Tourist Visa To England

[barnaby666]

Hello all this is my first post on thai visa, and any help will be much appriciated.

iv been in a relationship since nov '08' during a 2 month stay in thailand. we stayed together for the duration, and since this holiday i have been able to return to visit her another 3 times. im currently over seas in afghanistan with the armed forces which i have been working for for the last 10 years.

since first meeting my gf i have taken care of here financialy and kept all photoes and reciepts together. she unfortunatly doesnt own land , car and no proof of work..

she visited the embassy on the 4th of augaust and applied for a tourist visa, id collected all the supporting evidence,p60, bank statements, proof of relationship with emails ect

i dont own my own house as the army pays for my accomodation and she would only be visiting for a 3 week holiday. where we would be staying in hotels all hotel information was given together with the application.

im just playing the waiting game now and have already been told the wait could be anything upto 6 weeks for a tourist visa.

my question would be what are the odds for obtaining a tourist visa, whats the success rate? is it really that hard to get a visa for a 3 week holiday? after reading some stories online about it being nearly impossible to obtain a uk tourist visa, im beginig to feel pessimistic about the applicaion...can anyone give me a ballpark figuer for application success rate? any information would be much appreciated..maybe il just keep my fingers crossed for another 3 weeks.........

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Evidence of a subsisting relationship helps as do economic ties to her host country.

If you require professional help feel free to contact me we have offices in the UK/Thailand.

[Thongkorn]

Go on the British Embassy Bangkok site , it will tell you the criteria ,go for a holiday visa 3600baht, You can do it yourself,

[POMCHOB]

Hi and welcome to the Forum here is some advice i was given by the Scouser and others on the Forum for my Wifes visit to the UK.

To qualify for a Visit Visa for your Girlfriend.

Your girlfriend needs to show that she has somewhere to stay in the UK, enough money (either from her own resources or yours) to pay for the trip, and that she intends to return to Thailand at the end of her stay.

*My wifes reason for return was a study course and date at well known English Language School in Bangkok in writing.

You will need to submit your bank statements and wage slips to show that you can pay for the trip, and evidence of contact, showing that you keep in touch. Additionally, your girlfriend, if she has a job, will need to demonstrate her employment in addition to providing any evidence of land ownership etc.

*My wife had recently finished Study at University in Bangkok and was not employed or owned any Land.

*My family acted as sponsors for My Wife's visit and i said i would be looking for work on return to the UK.

You should write a covering letter which explains how you think your girlfriend qualifies for the visit visa etc. You should also explain that the purpose of the visit is to enable your wife to see if she likes the UK, and that if she decides to settle, she will return to Thailand and apply for a settlement visa.(if this is your intentions for the future)

Thaivisaexpress have given me very good advice also excellent advice from the Scouser he will point you in the right direction.

*I didnt use a Visa Agent (but its up to you) we did it ourselves and she was granted the 6 Month Visitor Visa very quickly.

The UK Immigration really need a compelling reason for your Girlfriend to return to Thailand before her Visa expires.

ThaivisaExpress We are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). Look for the OISC global tick logo all advisers are required to display their certificates of registration or exemption. This together with with the OISC”s global tick” logo, shows that an organisation has met the standards laid down by the OISC.

Davieskhan.com are also registered in the UK and Thailand and excellent with advice.

I hope you do get the Visa for her

My wife and i have been together since late 2005 so it helps if you have history.

Phone calls emails etc .

Good luck for your both in the future from Pomchob.

[snuggzzz]

The issue is that the visa is given for 6 months. You have to prove that she will not be a burden on the UK Taxpayer. As the previous reports indicate, get your Bank Statements in order, make sure that your telephone bill or email print out is submitted.

I submitted dated photos of myself with my (now wife's) family.

Letter of sponsorship/guarantor from your parents or on Army headed letter from an Army Personnel Officer would support your situation, I wish you well, Good luck .

[barnaby666]

thanks you for the information and support. it's been 3 weeks today since i applied for the visa.hopefully within the next few weeks il hear an answer. il keep you posted and if i get a refusal il look at visiting the agent in pattaya. thanks again..

[1983wez]

I wish you good luck,

can you please post the outcome of the visa when you know if it has been accepted or rejected as i have been with my girlfriend also since nov'08 but have same issues regarding reason to return. She has no land or assets that would link her back to thailand.

I plan on taking my supporting docs out to her when i visit again in november (5th time in one year) and am going to try and help gf get visit visa. So would be very interested to hear how you got on mate. Its such a hard battle from what it seems, getting someone you love to come and visit you in your home country just for a few weeks.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Its very strange i have had two applications granted in 3/5 working days and one still at the Embassy for 12 working days now .

Even i don't know seem to be able to gauge how long each application will take 3 days 5 days 12 days there is no real pattern at the moment.

[barnaby666]

ok 1983wez il kep u posted, still havent heard anything and looking at the embassy home page it could take upto 6 weeks..if my visa is refused for whatever reason, il arrange for my gf to travel to pattaya to visit thai visa express to discuse our options..im going back to thailand myself within the next 2 months and hope to return back to the uk with my gf around the start of November..thanks again for the info..

[ThaiVisaExpress]

ok 1983wez il kep u posted, still havent heard anything and looking at the embassy home page it could take upto 6 weeks..if my visa is refused for whatever reason, il arrange for my gf to travel to pattaya to visit thai visa express to discuse our options..im going back to thailand myself within the next 2 months and hope to return back to the uk with my gf around the start of November..thanks again for the info..

You may contact me directly via my website email however lets hope you don't require anyone's help.

Good luck.

[barnaby666]

thats 4 weeks and still no answer from embassy...

[stevehaigh]

thats 4 weeks and still no answer from embassy...

my wife got hers in about 5 days. something's wrong, you should contact them.

steve

[orchidofsiam]

We have always found that the Embassy are sympathetic to members of the Armed Forces and do all they can to issue a visa. The most important aspect in your case is proof of the relationship if she has no strong ties to Thailand.

[Lite Beer]

Are you sure that it has not actually been processed and is not waiting for Her to collect it.

It is not the Embassy she deals with , it is the VFS http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/

Try contacting them by phone or E Mail. Try the online tracking system.

[barnaby666]

according to the vfs, my application has been forwarded to the embassy, so i take it i still need to wait out for an answer?. im hoping to be coming back from Afghan within the next month.. the longer i go waiting for an answer the more expensive it is going to be for flight costs for my gf.. apparently some applications are seen to first if there dates are in the very near future, i take it first come first serve does'nt apply,,, it feels like applicants who havent had time for whatever reason to plan ahead for their visa are getting there applicaton answered alot quicker..it doesnt quite seen fair,

Thinking back now, i wonder if when i applied for the visa if i told the embassy id need an answer within 2 weeks id have been 'fast tracked to the front of the queue'...anyway. thanks again for the support,,

[Lite Beer]

They do seem to be doing it in date of travel. So your GF may well be at the back of the queue,

Can you not check on the online checking facility?

[Matan]

according to the vfs, my application has been forwarded to the embassy, so i take it i still need to wait out for an answer?. im hoping to be coming back from Afghan within the next month.. the longer i go waiting for an answer the more expensive it is going to be for flight costs for my gf.. apparently some applications are seen to first if there dates are in the very near future, i take it first come first serve does'nt apply,,, it feels like applicants who havent had time for whatever reason to plan ahead for their visa are getting there applicaton answered alot quicker..it doesnt quite seen fair,

Thinking back now, i wonder if when i applied for the visa if i told the embassy id need an answer within 2 weeks id have been 'fast tracked to the front of the queue'...anyway. thanks again for the support,,

You're not alone. My girlfriend's application was submitted on the 28th of April 2009 and the visa only came at the end of May, 1 week before her date of travel. That was stressful! It doesn't mean there's a problem though, it just means a bunch of overpaid monkeys are handling things.

[BusyBee123]

it must be a money thing or something as mine took 2 weeks without a rip off agent to fill in a BASIC ENGLISH form, i'm sure boyfriends income in the uk has a lot to do with it plus she does have a kid at home so good reason to come back.

[mark515]

I have got my girlfriend here in the uk now with me. We met in May this year I came to see her again in June. We had daily contact via MSN, e-mails, phone calls, I met all her family. I submitted an appication with me as a sponsor for a 6 month visit. I booked the flights back for the 27th Aug 2009 we submitted the application on the 13th Aug 2009 when I came back for the 3rd visit. I must admit there was times when I thought it would be passed then another day failed. in all we submitted 8kg of paper work to prove our relationship and the reason for return was 1. her daughter. 2, that our next visa may welll be settlement.

The application was submited and approved in 10 days. I think we was lucky but we did cover each requirement in detail.