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Posted

Hi, need some advice on the chances of obtaining a visa for my Thai gf. Without going over my life history,briefly, i have lived and worked in Thailand for quite a few years and married a Thai lady with whom i had a daughter in Thailand and upon returning to the UK also had a son. We have since seperated and divorced with the childrens mother taking care of the children. A year ago i took custody of the children and they have lived with me since that time.

I have only been able to seemy new gf once(in may) due to having the children but have remained in daily contact by phone/internet etc.

There are two possible scenarios for me and i have to make a decision about this at some point, they are :

Firstly, as i am now as a single parent father would it be difficult for me to obtain a visa with 'ILR'? I have had to give up work so am relying on state benefits now.

Or, secondly, the mother of my children has now offered to have the children living with her(early next year) and take custody of them. Obviously, this would allow me to return back to work and live and support myself.

What i need advice on is what are my chances of my gf obtaining a visa with the two above scenarios? Would there be a higher chance of success with the second situation and me working and supporting myself?

Is there any chance of obtaining a visa with me being a single parent father and not being able to support myself?

Will the fact that my ex-wife previously applied successfully for a visa have any negative or positive effect on my new gf's application?

I could also marry my gf if it would help as that's what we will probably do at some point anyway. As you have seen i have succesfully gone through the whole process some time before and it was very straight forward and easy. All that seemed to matter was that i had a place to live and could support myself without access to public funds (i had a offer of employment on the table in the uk at the time which i produced for the Embassy to view). I was also married and had been living in Thailand with my wife and daughter for a few years so the application was much more straight forward.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Posted
as i am now as a single parent father would it be difficult for me to obtain a visa with 'ILR'?

I assume that you mean a settlement visa for your girlfriend.

Unless you and she have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the last two years she will not get a settlement visa as your unmarried partner. Therefore you will have to marry her in Thailand and she applies for settlement as your spouse, or she applies for settlement as your fiance and you then marry in the UK.

See the appropriate link in Settlement.

Whichever route you choose, you will need to show that you can accommodate and support her without recourse to public funds. There is no objection to you claiming any public funds to which you are entitled, but you must not claim any extra due to her living with you.

From Maintenance and accommodation

MAA2 Public Funds

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Bear in mind that in some exceptional cases an applicant may be able to claim in their own right the public funds listed. This is either as a result of reciprocal arrangements between the UK and their home country, or as a result of the fact that they will be married to / living with a British citizen /EEA national. Where these exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant should not be treated as having recourse to public funds.

For more detailed guidance on this please read:

icon_pdf.gifImmigration directorate instructions: Chapter1 Section 7

Obviously, were you working with a stable income you would find it much easier to meet the maintenance requirement, but how you organise your domestic arrangements and whether you think having your current girlfriend living with you is worth losing the custody of your children is something only you can decide.

Posted
as i am now as a single parent father would it be difficult for me to obtain a visa with 'ILR'?

I assume that you mean a settlement visa for your girlfriend.

Unless you and she have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the last two years she will not get a settlement visa as your unmarried partner. Therefore you will have to marry her in Thailand and she applies for settlement as your spouse, or she applies for settlement as your fiance and you then marry in the UK.

See the appropriate link in Settlement.

Whichever route you choose, you will need to show that you can accommodate and support her without recourse to public funds. There is no objection to you claiming any public funds to which you are entitled, but you must not claim any extra due to her living with you.

From Maintenance and accommodation

MAA2 Public Funds

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Bear in mind that in some exceptional cases an applicant may be able to claim in their own right the public funds listed. This is either as a result of reciprocal arrangements between the UK and their home country, or as a result of the fact that they will be married to / living with a British citizen /EEA national. Where these exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant should not be treated as having recourse to public funds.

For more detailed guidance on this please read:

icon_pdf.gifImmigration directorate instructions: Chapter1 Section 7

Obviously, were you working with a stable income you would find it much easier to meet the maintenance requirement, but how you organise your domestic arrangements and whether you think having your current girlfriend living with you is worth losing the custody of your children is something only you can decide.

I would agree with what 7by7 is saying. Is it really worth custody of your children.. or is it even worth adding a extra person which you will have to cover living costs for , if you do this you will spending money on your thai partner that could be much better spent on your children .

You have been married before to a Thai lady. I would say learn from the first time. The sucess of most Thai - Farang Relationships is low.

I would say lose the girl for the sake of your children.

Posted

I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to get a V/V when you are on benefits with two kids. That is unless your gf has plenty of her own money to support her during her visit.

RAZZ

Posted
as i am now as a single parent father would it be difficult for me to obtain a visa with 'ILR'?

I assume that you mean a settlement visa for your girlfriend.

Unless you and she have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the last two years she will not get a settlement visa as your unmarried partner. Therefore you will have to marry her in Thailand and she applies for settlement as your spouse, or she applies for settlement as your fiance and you then marry in the UK.

See the appropriate link in Settlement.

Whichever route you choose, you will need to show that you can accommodate and support her without recourse to public funds. There is no objection to you claiming any public funds to which you are entitled, but you must not claim any extra due to her living with you.

From Maintenance and accommodation

MAA2 Public Funds

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Bear in mind that in some exceptional cases an applicant may be able to claim in their own right the public funds listed. This is either as a result of reciprocal arrangements between the UK and their home country, or as a result of the fact that they will be married to / living with a British citizen /EEA national. Where these exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant should not be treated as having recourse to public funds.

For more detailed guidance on this please read:

icon_pdf.gifImmigration directorate instructions: Chapter1 Section 7

Obviously, were you working with a stable income you would find it much easier to meet the maintenance requirement, but how you organise your domestic arrangements and whether you think having your current girlfriend living with you is worth losing the custody of your children is something only you can decide.

Not quite sure what you mean by 'maintenance requirement' as it states that as long as the applicant doesn't have any (further) recourse to public funds and the sponsor(myself) doesn't claim additional state funds then an application can proceed.

Ideally , i would like to keep custody of my children and also have my gf/wife living here with me. Not having to have to choose between the children and my gf would be the ideal scenario. I think it would also be better for the children and of course myself to have a female in and around the house.

Posted
as i am now as a single parent father would it be difficult for me to obtain a visa with 'ILR'?

I assume that you mean a settlement visa for your girlfriend.

Unless you and she have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the last two years she will not get a settlement visa as your unmarried partner. Therefore you will have to marry her in Thailand and she applies for settlement as your spouse, or she applies for settlement as your fiance and you then marry in the UK.

See the appropriate link in Settlement.

Whichever route you choose, you will need to show that you can accommodate and support her without recourse to public funds. There is no objection to you claiming any public funds to which you are entitled, but you must not claim any extra due to her living with you.

From Maintenance and accommodation

MAA2 Public Funds

UK Border Agency: Public funds

There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.

Details on current benefit and tax rates (means and non-means tested)

The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

If the sponsor is in receipt of public funds, it does not mean that they will be unable to support the applicant, although clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time.

The important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter granted.

Bear in mind that in some exceptional cases an applicant may be able to claim in their own right the public funds listed. This is either as a result of reciprocal arrangements between the UK and their home country, or as a result of the fact that they will be married to / living with a British citizen /EEA national. Where these exceptional circumstances apply, the applicant should not be treated as having recourse to public funds.

For more detailed guidance on this please read:

icon_pdf.gifImmigration directorate instructions: Chapter1 Section 7

Obviously, were you working with a stable income you would find it much easier to meet the maintenance requirement, but how you organise your domestic arrangements and whether you think having your current girlfriend living with you is worth losing the custody of your children is something only you can decide.

I would agree with what 7by7 is saying. 1. Is it really worth custody of your children.. or 2.is it even worth adding a extra person which you will have to cover living costs for , if you do this you will spending money on your thai partner that could be much better spent on your children .

You have been married before to a Thai lady. I would say learn from the first time. 3. The sucess of most Thai - Farang Relationships is low.

4. I would say lose the girl for the sake of your children.

1. That's ultimately what i have to decide.

2. Having extra living costs will be pretty insignificant i think as the rent and bills will be the same, in fact my gf/wife would probably save on eating costs. You know a green or red curry that you can reheat go back for again and again,very economical lol. What i think you have overlooked is the fact i would, given time, be able to go back to full time work and the wife could take care of the children.

3. I an aware of that. Many of my friends (lifers in Thailand) used my relationship with my first wife as a perfect example of a Thai/foreign marriage that could work. Indeed they were all quite shocked that we broke up after having kids and being together for quite a long time.A few years i read that divorce rates in the western world were at about 65-70%. I wouldn't be surprised if that figure of two in three is more like 75% now. All my friends, with the exception of one have been divorced and had multiple relationships. Im sure its even higher amongst thai/foreign couples but chances of failure are high in all scenarios in the modern world.

4.Lose the girl for the sake of the children? That's precisely why i want a female figure around the place, forn the sake of the children! I think the children need a motherly figure around, unfortunately, the natural one doesnt fulfill that role very well. If she did, my decision as to whether i should give the kids back to their mother would be much easier.

Posted

I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to get a V/V when you are on benefits with two kids. That is unless your gf has plenty of her own money to support her during her visit.

RAZZ

Well so far from what i have been told, she doesn't have to have her own funds. As long as she doesn't claim any further public funds.

If i stated that my gf/wife could live with me without claiming any further public funds, what are the chances the visa would be granted? Thats what i really need to know, has this kind of application been successfull before? What are the chances of success? If they are low i can then consider gong back to work full time and developing the relationship further,marrying and applying in the more conventional way.

I know i am being lazy but what is the cost of the visa now? It was £200+ all those years ago.

Posted

Not quite sure what you mean by 'maintenance requirement' as it states that as long as the applicant doesn't have any (further) recourse to public funds and the sponsor(myself) doesn't claim additional state funds then an application can proceed.

The 'maintenance requirement' is the requirement under the immigration rules for the applicant to be adequately maintained without recourse to public funds.

Any application can proceed; but to be successful the applicant needs to show that, on the balance of probabilities, they meet the criteria for the visa applied for. Your girlfriend, and you as her sponsor, will need to show, among other criteria, that she can and will be adequately maintained, financially supported if you prefer, without you needing to claim any extra public funds and without her claiming any at all.

One way fo doing this may be to show that once she is here to look after the children you will be able to start work; or show that she will be working. Either way, provide evidence of the job search and how likley it is that one of you would be able to start work soon after her arrival.

I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to get a V/V when you are on benefits with two kids. That is unless your gf has plenty of her own money to support her during her visit.

RAZZ

Well so far from what i have been told, she doesn't have to have her own funds. As long as she doesn't claim any further public funds.

She still has to have the funds available to her from somewhere, though.

If i stated that my gf/wife could live with me without claiming any further public funds, what are the chances the visa would be granted?

In my opinion; zero. Stating it is not enough, you have to prove it!

Go back and read the maintenance and accommodation guidance I linked to and quoted from earlier. Especially "clearly a person who is heavily dependent on the state because they don't have sufficient means of their own will find it difficult to support another person for any length of time."

Current cost of a settlement visa application is £644, payable in Thai baht at the consular exchange rate set by the embassy at the time. Currently this is 50 baht to the pound, so 32200baht.

Remember that there will be other fees as well; e.g. ILR in two years time, currently £840.

Posted

Thanks for the advice/answers. I guess unless i get a concrete offer of employment then it will be difficult to show that i will probably be able to get employment full time. Bit of a grey area really. I think the only way to be certain is to be in full time employment when the visa is applied for, that would mean giving custody of my kids over to their mother. Difficult decision looming for me.

The fees seem to be very expensive, especially the ILR. I have no recollection of the ILR fee when my ex wife did this, only the settlement visa apllication fee.

Also, she luckily, avoided the English language test by less than a month and just had a 'chat' with a notary.

Also, we/she only waited 1 year , im sure of that, before she got ILR. I don't think it was two years.

I actually promised myself i would never 'subject' (for want of better word) any Thai national/gf of mine to living outside of Thailand, especially the UK.I didn't want to be that cruel lol. I was actually going back on the vow i made to myself by considering bringing the new gf over. Taking that into account and the extortionate fees and amount of time involved and British Citizen test as well, i think i probably will never do this, i promised i never would again.

I think i have all the info i need now but if anyone has any further info feel free to post it here.

Posted

The rules on qualification for ILR were changed and a fee introduced (and regularly increased) in, if memory serves, 2003; possibly 2004.

Posted

The rules on qualification for ILR were changed and a fee introduced (and regularly increased) in, if memory serves, 2003; possibly 2004.

That might explain it. I really don't remember paying a fee for ILR. We moved back to the UK in sept 2002.Looks like we were lucky on that front and with the British Citizen test (ex wife just got her citizenship a few days/weeks before the new test came in).

Don't think i could go through all that again and theres a lot more hoops to jump through now and more expense.

Posted (edited)

I would agree with what 7by7 is saying. 1. Is it really worth custody of your children.. or 2.is it even worth adding a extra person which you will have to cover living costs for , if you do this you will spending money on your thai partner that could be much better spent on your children .

You have been married before to a Thai lady. I would say learn from the first time. 3. The sucess of most Thai - Farang Relationships is low.

4. I would say lose the girl for the sake of your children.

1. That's ultimately what i have to decide.

2. Having extra living costs will be pretty insignificant i think as the rent and bills will be the same, in fact my gf/wife would probably save on eating costs. You know a green or red curry that you can reheat go back for again and again,very economical lol. What i think you have overlooked is the fact i would, given time, be able to go back to full time work and the wife could take care of the children.

3. I an aware of that. Many of my friends (lifers in Thailand) used my relationship with my first wife as a perfect example of a Thai/foreign marriage that could work. Indeed they were all quite shocked that we broke up after having kids and being together for quite a long time.A few years i read that divorce rates in the western world were at about 65-70%. I wouldn't be surprised if that figure of two in three is more like 75% now. All my friends, with the exception of one have been divorced and had multiple relationships. Im sure its even higher amongst thai/foreign couples but chances of failure are high in all scenarios in the modern world.

4.Lose the girl for the sake of the children? That's precisely why i want a female figure around the place, forn the sake of the children! I think the children need a motherly figure around, unfortunately, the natural one doesnt fulfill that role very well. If she did, my decision as to whether i should give the kids back to their mother would be much easier.

I cant beleive your answer for first (1) answer. How is there anything to decide between a Thai GF and your own kids. There should be nothing at all to decide. Your kids come first no matter what no matter who. It sounds like you are just desprate to find any woman, which may affect you in the future Is this woman really that good for you ? or do you just want anyone as a mum kids?. You need to have a long hard look at your self. If you really need to think about which is most import for you between your Children and a Thai gf you need to sort your life out big time. Also it doesnt say much for your Thai GF she should be saying to your forgot about paying for a visa for her and just keep the money for your childrens future.

I have read some bad things posted on Thaivisa. But your answer to that question is the worse thing i have ever read on here. You should be ashamed .

Edited by dansat
Posted

I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to get a V/V when you are on benefits with two kids. That is unless your gf has plenty of her own money to support her during her visit.

RAZZ

Visas state..'No access to public funds'....so as you are on state benefits your girlfriend will need to show proof of sufficient means to support herself for her stay on application, providing that and you can show you have had a standing relationship for some time it shouldnt be a problem. Good luck if you apply.

Posted

I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to get a V/V when you are on benefits with two kids. That is unless your gf has plenty of her own money to support her during her visit.

RAZZ

Visas state..'No access to public funds'....so as you are on state benefits your girlfriend will need to show proof of sufficient means to support herself for her stay on application, providing that and you can show you have had a standing relationship for some time it shouldnt be a problem. Good luck if you apply.

OP said he was on benefits, which suggest he has no savings etc

How can he support his gf if he is already on the legal minimum? Exactly...he can't.... :whistling:

RAZZ

Posted

I would agree with what 7by7 is saying. 1. Is it really worth custody of your children.. or 2.is it even worth adding a extra person which you will have to cover living costs for , if you do this you will spending money on your thai partner that could be much better spent on your children .

You have been married before to a Thai lady. I would say learn from the first time. 3. The sucess of most Thai - Farang Relationships is low.

4. I would say lose the girl for the sake of your children.

1. That's ultimately what i have to decide.

2. Having extra living costs will be pretty insignificant i think as the rent and bills will be the same, in fact my gf/wife would probably save on eating costs. You know a green or red curry that you can reheat go back for again and again,very economical lol. What i think you have overlooked is the fact i would, given time, be able to go back to full time work and the wife could take care of the children.

3. I an aware of that. Many of my friends (lifers in Thailand) used my relationship with my first wife as a perfect example of a Thai/foreign marriage that could work. Indeed they were all quite shocked that we broke up after having kids and being together for quite a long time.A few years i read that divorce rates in the western world were at about 65-70%. I wouldn't be surprised if that figure of two in three is more like 75% now. All my friends, with the exception of one have been divorced and had multiple relationships. Im sure its even higher amongst thai/foreign couples but chances of failure are high in all scenarios in the modern world.

4.Lose the girl for the sake of the children? That's precisely why i want a female figure around the place, forn the sake of the children! I think the children need a motherly figure around, unfortunately, the natural one doesnt fulfill that role very well. If she did, my decision as to whether i should give the kids back to their mother would be much easier.

I cant beleive your answer for first (1) answer. How is there anything to decide between a Thai GF and your own kids. There should be nothing at all to decide. Your kids come first no matter what no matter who. It sounds like you are just desprate to find any woman, which may affect you in the future Is this woman really that good for you ? or do you just want anyone as a mum kids?. You need to have a long hard look at your self. If you really need to think about which is most import for you between your Children and a Thai gf you need to sort your life out big time. Also it doesnt say much for your Thai GF she should be saying to your forgot about paying for a visa for her and just keep the money for your childrens future.

I have read some bad things posted on Thaivisa. But your answer to that question is the worse thing i have ever read on here. You should be ashamed .

Are you for real? Or just a complete <deleted>? No wonder all the decent posters of old dont come on here anymore. I was the same because of replies like this. I just knew one of the self righteous idiots that are around here would come out of the woodwork.

I have to choose whether it would be better for me to let the children go back to stay with their mother so enabling me to go back to work and hence being able to support them financially and provide for them and their education in the future. I can't do that right now!

That's the reason why i posted originally, to try and find a way where i could go back to work, keep the children with me and have a motherly figure around the place for them as well. Is there anything wrong with that?

Believe me, unlike most of the people i saw when i lived and worked in Thailand, i am far from desperate.I had many offers and multiple relationships before i got married. I have had chances to start a relationship here in the uk but have chose not to for different reasons. I had a preference for my current gf, who i met over a year ago. Is that ok by you?

Why would i be ashamed? i have given up my work/profession and my whole way of life to take care of my children. Most people that know me have been full of praise that i took on the challenge.Its something i had no hesitation doing, i would do anything for them.

Because i want a gf (for various reasons, as explained above) i have to be ashamed?

It would be in the interests of my thai gf to tell me to give the kids back to their mother, freeing me to go visit Thailand regularly or reopen a business. How is she being selfish advising me to keep the children at all costs? Selfless i would say. As for the visa, i would be happy to pay that for her but i haven't even discussed that yet.Why would i? I haven't even decided whether we are going to apply yet.

I asked a question about a visa, most people answered in a helpful way with good advice. You didn't. I am not interested in your opinions on who i should choose,that's not what i asked when i posted. It was about a visa application and THAT ONLY.

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