Taking Uk Visa App To The Embassy

[60minuteman]

im all finished with my visa application now for a uk tourist visa,

can anyone give me advice on taking the application in, as my girlfriend will have to do it alone.

1. does she need an appointment

2. general advice? do's and don'ts?

cheers.. and wish us luck!

[Stjohnm]

1stly The embassy doesn't Process visa's they have a processing Centre on the 2nd Floor of Regent House on Rajadamri Road Next Door to the AUA

Check these websites for further details http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/ & http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?vi...&id=2125268

When I last emailed the embassy it was about a Spousal visa for my wife, so most of the information they gave me would be irrelevant but a friend who recently went through the process to get a Tourist visa said that she needed a letter from her employer stating that she had a job in Thailand to come back to & needed to show funds to support her while there or have a "sponsor" who would do likewise.

A planned Itinerary showing a definite return date would be a good idea, also turn up well dressed, Sunday best not necessary but you get the idea, dress for the office

โชคดีนา

Edited March 11, 2010 by Stjohnm

[lormakmak]

expect a wait as posted in another thread....

5 weeks now for my finace/settlement visa application and still no word

[SantiSuk]

expect a wait as posted in another thread....

5 weeks now for my finance/settlement visa application and still no word

Tourist visas have different delays to settlement visas - used to be about 2-3 weeks with settlement taking many months. However around this time last year they suddenly got overloaded with Tourist visas and the delay went up to a threatened 6 weeks (in out-turn it was 4-5 weeks). The web-site has delay details, but they can quickly get out of date - you could try phoning or visit Regent House in advance if you need to be sure of the current delay situation - unless some kind soul posts it here.

Lesson is to apply as soon as you can (but be mindful that you will probably only get 6 months and I think it may start to run as soon as it is granted).

Not difficult to get if you can demonstrate good reason for TG to return to Thailand and financial wherewithal to fund the visit - either her own or more likely yours.

I would be interested in the current delay time myself, as my TW is about to apply for her third visit visa.

[Thongkorn]

Settlement visa where taking anything up to 12 weeks to proces, there are a lot of students trying to get visas at the moment, expect await.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Tourist visa applications are taking 5/10 days at the moment.

Settlement applications are taking 4/6 weeks.

[knortyboy]

Settlement applications are taking 4/6 weeks.

My wife had notification that her settlement visa application was processed and passport sent to the courier company today, 21 working days since handing in the application.

[doctormann]

You do not need an appointment to submit an application for a UK tourist visa - just turn up.

The opening hours for application submissions at VFS, Regent House, are 08:30 - 15:00. Monday - Friday. Get there reasonably early, before it gets busy, and you should be in and out in about an hour or so. Regent House is a short walk from Rachadamri BTS station.

Be aware of these points:

There is a visa agency next to VFS - don't go in there by mistake as they are expensive and will not do anything for you that you can't do yourself. The VFS office is clearly marked.

It is unlikely that you will be admitted to the VFS office itself - you can, of course, enter the building - as normally only the applicant is allowed inside. No real problem here as she will not be interviewed, as such. She might get asked why she wants to go to UK (holiday, presumably) but probably no more than that. She will have her 'biometrics' recorded.

You need to pay the visa fee with a banker's draft - VFS will not accept cash. Again, no problem as there is a bank on the ground floor of Regent House that will provide this.

I am assuming that your GF is applying for a 'General Visit' tourist visa and that you have filled in the form VAF1A. If the purpose of the trip is to meet family members then you need VAF1B instead - similar form but needs a few more details. What constitutes a family member is defined in the advice notes on the form.

As always, ensure that whichever form you use is filled in accurately and that adequate back-up information is provided. The usual reason that applications fail is because the applicant has not demonstrated that they will leave the UK at the end of the trip. You really need to provide some 'concrete' evidence on this and often this is not easy to do. There have been numerous threads on this very subject running on this forum so I suggest that you do a bit of reading to find out what is likely to work.

If this is your GF's first application then there is really no point in asking for more than a 6-month visa. The validity of this, if it is granted, will run from the date of issue UNLESS YOU CLEARLY REQUEST IT TO BE POST-DATED.

VFS will courier your GF's passport back for 300 Baht if you don't wish to collect it in person. You will be provided with a tracking number for use on their web site so you can check the progress of the application on-line. However, you won't find out if you've been successful until you open the passport and find that nice UK Visa sticker inside, or not.

Good luck,

DM