My thai gf and I are planning on relocating to the UK. We are due to be married in Jan as my GF is expecting our child. We have been together for 18 months. My gf works for hotel chain and can provide 5 years work history. I have my own company in the UK , rent a property from parents in the UK. I have been reading all about the Spouse Visa , and I am concerned that due to be gf being pregnant that the embassy will see this as danger to public funds. Please any advice on this matter would be grateful, this is supposed to be a happy time, but is stressing me out. thanks

Matt

health care in UK is not considered to be "use of public funds"

in any case, much will depend on the strength of your case, particularly your available funds and income (past and projected)

It is not as simple as asking if the cost of the pregnancy/birth is down to you or to the NHS in UK. Firstly, you already state that your girlfriend is pregnant. How many weeks ? You are not yet married, not that it matters at this stage, but you have not yet applied for a visa. for your girlfriend/future wife to settle in the UK.

So, the application, and decision for the visa will take up to 12 weeks. Your girlfriend/future wife will have to take the new A1 English test if she doesn't apply for the visa before the end of November ( the 29th ), so possibly a further delay. Depending on how many weeks pregnant she is, plus the possible 12 weeks waiting time for the visa, etc, she may be over the maximium weeks of pregnancy allowed by airlines to be able to fly. Most airlines have a maximum of between 28 - 32 weeks.

This is something only you two can work out at the moment.

It is not as simple as asking if the cost of the pregnancy/birth is down to you or to the NHS in UK. Firstly, you already state that your girlfriend is pregnant. How many weeks ? You are not yet married, not that it matters at this stage, but you have not yet applied for a visa. for your girlfriend/future wife to settle in the UK.

So, the application, and decision for the visa will take up to 12 weeks. Your girlfriend/future wife will have to take the new A1 English test if she doesn't apply for the visa before the end of November ( the 29th ), so possibly a further delay. Depending on how many weeks pregnant she is, plus the possible 12 weeks waiting time for the visa, etc, she may be over the maximium weeks of pregnancy allowed by airlines to be able to fly. Most airlines have a maximum of between 28 - 32 weeks.

This is something only you two can work out at the moment.

thanks for the response its still early stages of the pregnancy 5 weeks. We are getting married in jan, as I have to return to the UK for work for a few weeks. so it maybe cutting things fine. I am a director of my own ltd company in the UK. Do you know how much the embassy will be looking for me to earn to support her and my child ?

Thanks again

There is no minimum figure for income, as it all depends on individual circumstances.

See Maintenance and accommodation

MAA4 Maintenance: General requirements

There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size.

More information is available on the British & Irish Legal Information Institute website (BAILII)

If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds.

You may also find SET03 - Spouses useful.

It is not as simple as asking if the cost of the pregnancy/birth is down to you or to the NHS in UK. Firstly, you already state that your girlfriend is pregnant. How many weeks ? You are not yet married, not that it matters at this stage, but you have not yet applied for a visa. for your girlfriend/future wife to settle in the UK.

So, the application, and decision for the visa will take up to 12 weeks. Your girlfriend/future wife will have to take the new A1 English test if she doesn't apply for the visa before the end of November ( the 29th ), so possibly a further delay. Depending on how many weeks pregnant she is, plus the possible 12 weeks waiting time for the visa, etc, she may be over the maximium weeks of pregnancy allowed by airlines to be able to fly. Most airlines have a maximum of between 28 - 32 weeks.

This is something only you two can work out at the moment.

If you intent to marry your gf, then do so (legally) in Thailand, by doing this you will remove a major obstacle when dealing with the UK embassy visa section, in addition you 'wife' will then also have the opportunity to do so religiously, which the Thai girls regard as important.

Once in the UK with your Thai-wife, you can then decide within your own time frame where and when to hold a social wedding reception by inviting your friends and family, that is to say in the usual British wedding tradition ... good luck.