Past Uk Tourist Visa Failure, Change Of Course...

[hamishgillan]

I recently applied for a tourist visa to the UK for my little Daughter.

But it was refused...

firstly it was the first time I had tried to do this so I was doing things blind

I completed the application online which was handy, ( http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/ ) also I was able to book an appointment at Regent Hse. online so no queueing.

You can appoint another person to accompany the person you are applying for, I mistakenly appointed my Thai GF as the accompanying person. so this caused some confusion as I thought that she may be included on the tourist visa for my daughter, wishful thinking.

Also there is a choice of visas to apply for online so make sure it is a 'family visit' visa as this gives you the right of appeal if your application is refused, not so clear on this aspect, I think that it is one of the boxes you tick in the 'tourist visa' application, but not sure maybe someone can confirm.

I was given an appeal form at the UK embassy on Thanon Witthayu/Wireless RD but I had to ask for it, even though they said it was included in the returned 'refused' envelope (which it wasn't). (so maybe the visa I had applied for was just a 'tourist visa' and not a 'family visit visa', not so clear there, anyway.

We waited for 6 weeks and then a phonecall came from a bilingual thai/english woman who refused to talk to me- the one who compiled the documents and would only talk to my not too literate or worldly wise Thai GF to try to establish wether she was going too and why there was not an application for her too.

So that call lasted less that five minutes and the next morning they sent the refused documents and passports back to us, after six weeks of silence.

Disappointing.

But they also said the reasons for refusal were that-

>Daughter was in school, it would disrupt her education, (although she is in 'Anuban song', Kindergarten!) so they didn't want her to spend a month or two in the UK learning English!

>Why hadn't my GF written a letter saying she was happy to let our daughter go to the UK, yet we did explain that if daughters app. was succesful we may make GF's app. too.

>insufficient funds, I gave records of monthly installments from a private bank to my current account, looking back I should have included details of available funds in private bank, okay, but no attempt was made by them to clarify this, suppose that they are busy, Although I did offer twice by email to provide any more documents that they wanted.

> Did not provide translation of daughters birth certificete, (not detailed as a requirement)

Any way so it was a bit of a mess.

I hope that this info helps someone to have their documents more organised than me!

Found this page too, hope that this is helpful....

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyan...ionrules/part2/

I do not plan to appeal the decision at the moment instead I am beginning the process of applying for my daughters UK citizenship.

Sadly my daughter was born before the 1st of July 2006 so I have to jump hurdles.

The Laws have since been relaxed so British Fathers with children born after that date can automatically transmit their nationality even to illegitimate children.

(http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for...register-birth1) as my GF and I are not married but have been together since we met, about 6.5 years now. But no plans to marry now.

I plan to include a blood test result to confirm that I am the true Father,

Can anyone tell me of their experiences in making the UK citizenship application for their child, things to watch out for etc.

ie. will we need to include paternity declarations even if we are not married.

Excuse me for being so long winded, thanks for any feedback too.

HG. X0

Edited August 11, 2009 by hamishgillan

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Simply apply for a UK passport at the British Embassy in Bangkok then you don't require a visa for her.

[hamishgillan]

I like how you use the word 'Simply'.

[the scouser]

Hamish,

As your daughter was born prior to 1 July 2006, she is not considered to have automatically acquired British citizenship by simple virtue of her birth. An application for your daughter's registration as a British citizen (not the same as birth registration) will have to be made to the UK Border Agency in Liverpool via the consular section of the British embassy in Bangkok. The cost is c. £540.00, being £480.00 for the registration application and c. £60.00 for the embassy forwarding fee. That said, as children born abroad to unmarried British fathers since 1/7/06 are automatically British, it would be perverse of the UKBA not to register your daughter as British simply because she was born prior to that date. Once she is registered as a British citizen, she will be issued with a certificate which can then be presented at the embassy in Bangkok as evidence of her entitlement to a British passport.

For the application to succeed, you will have to be British "otherwise than by descent" and, ideally, be named on your daughter's Thai birth certificate as the father. If you aren't, then another form of evidence of paternity will be required. You will also need to submit your long birth certificate, which, if you don't have it, can be obtained from the GRO in Southport, or, if you were born in Scotland, Edinburgh.

You can search the UKBA website for form MN1.

Scouse.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for...egister-birth1/

[the scouser]

The concepts of registration of a birth (i.e. being issued with a UK-style birth certificate) and registration as a British citizen should not be confused.

In the OP's case, his daughter did not automatically acquire British citizenship at birth. Consequently, as things stand, it is impossible for the British embassy in Bangkok to legally issue her with either a British-style birth certificate or a British passport: she is not British.

However, as detailed in my earlier post, the facility is there for the OP and the child's mother to seek their daughter's registration as a British citizen under the auspices of section 3(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 on the basis that her father is British "otherwise than by descent" (on the assumption that he is). As the child would be registered as a British citizen, it would not be possible for the embassy in Bangkok to issue a UK-style birth certificate because she wasn't automatically British at the time she was born. Instead, a certificate of registration as a British citizen is issued (very similar to naturalisation certificates), and this is then used for the purposes of applying for a British passport for the child.

Scouse.

[hamishgillan]

thanks all.

here is the mn1 form and guide link, for those in my position-

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteconte...ty/form_mn1.pdf

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteconte...y/guide_mn1.pdf