt, i feel it was totally out of order and is just becoming a rip off. i cant beleive they outsourced the application to people who cant even put full details of what you need to apply (draft to pay instead of cash) on their website, and is it just a coincidence that there is a company right outside VFS offering guaranteed visas to UK to girls for 30k?

I would like to make a complaint just out of principle at this moment, i dont give up easy if i feel something is wrong, i now have to cancel my plans for xmas due to this, i am not going to pay again

anyone any suggestions who to contact??

thanks for reading

[true blue]

i was turned down for tourist visa for g/f, reason given, could not prove we were living together. wrote letter to embassy but they would not reconsider,they said photos insufficent evidence, god no's, what training these immagration guys must be given. i only wanted to go home for xmas, certinally no xmas spirt at british embassy, bangkok.

[Krub]

Was refused tourist visa for friend although he had already a Shengen visa for the same period.

We only wanted to go accross to Dover for a few days

Reason given ? Didn't believe we were 'friends' as he had never visited me in Japan or Europe (which was part of this trip)

He had a leave letter from his job, some funds in the bank, etc.

We have been to Europe had a great time, he is now in Japan for a month (yes he also had a tourist visa for Japan when the UK refused)

They are unable or unwilling to read through the evidence to weed out the non-genuine applications.

Sad state of affairs when genuine applications cannot be recognized and are subject to refusal on 'feelings'

My experience is that the Shengen and Japan visa requirements make it much more clear cut of what is required to make a successful application as less is left to the 'feeling' of the Embassy staff.

[PattayaParent]

What I noticed when applying for a Shengen visa for my wife was that it seemed to be an automatic acceptance if you are teh spouse of a EU citizen.

Whereas the UK application form doesn't even have the question of the nationality of spouse. It's like they don't care that you want to take your wife to UK for a holiday / visit relatives / show off the grandkids etc.

[morso]

My recent experience with the british embassy in bangkok has left me baffled, and a bit angry to say the least, bare with me.

I recently sent my long term gf to apply for a visa to visit my mum for xmas, thought it cant be that difficult, everything about us is legit and above board, not that it matters but i didnt buy her in a bar and she has an education, i have a job and proof of salary and money in bank, how difficult can it be? I have sponsorship letters with bank accounts, proof of relationship, all the things they ask for.

So i studied the form carefully, i got together the following

1 letter of invitation from my my mother, her bank statement (15k gbp), her passports copies

2 letter of invitation from me including detailed description of my life here and our relationship, my bank statements (10kgbp) including my salary details paid in each month, my passport copies, my tabien rot(included anything that showed had a life here nad not just a scam), pics of ourselves together from over the last couple of years in different places at different times (real ones)

We clearly filled in the form stating my gf was unemployed at this moment, unfortunately we have been unfortunate enough to suffer 2 misscariages this year and its been pretty devastating. So i have been looking after her, although she is well educated with a BA from a decent school and has worked in the past before all this. I am trying to write all this without getting confused or angry again

Anyway, she goes for the interview for the first time, they wont allow me to go with her, so she goes alone.

Then she is refused the visa on lots of MESSED UP terms clear cases of incompetence.

In the previous June when she was first pregnant, i was meant to go over to a show for work in spain, however, i didnt go due to she was refused the visa and she was at that time pregnant, i didnt wanna leave her, so i rearranged it with work, no problem. However on the visa rejection they had clearly stated that something was obviously wrong as i didnt go to spain and it was for business.

Someone at the embassy is being paid to build a picture of yourselves based on the evidence you give them, however they obviously have not done that at all, if they looked at the hospital evidence we had submitted about the pregnancy and misscarriage they would realise that she was pregnant at that time, and why would i leave her that way.

Also the biggest joke of the rejection was that they had clearly stated we didnt have enough funds, and that i hadnt submitted any bank statements, when cleary, i had sent 6 with my name on them and sufficient money, this in itself was enough to really wind me up.

The list of other reasons were utterly stupid and i felt totally discriminated against, but those were the main 2, they also said she was lying in the interview about her work, lol, now i know thai people are known to lie, but we clearly told the truth and submitted seriously sensitive info about the past year and there was no way we would do all that and then my gf sit in the interview and say she had a job lol so god know about that

So i asked for an email address to complain in the UK, however they lied about that and gave me an email in Bangkok. I wrote a VERY VERY long email, copying their rejection letter and answering it point for point, i still have this. Some snotty nose guy that i had spoke to on the phone replied not noting any of the points basically saying your not having it cos we say so and thats it. So I then wrote back to him asking for some clarification of my points, someone else called me and while going through it, he couldnt answer about the bank statements, and kept avoiding the point, however he convinced me off the phone by saying if i apply again, it should be ok. So another 4600b, which i felt ripped off about but thought it maybe be the easiest way.

So we applied again and were simply rejected with a load of nonsense this time, obviously we had the experience of the first application and covered everything they had asked for this time, made notes of what was sent and filled in the forms carefully, and gave more in depth details of any points that they had suggested in the previous rejection. In the rejection letter the first paragraph clearly states each appication is taken on its own merits, however they are saying further on in the letter that they are still rejecting her due to she said she had a job in the first interview!

At this point, i am lost what to do, everything is genuine and would not even bother writing this email if it wasnt, i feel it was totally out of order and is just becoming a rip off. i cant beleive they outsourced the application to people who cant even put full details of what you need to apply (draft to pay instead of cash) on their website, and is it just a coincidence that there is a company right outside VFS offering guaranteed visas to UK to girls for 30k?

I would like to make a complaint just out of principle at this moment, i dont give up easy if i feel something is wrong, i now have to cancel my plans for xmas due to this, i am not going to pay again

anyone any suggestions who to contact??

thanks for reading

[morso]

my son was turned down twice,go for fiance /spouce visa contact scouce/davies khan he got my sons visa in 12 days no interview was asked for.

[the gent]

I loved it once as a ship's crew of over 300 souls returning to Uk in the early 70's we were greeted at immigration by an Asian immigration officer, the Captain, Mate and myself as Purser said immediately we want a British person to allow this ship's company to be allowed back into our country not a foreigner. A Brit was immediately brought to do the job. Doubt if they could find one nowadays.

One suspects that this gibberish is simply the regurgitation of a mindless simpleton entering the twilight of senile dementia but its stark racism of the lowest order nevertheless still has a capacity to irk.

If the anecdote were true, which I doubt very much, the fact seemingly lost on the cretin posting is that ethnicity does not, and did not, determine nationality.

[Aikido]

AH yes UK Visa's a privatley run company looking after Xpats ! what a joke quotas to fill and all the ego's in power all adds up to a very dangerous mix.

I would definetly go to your MP and then to anyone else who will listen mate they are a load of wan***!

as for those who didnt get fleeced and got their visa first time all i can say is they were dam lucky.

[Mahout Angrit]

If your girlfriend has been refused a UK visa and you feel for unjust reasons, you can appeal and ask the reason/s why she was refused a visa. If the immigration officer concerned cannot give an appropriate reason for visa refusal, your G/f will be permitted to enter the UK.

A visitors visa if it is not to visit family (she is only the OP's g/f) does not carry a right to appeal in the event of refusal. He can only complain.

The trouble is now that your girlfriend has had 2 refusals and this will count against any future applications she will make. My advice is either try for a fiancee visa or come over here again and marry the poor girl and apply for a wife visa.

If she applies for a fiancee visa and it is granted then they only use it to visit UK and don't marry within 6 months it will only pile more suspicion on them in the event of a subsequent application.

Sure refusals will draw attention to any future application but if the OP addresses the reasons for refusal and submits a watertight application (which from opinions above he hasn't done yet) then the application should be considered on it's current merit.

In your girlfriends case she should have applied for a fiancee visa because a single unemployed Thai girl will never be issued a tourist visa no matter how much money you got or how many houses you may have. The British Embassy will refuse every time because they will not believe she will return to Thailand.

If the OP can prove his life is in Thailand and his g/f is in a long term relationship with him then she does stand a good chance of getting a visitors visa because her reason to return would be him.

Edited November 19, 2007 by Mahout Angrit

[the scouser]

In your girlfriends case she should have applied for a fiancee visa because a single unemployed Thai girl will never be issued a tourist visa no matter how much money you got or how many houses you may have. The British Embassy will refuse every time because they will not believe she will return to Thailand.

The OP should not be advised to apply for a settlement visa simply because it is expedient. To do so may cause additional difficulties in the future. If his girlfriend wishes to visit the UK, then that is the visa for which she should apply. A read of the various threads on this forum will identify many posters whose girlfriends have successfully obtained visit visas despite having no perceptible incentive to return and, indeed, I have also successfully represented such cases. The bottom line is that it is misleading to sweepingly say that single, unemployed Thai women do not get visit visas.

What I noticed when applying for a Shengen visa for my wife was that it seemed to be an automatic acceptance if you are teh spouse of a EU citizen.

Whereas the UK application form doesn't even have the question of the nationality of spouse.....

If an EEA national (other than a British citizen) wishes to take a family member to the UK, there is a separate, specific application form to be completed.

Scouse.

[v_needham]

To Scouse,

So lets find 100 British guys with unemployed Thai girlfriends take them to British Embassy to apply for tourist visas and see how many end up in the UK!!!

ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD PLEASE

Vern

[true blue]

To Scouse,

So lets find 100 British guys with unemployed Thai girlfriends take them to British Embassy to apply for tourist visas and see how many end up in the UK!!!

ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD PLEASE

Vern

youre right vern, very few.IMHO.

[markr]

To Scouse,

So lets find 100 British guys with unemployed Thai girlfriends take them to British Embassy to apply for tourist visas and see how many end up in the UK!!!

ANSWERS ON A POSTCARD PLEASE

Vern

I think you'll find the man you question could probably name 100 guys in that situation off the top of his head!

Mark

Edited November 19, 2007 by markr

[v_needham]

Well Mark I dont want to know any names I just want to know what percentage of single unemployed Thai ladies would be granted a UK tourist visa!

Vern

[jason4656]

imho, my 2nd application covered all the points for refusal in the first and the guy on the phone told me to apply again

again another contradiction is that i was told and it read on the 2nd refusal first paragraph, each application is considered on its own merits

however few paragraphs down, it reads, noting from your last application!! lol

[the scouser]

.... I just want to know what percentage of single unemployed Thai ladies would be granted a UK tourist visa!

But I thought you know the answer as you've already asserted that none gets a visit visa?

Your statements are redolent of those made by ill-informed, soi disant immigration advisers whose only qualification is to have once got their "bird" a visa of some description.

Such folk are generally unhampered by a knowledge of the subject.

Scouse.

[Bonio]

I am not quite sure what to make of your experience.

My g/f has applied twice now to go with me to the UK.

She is unemployed, not worked for a long time, no land in her name, doesn't live with me, no education.

She applied first time mid 2005. Got her visa two days later.

Second time last month for a visit over Xmas- I just supplied the documents requested on the website, she did the rest herself. Same result - visa inside 2 days.

Proof that single, unemployed Thai girls do get Tourist Visas ( and quite easily, apparently!)

[jason4656]

thanks for your post, just shows that there is no consistency or reasons for any of the bullshit they use for rejection

[v_needham]

Well Scouse you still have not answered my question! So if you have a superior knowledge of the visa subject then please tell everyone what you think the percentage of single unemployed Thai ladies would get a UK tourist visa? Also, the ones that are lucky enough to obtain a tourist visa, how many will actually return to Thailand like they said they would? Many Thais who get a tourist visa tell the embassy they will be in UK for only 2 weeks but then stay the full 6 months or overstay and work illegally, these people ruin it for all the honest Thais applying for visas. I know all this because of all my previous experiences, I owned a Thai restaurant in Southampton for 7 years and many Thais on tourist/fiancee visas used to come and ask for jobs.

Vern