Best Visa To Remain In Uk?

[chenposeb]

Hi,

My wife is here with me in the UK originally on a 6 month marriage visa, we got married and now need to extend the visa.

We looked at the ILR visa...wow! almost £1000, more if you turn up in person.

Thing is we intend to go back and live in her village in Thailand in about 18 months, so I was wondering if anyone on here knows of a cheaper visa we can do to keep her here with me without getting the HUGE visa fee.

Any help appreciated, thanks.

[Merangue]

Seems the only avenue is a settlement visa extension

Not that much cheaper in all honesty. Just gone up to £585 i think.

Fiancee visas are issued for a period of six months and are awarded solely for the purpose of travelling to Britain in order to get married. Only after marriage may the applicant apply to stay in the country beyond the six-month period, at which time a two-year UK visa extension may be issued in the shape of a Marriage Visa. After this time, a person can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), often known as permanent residency in the UK, as long as the marriage continues to stand.

Edited May 30, 2009 by Merangue

[Thongkorn]

I think you have to go back to Thailand to get a settement Visa,

[7by7]

You say she has a 6 month marriage visa.

Is this a marriage visit visa? If so she cannot extend it and will have to leave the UK when it expires and apply in Bangkok for settlement.

Or is it a settlement visa as your fiance? If so she cannot apply for ILR until she has been in the UK for at least 2 years, so should apply for FLR. See Completing application form FLR(M). FLR costs £465 by post or £665 in person.

[kennkate]

7by7 Quite correct IF your wife is in the UK with a Fiance Visa. You Can Apply for FLR in the UK.

If I was you I would certainly apply for FLR in the Uk.

The form is easier to compleate and you can apply by post If you do it is less expensive than getting it in Thailand.

As long as they recive the application before Her current visa expires That is OK

You will have to send her passport Marraige Cert Ect, Send it Registred Post. You will then have Proof of sending.

[chenposeb]

Thanks for the advice.

The forms we got in Bangkok were a little confusing.

She only got here on 7th April, we had the Register Office yesterday, we have 6 months Visa, and the letter we recieved from The British Embassy Bangkok just says:

" ...During this period you are expected to marry your fiance/fiancee. After marriage you must apply to the Home Office to regularise your stay...."

No mention of which Visa.

the end of the letter says:

"...Subject to their approval, the Home Office will then place a stamp in your passport, which will enable you to remain in the UK for a further limited period, or indefinitely..."

I have also been advised by a friend, on no authority whatsoever (a friend told him...), that it is best to wait until the 6 weeks of the Visa to apply. Any views on this?

(Thankyou for the link to the correct form, we were on the site for about 2 hours trying to work out which one it was we needed, and still apparently came up with the wrong one )

Edited May 31, 2009 by chenposeb

[ThaiVisaExpress]

You require FLR in the UK if you entered on a fiancee visa.

[Eff1n2ret]

" ...During this period you are expected to marry your fiance/fiancee. After marriage you must apply to the Home Office to regularise your stay....

..Subject to their approval, the Home Office will then place a stamp in your passport, which will enable you to remain in the UK for a further limited period, or indefinitely..."

How is that confusing? They're telling you exactly what happens.

[7by7]

What did you apply for? Settlement or visit?

The wording on your letter indicates that it is a fiance visa. Another indication is the fee, how much did you pay? The current fee for a visit visa is 3685 baht, settlement is 32175 baht. (Fees change periodically to reflect exchange rate fluctuations. You may have paid a slightly different amount)

You can apply for FLR once the marriage has taken place; no need to wait until her current visa has expired.

[cuddleypete]

It looks like you will have to apply for FLR as soon as possible, you do not have to wait until her current visa has expired,

[Brigante7]

My wife arrived in the UK on a fiance visa in October 2006, said visa expired in March 2007, we got married in January 2007 and she had to apply for FLR no sooner than 28 days before her fiance visa expired. When we applied for her FLR visa all we sent were proof of our marriage (Wedding certificate), her passport, my passport and the relevent form, hope this helps.

Brigante7.

[chenposeb]

Thanks for the info.

The confusion had come about because there are many different types of Visa and the form did not tell us which one to apply for.

I am now pretty sure that it is the FLR form. Thank you all for the advice, it has helped loads.... I will no dubt be picking your brains for info nearer to my own Visa issues for Thailand