Who`s Used Siam Legal Group?

[nelly1977]

Hi i`m just wondering who has used this company to help them with any visa applications, and if so would be great to read some of your feed back as to how it all went.

Im currently thinking of using them to help my girlfriend get a tourist visa,they have given her a quick test asking her afew questions about her job,assets,land etc etc all the important things,they seem to think she has a good chance and now its just a case of pay the cash!

easier just to do it ourselves??

Thanks

Neil

[RAZZELL]

Where to?

Depend's how much time you have and how genuine your application is.

RAZZ

Edited March 25, 2008 by RAZZELL

[nelly1977]

Hi Razz

Its to England,the application is 100% genuine yes and time is not of any concern really.

Neil

[yorkieb]

I have had preliminary dealing with this company. They were profesional and legite, but with all legal representation they will cost.

Personally I would do the application yourself. On the basis that this is your first application hopefully with a clean immigration record, if you follow the volumes of advice in this forum it should be a straight forward process. In my experience if you cover all the bases eg. good reason to return, adequate accomodation and support you should be ok. It only tends to all fall over when they make mistakes, them is the time to wheel in the legal guns. Only my humble opinion.

However if you are in the UK and bent on professional support, i would approach Schouse. he is the Man in here.

Good luck Yorkie.

[nelly1977]

cheers Yorkie

yes they are charging £325 for the tourist visa,like razz was a asking me about time,one of the reasons i was thinking of using siam legal is for the easy factor,and for not to be going backward and forward to and from thailand for the application to be turned down from a silly mistake iv made.

Anyway i`ll have a good look back at old posts

cheers

Neil

[Lite Beer]

Stupid question.

Why would anyone pay 325 pounds when you could do it youself for free?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Stupid question.

Why would anyone pay 325 pounds when you could do it youself for free?

Good question.

[Big A]

My wife has had 2 UK visas (and 1 Australian visa) with no help from any legal eagles. We going to apply for her 3rd in a few months. Easy.

Submit as much info as you can to prove that she will return to Thailand (assets, bank books, house reg book, car reg book, letters from employers etc).

[Captain Chaos]

My wife has had 2 UK visas (and 1 Australian visa) with no help from any legal eagles. We going to apply for her 3rd in a few months. Easy.

Submit as much info as you can to prove that she will return to Thailand (assets, bank books, house reg book, car reg book, letters from employers etc).

Wot Big A said - reason to return is the key - but you can assist by making sure that your GF provides as much relevant info as possible - put it in a binder with some dividers and an index - a concise but well-written covering note never hurts, nor would a letter from any friends or family you might visit when you're there stating that they'll provide accomodation but all costs will be at your account...

This is a serious business - so treat it seriously & professionally...

FWIW - got my GF (now my wife) three visitors visas to the UK - and after the first time she never even had to go to the embassy ... I don't think you need a lawyer to do this

Hope this helps,

CC

[Big A]

.............put it in a binder with some dividers and an index - a concise but well-written covering note never hurts,

This is a serious business - so treat it seriously & professionally.......

You got it, Captain! Exactly what we have done. A divided binder with a polite covering letter and a neatly filled in application form works wonders.

Good luck.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Big A

[nelly1977]

Thanks for the help,def no need to be paying out stupid cash,i agree

lots of preperation.

thanks

Neil

[Lite Beer]

If you qualify, you qualify. Doesn`t matter how much you pay someone to put your case.

Just be honest and tell everything.

[marshall]

.............put it in a binder with some dividers and an index - a concise but well-written covering note never hurts,

This is a serious business - so treat it seriously & professionally.......

You got it, Captain! Exactly what we have done. A divided binder with a polite covering letter and a neatly filled in application form works wonders.

Good luck.

Hey I would go with Scouse just look at the positive feedback he,s had and also hes based in the UK so near to you, but as they say in Thailand UP TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Give him a post see what you think Goodluck

[madjbs]

How did you arange your folders? Did you include photos and stuff?

[Captain Chaos]

How did you arange your folders? Did you include photos and stuff?

I laid it out in a fairly logical fashion (well, I thought so) with stuff about me (my covering letter, Thai payslips / tax returns etc - EDIT: I was the 'reason to return' in our case! - always put this first!) up front, then UK stuff (letters from parents & friends offering accomodation) and then my missus' Thai stuff like 'tabien baan' and kiddies birth certs at the end. Each one in its own section - divider clearly marked, index written in block capitals. Stuff that they want to check immediately (application forms, passport photos) goes at the front so easy to access. To be honest I think any vaguely sensible layout will be fine so long as it's easy to follow.

No photos included - for the first visit they asked my missus (then GF) to go to the embassy with a couple of photos after we had lodged the application - took about 30 mins including waiting time so no problem there. Photos weren't required for visits two & three...

CC

Edited March 25, 2008 by Captain Chaos

[Big A]

I used my covering letter as an index for the paperwork in the binder as follows:

NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION

VAF1 Application Form

2 passport-sized photographs

Current Thai passport

Photocopy of current Thai passport

Previous Thai Passport

A bankers draft for B4,095 (Visa fee)

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION / EVIDENCE OF ASSETS IN THAILAND

Original (2) bank passbooks and signed photocopies

Signed photocopy of Thai identity card

Original (1) and signed photocopy of Marriage Certificate

Original (1) and signed photocopy of house registration book

Original (1) and signed photocopy of car registration book

Signed photocopy of husband's current British passport

Letter of invitation to UK from mother-in-law

Photograph of UK accommodation

Confirmed travel plans

As neither of us are working, I couldn't include any letters from bosses or tax receipts etc

Edited March 25, 2008 by Big A

[yorkieb]

Seriously OP there is no better advise available than in here. All the tools are here. As one poster said if you are sound you are sound however follow the advise, bombard them with proof, flood them with data, swamp them with bank statements and at the end of the day dosent matter what our mean spirited government with their two face polititians reteric put in your path they wont be able to stop you persuing yout right to happiness.

What was it that guy said in the movie 'Independance day'............ Up yourssssssssssssssssssss arse hole I'am homeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. LOL...

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Seriously OP there is no better advise available than in here. All the tools are here. As one poster said if you are sound you are sound however follow the advise, bombard them with proof, flood them with data, swamp them with bank statements and at the end of the day dosent matter what our mean spirited government with their two face polititians reteric put in your path they wont be able to stop you persuing yout right to happiness.

What was it that guy said in the movie 'Independance day'............ Up yourssssssssssssssssssss arse hole I'am homeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. LOL...

[Lite Beer]

The 3 main things.

1. Reason to return.

2. Somewhere to stay.

3.Money for the trip.

Provide everything you can think of , no matter how stupid it seems.

Don`t forget your Visa history . (proof you live here and will retun.)

Long term driving licence.

Letter from kids school, if she has any.

House documents . Land documents. Car documents.

Anything that ties you both to Thailand.

[Big A]

^^ Anything that ties you both to Thailand.

That's the key.

[mrbojangles]

Are Siam Legal OISC registered ?

[thecatman]

Are Siam Legal OISC registered ?

Yes Mr BJ. I believe they are.

[mariner29]

I cant see it on there site they must be working from Thailand?

Confirmed they are not registered with the OISC.

[thecatman]

I cant see it on there site they must be working from Thailand?

Confirmed they are not registered with the OISC.

You're right, I was thinking of Davies Khan (I visited both websites today, got muddled).

(Good chance for you guys to give yourselves plug though )

P.S. Yeah, I think Siam Legal are based in Thailand. (BKK and Pattaya)

Edited May 15, 2008 by thecatman

[pliny]

If you qualify, you qualify. Doesn`t matter how much you pay someone to put your case.

Just be honest and tell everything.

Going by their statistics approximately 10% get knocked back.

Who can say how many of those refused who chose to go it alone would not have been so unfortunate had they instructed professional representation?

Incidentally, Siam Legal are not OISC registered. However, they lay claim to an office in London but make no mention of any accreditation to the OISC so perhaps one could assume that they are not.

[mariner29]

Ensure you use an OISC registered company in the UK.

[aqua4]

Ensure you use an OISC registered company in the UK.

OISC is nice to have but it is not a guarantee of anything other than the person or persons knows the immigration procedures. That is where it stops. I have always believed that it is better to use an immigration attorney than a layman who has managed to pass the OISC certification.

Firstly bringing your wife or fiancee to your home country does not stop at the immigration checkpoint. It involves Family Law and Property Law if you are a person who owns property and/or equity. I have seen on some of these Thailand forums where individuals who are essentially laymen dispense advice about prenups and property where they clearly had no idea what they were talking about. One I recall was certified.

The OISC certification was a step in the right direction which the UK Government put in place, however it falls far short of providing a one-stop migration shop. It gives people in my view a false impression of what knowledge these people have in terms of aspects of the law beyond the immigration process itself.

At the end of the day you could have the same argument in the Teachers Forum of Thaivisa. Do you want a teacher who completed Grade 10 and has a TEFL certificate or do you want a teacher who is a career - university qualified teacher. Which would you pick when their costs are the same? Why should migration be any different?

[the scouser]

Those are nice words, but, prior to the enactment of the '99 Act, anyone, without any form of qualification, could set him/herself up as an immigration adviser.

Since then, it's pretty much the same: one does not have to be knowledgable to be qualified, either as an "OISC adviser" or an "attorney".

The lesson is that one should choose a representative carefully.

Scouse.

[mariner29]

Siam Legal claim to have an office here in the UK but when you dial the number it diverts to an office in Bangkok.

If you require a Thai consultation service Siam of Orchid have an office here and Bangkok & they are OISC registered.

[roygsd]

Are Siam Legal OISC registered ?

A very relevant question ,

As I understand it THERE ARE NO VISA AGENTS/AGENCIES BASED IN THAILAND WHO ARE APPROVED BY THE UK GOVERNMENT FOR INCUSION ON THE LIST OF APPROVED MEMBERSHIP OF THE REGULATORY BODY IN RESPEC TOF VISA AGENTS.

Sorry for the "shouting" but its something to shout about, why would anyone use an Agent who is not accountable to a reulatory body? When things go wrong, as they often do in life, you have abosolutely nowhere to go to for assistance if you have a problem with an unregulated Agent.

As recent changes to the UK visa system confirms that some mistakes could well result in the applicant being banned from submitting another visa appliation for up to 10 years, are you, or should you, really be considering putting you and your partners future happiness in the hands of a person or organisation who are not accountable to the ONLY Regulatory body that

is recognised by the UK government?

Before you ask I am not a visa agent, or connected to one, I am simply someone who has been through the same worrying process some of you are now contemplating. I never used an agent to get my wifes visa despite being approached many times even inside the british embassy itself in BKK by what I can only discribe as expats seeking to earn a living in a field for which they appear to have no experience of before their arrrival in Thailand.

If you really feel it is appropriate for you to use the services of agent then use a proffessional service that is accountable to a regulatory body.

Another poster on this thread has made a recommendation of a uk based agent and if I were looking for proffessional visa advice/ service based upon the good advice and resultant praise from previous satisfied posters on this site in recent years

I would have no hesitation in appointing that company.

Having previously lived in Merseyside for 20 or so years I know how shy those born there can be so to preserve his modesty I decline to name the Agent directly.

Roy gsd