Getting Tourist Visa For My Girlfriend

[pokpok345]

Hi All, just a quick question. I live & work in Thailand ( with work permit ) and would like to go for a holiday for a few weeks to the UK so my father can see my 1 year old daughter i have a Thai girlfriend and have a daughter with her but we are not married, although i am still married to my ex who is Thai and currently lives in England and we broke up about 7 years ago. My question is will me still being married and not married to my current partner be a problem getting my girlfriend a tourist visa and how hard is it if possible to get a tourist visa for my girlfriend......also does having a job in Thailand & a baby with my girlfriend a plus in obtaining a UK visa?

Thanks in advance!!!

[ExpatArchie]

If your circumstances are as you described you are guaranteed a decision on your partners application. Good luck to the ECO..

[inquisitive]

I am not an expert in this area and certainly not an expert when it comes to the UK. I am looking forward to replies from some folks that really know the answer. Until then, though, perhaps these comments will be a help: It is my understanding that the whole issue boils down to a question of whether your girlfriend can afford to visit the UK and whether the authorities believe she will return to Thailand. It would seem to me that you should look for any ties to Thailand that you can highlight for them (for instance, her high-paying job, her ownership of land, her close ties to her Thai family, etc). These things make the authorities think she would want to return. MAYBE if you could show that you have strong ties to Thailand and will surely return AND she has strong ties to you, then perhaps your situation might lend some help to hers. OTOH, if you can't do that, then I would think that her application will have to stand on its own. So look around for any reason why she will surely return to Thailand (she's in the middle of a course at the university, she has to come back for her new promotion, or whatever)and build your case around that. The folks at the embassy seem unimpressed with a "guarantee" from her boyfriend. Their position is that given the chance, she is likely to run off and leave you the moment she gets the chance. Not fair, I know, but that is what you have to disprove. Don't expect them to give you any points based on compassion for your situation with your dad or the baby or anything else.

Oh, and it helps if they like her and she dresses as for business as opposed to looking sexy and attractive.

Good luck, my friend. Let's see if somebody can give you more specific advice.

[7by7]

Should be straightforward as you live in Thailand with her. See Spouse/Partner of British Citizen (Based in Thailand) going to the UK for a visit (family visit) – Check List for the documents required.

To be sure of avoiding any problems, I would mention your wife and the breakdown of your marriage in your sponsor's letter. It's probably too long ago to be relevant, but better, I think, to tell them something they don't want/need to know than to not tell them something that they do.

[sumrit]

I was in almost exactly the same position as you, separated (but not divorced) from my first Thai wife, who was (and still does) living in the UK while I lived in Thailand with my Thai g/f (now my wife). My g/f successfully applied for three visit visas to the UK and (after I got a divorce and we married) a settlement visa. For all the visas, the fact that I was/had been married to another Thai lady was never questioned, queried or even mentioned by the British Embassy.

[theoldgit]

If it helps I am still legally married to a Thai woman, though she still lives in Thailand, she made two successful visa applications to the UK when we were together. When our marriage broke down her visa was still valid so I emailed the visa section in Bangkok and explained that the relationship was no more, I didn't go into details, but added that she would need to satisfy an IO at the port of entry of her ability to finance any stay in the UK.

When my new partner and I wished to visit the UK I mentioned the previous relationship in my sponsors letter, I was aware that details of sponsors are recorded on a central database though I don't know if this database is routinely checked, her visa was granted at the first attempt.

Edited for typo

Edited June 15, 2010 by theoldgit

[zabaleta]

what would happen if it was the other way round and the thai was still married(although separated for 3 years) to a falang?

[VisasPlus]

On the basis of what you have said I wouldn't see any particular difficulty in getting the visa. ECOs aren't interested in how relationships may have broken down as long as any previously obtained visas, for your former partner for instance, were properly obtained.

As TOG says, there is a database of sponsor's details at the Embassy, and it is checked in every application, so your previous sponsorship information will be available to the ECO