Which Visa?

[murdy]

Hi everyone,

I've been with my partner 2yrs and not married and she has a son 3 and a half yrs old and we have just had a baby girl 3 weeks old.

I am up for another promotion at work in the Uk and won't be able to have the same amount of time off as I do at present.

I'm not bothered about the job but thinking about another 5k a year.

I'll have to bring my family over for around 4 months a year, Do I apply for a holiday visa? or get married in Thailand first and apply for settlement visa.

What do you think?

[hotshot]

A tourist visa is more hassle-free to get than a Settlement visa. And you don't need to wait around 3 to 5 months for the visa to be granted. My advice is to apply for a 6 months tourist visa. Good luck.

[the scouser]

Hi Murdy,

The choice is yours. Providing that you have evidence of the duration of your relationship, proof of your ability to pay for their travel, maintenance and accommodation and can convince the visa officer that the family will return to Thailand at the end of the 4 months then there shouldn't be a difficulty in getting a visit visa. The downside with a settlement visa is that this may be refused if the visa officer believes that your family is going to spend more time in Thailand than the UK. Would you be spending the remainder of the year with them in Thailand? If so this would aid a visit visa application.

As an aside, as you are not married to your partner your daughter has no automatic qualification to British citizenship.

Scouse.

[hotshot]

If your name is on your new baby's birth certificate this is enough evidence of you and your gf's relationship. If your gf owns land or house in her name this should be enough evidence that she will return to Thailand when her UK visa expires.

[murdy]

Thanks for your Input.

Initially I'm thinking 3 or 4 months as I won't get much time off as currently I can spend around 5 months with them a year.

If they come here 4 months I can then spend around 2 months In thailand.

We are planning on marrying anyway and postponed this due to the birth of my daughter and i've read you can marry later and make your baby legitimate thus allowing her british citizenship.

Also It's a possibility I may want the kids to at least have their primary education here to give them a leg up if you like, but I am unsure if my wife will like it here.

I was thinking settlement for this reason(harder to obtain) but don't want the hassle of applying everytime for visits.

She seems quite happy with the arrangment at the moment as I have just had a nice house built for her and she has no worries but we are both finding It harder each time I leave to go back to work and sure the kids are changing everyday.

[the scouser]

Hi Murdy,

It's not necessarily more difficult to get a settlement visa but the timescale is longer. In terms of the hassle of getting visit visas, it's not that much of a chore. Once your family has successfully obtained one such visa and abided by its conditions then there should be no difficulty in getting subsequent ones. Indeed, you can apply for multiple entries.

If you wish your daughter and step-son to undergo primary schooling in the UK then they will require settlement visas. Providing that they present themselves as wishing to settle in the UK then your family would be free to come and go as they wish within the 2-year validity of the visa without having to obtain another one.

Anyway, those are the options and, yes, should you subsequently marry your partner then, generally speaking, your daughter's birth will be legitimised and she would be construed as being British. If you chose to settle in the UK then you could seek to register your step-son as British.

Cheers,

Scouse.