Oversite On Dates

[narrad]

My Fiance is currently here with me in the UK and everything has been going really well.

She has settled well and gets on with my family and friends, aswell as having met another Thai girl who she gets on with like a house on fire.

Then we discovered a problem. We went to Regents House to apply for the Visa on 30th Dec last year. Whilst we were filling in the forms with the paid help of the staff, we were asked what date we would like the visa to start, if we were successfull with our application. As my girl was obliged to give a months notice to the company she worked for, and that she would want to spend some time with her family in Buriram before she left, we asked for 28th of Feb.

The visa duely arrived and she flew to the Uk on 6th March.

The wedding plans are now complete and everything is in place. The dress, venue, flowers, car, suits, catering etc are all paid for and the date set for 31th July.

Then one day last week, I began to do my home work on what the proceedures would be after we are married, regarding National Insurance numbers and TLR etc. I was filling in some forms for this and needed the excact dates of her visa. To my horror I noticed that my girls visa actually started from 28th Jan meaning that it expires 28th July, 3 days before we are due to marry

Now I now what you are all thinking. I should of checked the dates as soon as we recieved the passport back but I never and neither did she.

My question is this. If we marry on the 31st, 3 days after the visa expires, what is likely to happen.

Thanks, Narrad.

[7by7]

If she has not married and applied for FLR before the visa expires then she will be in the UK illegally.

You either need to bring the date of the wedding forward so she can submit her FLR application in time, or she will have to return to Bangkok when her visa expires and start all over again.

If you can marry and get her FLR application sent in time then her current leave to remain will be automatically extended until the FLR decision is made.

I am surprised that the registry office agreed to a date for the wedding which is after her visa expires; looks like they didn't check thoroughly!

However, if you were to submit the FLR application immediately after the marriage then it is possible that given the short time between the visa expiring and the application being submitted that the UKBA will overlook her 'overstay'. But I would not rely on this, and you should check with the UKBA to be sure.

Unfortunaltely the ECOs at the embassy do sometimes miss requests to post date the start of a visa, so one should always check the dates immediately the visa is received as mistakes cannot be rectified later.

Edited May 25, 2009 by 7by7