How To Get A Tourist Visa?

[stiffmyster]

Hi Guys,

I need some useful information regarding obtaining a tourist visa for my girlfriend from Thailand to come over to the uk just for a holiday! what appropriate channels do we need to take, cost, time factory, duration of stay, paper work, easy to get or not? which embassy to aply at etc...

We both have e-mail evidence which we print out from each time we communicate, photos and I have telephone bill evidence too, weather we need all this I do not know! so any advice would be truly appreciated!

Thanx in adavance!!!

My first post! great forum by the way!

Stiffmyster.

[jhj2000]

You will not find it easy. I wanted to take my girlfriend to the U.K. for a holiday just to meet my family and have a look where I lived. On entering the British Embassy I was told that I would not get tourist visa for her and that I should apply for wife type visa. I was annoyed about this but decided that I had no chance of winning without protracted interviews and appeals. I paid the extra money and she got her settlement visa without much trouble. One thing that it did do was to force us into marriage earlier than we had planned. All is well we have been together for a long time now and are both happy but we spend 6 months of the year in Thailand and the other in the U.K. I don’t blame the Embassy for the way they are applying policy you only have to meet the Thai community in the U.K. and you will find that a good proportion of Thai women that arrive in England are there for prostitution and nothing else. One of the reasons we spend 6 months of the year in Thailand is that my wife hates being stopped on the road and asked if she wants to go out with someone. Yes the vast majority of Thai women that are married to farangs are not on the game but a lot that come to the U.K. are and continue to be when they arrive. Even some that come as students are using the rules to make money.

I don’t think the Embassy is unreasonable and I have found that they will respond to phone calls, e mails promptly and will give you good advice.

[lopburi3]

As said it is likely to be a very uphill battle. The primary concern is that she plans to leave after a visit. If she has a boyfriend living in the UK that is not going to be of much help for a tourist visa. If she has good job/family/money to return to Thailand for she may be able to obtain a tourist visa on her own at the UK Embassy in Bangkok.

For those interested in marriage or those married there are other visa options where your relationship will help; but for a tourist visa with you living in the UK it is not likely to be a positive factor at all.

[the scouser]

If you're still interested in sponsoring a visit visa application for your girlfriend you can download the form from here. You will need to provide evidence of your ability to accommodate and financially care for her during her stay and she must demonstrate to the visa officer that she has a good reason to return to Thailand at the end of her holiday. Furthermore, the visa officer will want to see evidence that you do in fact know each other, so provide photos, e-mails, letters, a copy of your passport and phone bills etc. Should the visa be refused then the fee is non-refundable.

Scouse.

[grosshurst]

Done this a few times and had no problem at all. Takes a while to stand in the queue waiting to be seen - and that really was the hardest bit - so far so good, touch wood, fingers crossed!

Each time I have applied I have been in Thailand with my g/f. You need to go to the British Embassy. Don't go on a Monday morning, its a nightmare, go towards the back end of the week and make sure you get there first thing before they open. We do both dress smartly. When you go in the door, you hand your papers, form and passport photos over and collect a number, then make your way to the main building and wait for your number to be called. They will only wnat to see her - not you, so show your face and then go sit down again.

I always go prepared with a file that contains: Bank statements, telephone bills, credit card bills, emails, photographs, wage slips, copy of passport (inc the Thai immigration stamps), sponsors letter and anything else I can lay my hands on.

Most important bit is the sponsor letter detailing who you are, how you are going to look after her (where she will be staying etc), confirmation of your financial standing, why you want her to visit, intended duration of stay, modes of transport from the airport, payment of the air fare and anything else pertinent to your situation.

She fills in the VAF1 form herself. She takes her Bank book and telephone bills. She obviously also needs her passport and ID card if she has a current one. I suggest you make sure there is plenty of money in her bank account before you apply. I presume that the better the job and the more assests she has in Thailand, the better.

The whole process takes a few hours and you collect her passport the next day at the window, I think between 3:00 and 3:30, so don't be late.

Just for information, my g/f is self employed, does not have a degree but does have house/land and can speak reasonably good english. I am a UK national (all my life) and we have only applied for tourist visas.

More info can be found on UK Visa Page

Good luck.

[stiffmyster]

Cheers Guys, thanx to you all! very helpful indeed!

Stiffmyster.