Help With Uk Visas

[maichorp]

Just realised I posted this in the wrong forum so am posting it again here:

Hi Guys, I received some very useful advice from you before here and was hoping you could help me out with your knowledge yet again...

My wife's FLR comes to an end in May, she has passed the Life in the UK test and we were planning to send the application for ILR soon.

After looking at the application form, I am now unsure if we should do the ILR now or FLR and wait until her Daughters come to the UK, then apply for the ILR all together at a cost of £1098. (is there the same rule about being in the country for 2 years for dependents? - they are 10 and 11 this year)

Before we go through that actually, there is something else I'm unsure of - the 2 Daughters don't have passports yet. She has sole responsibility for the kids, certified by the Ampur. Can her mum arrange the passports?

I have looked through the Border Agency website for a clue as to which visa they would apply for but found it confusing.

A bit of a long list in the end, but I'm sure for somebody who knows it won't be a problem to answer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Andy

[sumrit]

Somebody will post to say if I'm wrong but I believe your wife's daughters will get the same status as her when they get their visas. So if your wife has FLR her daughters will have FLR however if your wife already has ILR then her daughters will get the same ILR immediately. At least that's how it worked for a friend of mine about four years ago.

You should apply for settlement visas for them. It's a 'one fits all' application form so some of the questions might seem a bit obscure, but they're not trick questions just answer as best you can.

As for the passports I know when we needed a passport for my stepdaughter my wife had to get the kor por 14 from the Amphur to show sole custody and responsibility and then had to sign the passport application herself so I'm guessing that your wife will have to do her daughters.

[7by7]

Somebody will post to say if I'm wrong but I believe your wife's daughters will get the same status as her when they get their visas. So if your wife has FLR her daughters will have FLR however if your wife already has ILR then her daughters will get the same ILR immediately. At least that's how it worked for a friend of mine about four years ago.

Sumrit is not wrong. The children will get the same leave to enter/remain as their mother currently (at the time of the application) holds and that LTE/LTR will expire when their mother's does.

So if you apply for them while she has FLR, they will be given visas which expire when her FLR does and can apply for ILR at the same time as their mother. If you apply for them after she has ILR then they will get ILR too (well to be accurate; ILE, which is the same thing).

Bear in mind that, if considering obtaining ILR for your wife before applying for the children, ILR applications can take up to 6 months to process, and her passport will be held by the UKBA for all of the processing time.

However, if she were to go to Thailand before applying for ILR and her FLR expired while she was out of the country, she would not have a valid LTE/LTR and would not be allowed back into the UK. She would need to apply for a new settlement visa for herself and start the whole process all over again.

My advice, due to the short time before her FLR expires, is to wait until she has ILR.

Meanwhile, have a read of SET07 - Children, paying particular attention to SET7.8 What is sole responsibility? Note that " sole responsibility for the kids, certified by the Ampur" is not, on it's own' enough to satisfy this requirement.

[sumrit]

Meanwhile, have a read of SET07 - Children, paying particular attention to SET7.8 What is sole responsibility? Note that " sole responsibility for the kids, certified by the Ampur" is not, on it's own' enough to satisfy this requirement.

7by7 the kor por 14 from the Amphur stating sole responsibility is a document needed by Maichorp's wife to get her daughters passports so I assume in this instance that's why he was refering to it.

I definitely agree with you other evidence proving sole responsibility is needed to get the childrens visas but a kor por 14 is always a useful document to back up that other information. I know that the British Embassy have actually asked for this document many times in the past, they did with us.

If you do supply a KP14 as part of the application it must be an original, a copy's not acceptable.

[torrenova]

However, if she were to go to Thailand before applying for ILR and her FLR expired while she was out of the country, she would not have a valid LTE/LTR and would not be allowed back into the UK. She would need to apply for a new settlement visa for herself and start the whole process all over again.

But if she made a new settlement visa application, she would presumably receive ILE upon entry as she has passed the LUK test and would not have to go for, or pay for or wait for ILR. Now how her having to make a new settlement application is judged I do not know but I would assume it was rather a rubber stamp job as she has previously passed all the obstacles.

[7by7]

Meanwhile, have a read of SET07 - Children, paying particular attention to SET7.8 What is sole responsibility? Note that " sole responsibility for the kids, certified by the Ampur" is not, on it's own' enough to satisfy this requirement.

7by7 the kor por 14 from the Amphur stating sole responsibility is a document needed by Maichorp's wife to get her daughters passports so I assume in this instance that's why he was refering to it.

Point taken.

However, if she were to go to Thailand before applying for ILR and her FLR expired while she was out of the country, she would not have a valid LTE/LTR and would not be allowed back into the UK. She would need to apply for a new settlement visa for herself and start the whole process all over again.

But if she made a new settlement visa application, she would presumably receive ILE upon entry as she has passed the LUK test and would not have to go for, or pay for or wait for ILR. Now how her having to make a new settlement application is judged I do not know but I would assume it was rather a rubber stamp job as she has previously passed all the obstacles.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that she would be granted ILE; to qualify for same as a spouse they would need to show that they had been living together outside the UK for at least the last four years.

As you say, it is extremely unlikely that she would have any problems with a new settlement application, though it would be advisable for her to say why she did not obtain ILR before leaving the UK. They ain't cheap, though, and I expect the cost of ILR in another 2 years will be higher than it is now!

[ThaiVisaExpress]

The children would be issued with exactly the same visa as the mothers.

The document you have from the Amphur is the sole custody document,you must demonstrate to the ECO the Mother has sole responsibility of the children.

[sumrit]

The document you have from the Amphur is the sole custody document,you must demonstrate to the ECO the Mother has sole responsibility of the children.

The kor por 14 from the Amphur is not just a sole custody document it is a sworn statement made in front of a government official and can actually contain any facts you want it to. In practice it's usually a history of your child's life, who has custody, where, and with whom, they live now and have lived throughout their life, a history of their school life, and who is responsible for the day to day decisions on the child's upbringing, financial costs and decision making in the child's life.

So yes it does contain a statement on sole custody but must also contain confirmation on sole responsibility as well to satisfy the Thai passport office before they'll issue a passport for the child (assuming there's no court documents, such a divorce/custody papers, already in existence of course).

While a KP 14 may not be enough on it's own to prove sole responsibility the British Embassy recognize it as an official Thai document, similar to a sworn statement made in front of a solicitor or court official in the UK, and it's a good addition to the other evidence people can provide.

[torrenova]

..... I expect the cost of ILR in another 2 years will be higher than it is now!

I remember when the Thais jacked up the PR costs to 190k+ and thought they were being outrageous but robber Broon is following suit !

It will undoubtedly increase.

[7by7]

Indeed.

Even though the Conservatives protested vociferously when these fees were first introduced by Labour under Blair; I doubt very much that they will do anything to lower them, let alone abolish them, should they win on May 6th.

It's too good a source of revenue that effects too tiny a minority.

[maichorp]

Thanks for the replies, it has been very helpful although the answers have left me with more questions...

Would I be right in thinking that we would have to do 2 seperate settlement visas for the daughters then? - they are currently £840 each! - same as ILR.

Is it just a case of my wife signing the form for the passports (and if so, can we get her mum to post it over here and then send it back)

[sumrit]

Would I be right in thinking that we would have to do 2 seperate settlement visas for the daughters then? - they are currently £840 each! - same as ILR.

Unfortunately yes you will.

Is it just a case of my wife signing the form for the passports (and if so, can we get her mum to post it over here and then send it back)

My wife says she had to go to the passport office herself to get her daughter's passport, she couldn't sign the paperwork and ask a relative to go. It has to be the person who has custody/responsibility of the child(ren).

[7by7]

Would I be right in thinking that we would have to do 2 seperate settlement visas for the daughters then? - they are currently £840 each! - same as ILR.

You're looking at the wrong page. A child settlement visa is £644 (see here) payable in local currency; which at the current exchange rate used by the embassy in Bangkok means a fee of 33488 Baht (see here).

Is can be confusing as the UKBA refer to ILR etc. applications as 'settlement.'

As Sumrit says, you will need to make a separate application, and pay the fee, for each child.

[bobrussell]

When my wife applied for her 'settlement visa' we sent evidence that our daughter (who had previously been living with her grandmother) could no longer be looked after by family in Thailand. In our case it was due to health issues with her grandmother. This removed the issue of why the daughter 'suddenly' needed to live with her mother in the UK rather than remaining with family as had been the case earlier. I don't think this would have been an issue but some ECO's seem to want to know what change in circumstances leads to the need for children to come to the UK.

My daughter loves living in the UK, cannot wait to go to school each day so it was definately the right move for her.