Agency Vs Forum

[westybrook]

I thought I would ask this question as I know many people go through agencys to get there wife or girl friend a visa. I also know many people use forums, like this one we have here.

Whats your opinion on using agencies to forums. Have you ever used a agency and wished you had used a forum more to save pennys. Or are you pleased with what you got and think the advice and help from agencys give more than whats found in here?

Iv never used an agency so I cant comment. I have seen them advertsied and Iv looked at how much they charge.

I went to a meal tonihgt with my family and a man has married a Phillipine lady who he met in LOS. He said agencys give good advice for ladys to get through the interview. What do you think these are? Also what other extras do they do to help your wife get that visa.

Do you think they are worth the money, or can you get a visa ok without them?

Thanks!

[spacebass]

Dear Westybrook,

For a start the answer to your question will depend on your specific circumstances, it is obvious you are going to need more help if you are trying to import a ladybar you have known one month than someone you are married to, little details like this are very important and as you have omitted them here you probably need a lot of assistance.

My experience is with applying for a 30 day visitor visa to the UK though not in Thailand.

The advice given on this forums on this matter is first class , courtesy mainly of Lord Scouser, and others, the problem is they are not there when you are fillling in an application form or when having an interview, and something you think is you being helpful and honest could easily turn out to be just what the Immigration officer has been waiting for to reject your application , and once you have written or said something Taboo you will never recover from it, or at least have the patience of two or three more applications to recover from it.

In my case I wrote on the application form'My girlfirend has naturally asked me if I will take her to England' , (which I regard as a perfectly natural question), but this indicated to the immigration officer that my girlfriend was intent on tricking me and them into letting her visit the UK for 30 days, but would never return.

I have made another application since having bought a house only 5 kms from where my girlfriend lived shown them the deed and a bank statement with US$100,000 in it but still no go , now they tell her I am recruiting her as a drug mule, outrageous!!

So you will see if you are on slightly dodgy ground i.e. your lady has no job/money/property economic status of her own, you would benefit from and agency who could stop you writing something like the above in your application.

If you are in a stronger position and you think you grasp the principles sufficiently

you could probably get through utilising the forum.

But there is no rhyme or reason in the way you will be treated and no appeal from the personal opinion / mood of the immigration officer who deals with you, one mistake and you are out!!.

[ProThaiExpat]

Some people take tours when they travel and some do it on thier own. Which is better, no way to know.

I believe in the forum because I do things for myself and have little confidence in the intelligence or interest on my behalf shown by profit motivated services. They are not true professionals as I understand the term.

Example: Friend and U.S. resident pays tour oprator and visa service to get Thai visa to U.S. Thai is a graduating college student and a occasional reporter for the BKK Post.

Service approached visa process that the Thai was taking one of its tours and thus needed a visa. Wrong up front. What graduating senior college student would pay for a tour to the U.S. Besides the tour operaor and visa service must be well known to the embassy and they won't fall for the "taking a tour" b.s.

My approach would have been to arrange courtesy interviews with various U.S. newspapers as part of his educational process, letter from BKK Post regarding those interviews, treat the trip as educational, consultive, etc. and my take is he would have done better. I could be wrong, but educational opportunities in foreign countries seem to be

more acceptable visa rationale than "tours" for 23 year olds.

My experience with my Thai at the Australian Embassy was instructive, as the reason for the visit was family and vacation, but the ultimate visa granted to my Thai was for a student under a 30 day student visit program that the Aussie embassy Thai employee chose as the visa classification to allow entry, not tourist. I personally feel, Embassy staff are not "impressed" by visa "pros" and the personal interview is always the bottom line anyway. I know my Thais initial refusal was turned around by me in a personal interview.

After reading all the posts on this subject over some years, you will know as much or more than most visa service providers and your own inate intelligence will allow you to deduce the best approach for her when you g/f goes for her visa. Know, at the outset, that your chances are slim.

[chonabot]

I was naiive back in 1996 and used an agency for my fiancee's visa to the UK.

Big mistake , a waste of dosh. A Travel agency on Suk 21, next to the Honey Hotel. Appealed and won the decision , but I would never recommend using an agency to anyone.

[BIG SPUDS]

IMHO what can an agency do for you that you cant do yourself?

A little bit of paperwork and research should help you along, and asking advice from others on forums such as this. Lots of us on this forum have obtained visas for our partners alone (with help from other members) without throwing loads of money up the wall.

If you have the time and determination, my opinion is to do it yourself. Im glad i did.

Edited June 26, 2005 by BIG SPUDS

[samran]

I'd do it yourself. The guidance information that they give you with the application is pretty good. It is all a matter of having the discipline to make sure you have dotted your i's and crossed your T's. Sometimes I think that simply appearing organised and prepared gets you 3/4 of the way there in the eyes of the visa people.

If you need to submit any evidence, do so in a folder with everthing clearly marked and easily accesable, so that even a monkey can figure it out. If you have an interview, simply be honest and don't fall for the temptation of making up a story.....they have heard it all before and know how to spot a bullsh#tter a mile off.

Wifey and I moved to the UK last year in under another visa category, which required a lot of paperwork, but the process was overall the same. However, (free) forums like this and a bit of patience to do your homework are all you need.

Edited June 26, 2005 by samran

[GU22]

I can only speak of the British embassy, as I have no experience of others, but I imagine the basic principles are very similar.

The ECO will be looking at the overall quality of the evidence; it's veracity and it's consistency and it's completeness. Whilst a good visa agent can assist you in preparing this, that is all they can do.

When my wife applied for her spouse visa we knew nothing of forums such as this, if they even existed in those days. Having been refused a visit visa on the catch all "insufficient reason to return" rule, we employed the services of an agent recommended to us by a couple we had met at the embassy.

He was thorough, he was capable, he was knowledgeable. His advice was sound and he helped with the paperwork enormously. He told us that as the reason for my wife visiting the UK was to meet my family and see what it was like before we moved there, we would be unlikely to get a visit visa as the ECO would think my wife was trying to by-pass the system and we would apply to switch her visa once we were there. (You could do that then, you can't anymore.)

But he didn't tell us anything we couldn't have found out with a little bit of research, and some questions on forums such as this one.

So is it worth using an agent? Depends how much of the work you want someone else to do for you.

If you plan ahead, do some research on the the appropriate government websites of the country you are applying to, use forums like this to clarify points you are not sure of and present your application as Samran suggests (i.e. neatly!) then, provided the criteria are met, you will be successful.

If you would rather pay someone to do all the preparation for you, then that is your choice.

But remember two important things:-

1) There are a lot of sharks who will overcharge, and do nothing. Before parting with any money shop around, if possible get a recommendation from someone you know, get the agent to put in writing exactly what the total fee will be and what services they will provide. If they wont agree to this, find someone who will.

2) No matter what they may say, no agent can guarantee that you will get a visa. If they say that they can, leave. They are lying.

[the scouser]

Westybrook,

If you are intent on getting an adviser, then I'd get one in the UK where they are regulated. You can find out the details of the one nearest you from the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner website.

Scouse.

[westybrook]

Cheers guys for those replys.

Well Im about 3 months before I go back to LOS and hand in the application, and all the help and advice I'm getting in here is more than enough. Great people who know the system or have been through it giving back good reliable advice, is a dream come true for me and others I'm sure.

Forums all the way for me

Cheers guys!

[GU22]

Even the most professional looking agencies can get it wrong!

From a company currently advertising at the top of this page

Visas are normally granted to tourists for six months and may be valid for a single or multiple entry.

No, they are usually multi entry.

You must state when applying whether you want a single-entry or multiple-entry visa.

No, you don't.

Note that the visa is valid for entry into the UK before the date indicated. When you enter a separate stamp is placed in your passport showing the date of arrival. The period of 'leave to enter' will run from that date.

Definitely not! The visa is valid from the date of issue. You may ask for that for date to be deferred by up to 90 days, but this is done by the embassy. You may enter the UK after that date, but not before. Immigrtation officers at the port of entry no longer have the power to alter the validity of a visa.