My Married Thai Girlfriend Wants To Visit Me In The Uk

[werawi]

Hi,

sorry if this is all pretty obvious.

anyway, my situation is that i (in england) have a thai girlfriend in bangkok, who is currently married to an english guy. it didn't work out and they have been separated for a year and her spouse visa for the uk has just expired.

first question is does she have to wait for her divorce before she can get either a visit visa or fiancee visa for the uk sponsored by me?

second question, i believe she has to wait 1 year following her divorce before she can remarry in thailand in order to comne and live in england as my wife. is this correct, or can she do this as soon as she has confirmation of the divorce?

third and final, if the above (about waiting a year is accurate), would she be able to come to the uk on a visit visa and be free to marry there under english law (her current marriage is under thai law)?

many thanks for any help on this.

[CharlieB]

Hi,

sorry if this is all pretty obvious.

anyway, my situation is that i (in england) have a thai girlfriend in bangkok, who is currently married to an english guy. it didn't work out and they have been separated for a year and her spouse visa for the uk has just expired.

first question is does she have to wait for her divorce before she can get either a visit visa or fiancee visa for the uk sponsored by me?

second question, i believe she has to wait 1 year following her divorce before she can remarry in thailand in order to comne and live in england as my wife. is this correct, or can she do this as soon as she has confirmation of the divorce?

third and final, if the above (about waiting a year is accurate), would she be able to come to the uk on a visit visa and be free to marry there under english law (her current marriage is under thai law)?

many thanks for any help on this.

First part is a complicated question. Recently someone posted on the board that they'd had an application for a visit visa turned down due to them both being married to other people, even though the Thai woman had spent several years away from her husband and the UK bloke was estranged from his ex too. I think the fact it's another Brit will complicate it to be honest. They will probably have worries that she is doing anything and everything to get herself into the UK. You can always go ahead and try, they can only say no, but you'll have to show evidence of her reasons to return to Thailand and in this case they may up the bar on that one. Personally, I'd wait until she has got her divorce through.

Second part, yes, this is a Thai law, so in theory you could marry in the UK within a year, BUT you can't marry on a visit visa as you asked in your third question. You'd have to apply for a fiance visa and both supply the divorce proof from either of your previous marriages.

[theoldgit]

If your girlfriend was married in Thailand her marriage is legal in the UK, so will not be free to marry in the UK until she is divorced. If the English is agreeable a divorce is as easy as going to the Amhpur and signing some papers, but they both need to be there.

The visa section will automatically think the worst of her, so you will have to think as one of them and challenge everything she says, it will be painful but, in my view, worth it in the long run.

Good luck to you both

[7by7]

In order to get a fiance visa she needs to be free to marry; so she will need to get divorced before applying for that.

Being married to someone else is no bar to her being sponsored by you for a visit. But make sure you fully explain the circumstances and your future plans together.

To make sure that she is not pregnant and so avoid possible argumants over paternity, a woman in Thailand cannot remarry until a certain time after her divorce, I forget how long but it's not a year, unless she obtains a medical certificate to confirm she is not pregnant.

(Edit. Found it. The time is 310 days.)

A legal marriage in Thailand is recognised as such in the UK and vice-versa. So she cannot marry again in either country until she is divorced from her current husband. As said, if the man is willing and they married in Thailand all they have to do is turn up at an ampur together and sign a few papers.

Edited February 4, 2009 by 7by7