I have absolutely no idea what to expect here. I thought I'd go to UK for a couple of weeks and suggested to a Thai friend that they came to.

Passport is no problem., but what about a tourist visa? how easy are they for Thai citizens? what hoops do they have to jump through?

(I have a UK passport)

Getting a visa to visit the UK and then a Schengen Visa to visit the European countries in the Schengen Area, including France, is no problem for for any nationalities, including Thai, providing you meet the visa requirements.

Basically you can be granted entry clearance in your own right, which means you will not need a sponsor, providing you can convince the Entry Clearance Officer that you have sufficient funds to fund your trip and that you will return to your home country at the end of your holiday.

When applying for your visa give as many details about your plans, an itinerary helps, include costings and proof about how you will pay for your trip, original bank books or statements. The most important part of the process is convincing the ECO that you will return home, this would normally be in the form of details of your employment including proof that the job is open on your return with a letter approving your holiday. If you have a business and/or property give details and proof give details, if it's your own business include cover details for your absence.

Many Thai people successfully apply for visa in their own right, just make sure you provide all the proof that is needed.

I personally would apply for a UK Visa in the first instance as that is currently taking 4-6 weeks, once you have the UK Visa apply for your Schengen Visa, that is considerably quicker.

There is loads of information available on the UK Visa website as there is for the Schengen countries, if there is anything specifically you are not sure about ask on here. Some people use agents, but the process is really fairly simple so I personally wouldn't waste my money, but others may have another view.

Good luck

I would have thought a simple sampling of the myriad posts accessible on the search function might have answered your query.

Still, in a nutshell, if your Thai friend is a well established and financially secured member of hiso Thai society anchored in Thailand with an excellent career path and with responsibilities and obligations to match then he/she may well obtain a visit visa in their own right without too much difficulty.

If not, then it will be you and your relationship to your friend which will be closely scrutinised since that will be the deciding factor in setting the application apart from those normally refused.

A good agent may assist if your chum falls to be considered within the latter category.

If you demonstrate to the ECO you meet the rules and he is satisfied then entry clearance will be issued.

THanks for the Schengen info.

How quickly - in theory - can a tourist visa be issued?

I have been told that a Schengen Visa (France) takes a little under a week, though you have to schedule an appointment to submit the application first.

Around about 5/10 days is average for a Schengen visa.