Help And Advice

[stupotuk]

Hi All,

Last June my girlfriend applied for a gerneral visitors visa to the UK which we prepaired ourselves, unfortunatly she was refused with the following statements;

"You have applied to visit your boyfriend for a period of six months after spending less than 3 weeks in ech others company. You have

submitted evidence of contact by way of a call history of Voip and SMS Discount calls and a handful of emails covering the period from

January 2010 to date. However, the evidence subbmitted is of little value in assesing the nature of your relationship given that the dialogue is

limited and does not demonstrate a relationship that has established itself over any period of time. Given the above, I am led to doubt the

nature of your relationship and consequently this reflects on your intentions in travelling to the UK. I am therefore not satisfied that you meet

the requirements of paragraph 41 (i) and (ii) of the immigration rules."

Before anyone says it i will say it myself, Yes we were hasty in our application having spent so little time together but for some crazy reason i thought she could get a visa, we live and learn from our stupid mistakes.

Anyway let me fill in the blanks, at the time of application I had spent time with my girlfriend on two seperate occasions in Thailand four months apart. I have since been back to Thailand to spend a few more weeks with her.

We want to apply again for a 3 month visa starting in January, how can we prove to the ECO that everything is legitimate? We have spent time together on three different occasions, we talk on the phone everyday, i dont support her financially as she lives at home with her parents and works on their food stall preparing and selling food. The first time we applied I provided records of all our conversations via internet phonecalls to her mobile and headers from all the emails sent and received from her email account (for some reason the ECO failed to acknowledge all the email headers), photos of us together and with her family. Pages from my passprt showing my entry and exit dates inThailand, my full financial details showing that i can support her while she is in the UK, copies of her ID card along with the original, proof of her address, a letter from her mum (translated into english by my girlfriend), a copy of her bank book

I understand the dificulty if the ECO to stop any fraudulent visa applications but I am at a loss as how to show them everything is above board, is it a matter of just constantly visiting her in Thailand or is there more we can do?

She wants to use an agent but i am worried that I will pay a ridiculous amount of money only to be refused again, and to be honest its hard to know who to trust regarding agents and i know they still can't guarantee a Visa (sorry if i offend any reputable agents reading this)

The next step if we cant get a visitors visa will be that we will get married and start to look at a marriage visa application.

I know our first application wasn't very good but any help or advice would be extremely welcome from us both.

Please be gentle with your harsh but worthy critisisms of our efforts

Many thanks

Stu

[RAZZELL]

You've obviously done your homework...so make reference to the reason for refusal (was that the only one? No reference to "reason to return" etc...) and make a point of showing your "relationship is ongoing and subsisting".

You didn't mention your accommodation? Did you provide mortgage statements or rent book? Council tax statement? Utility bills?

I actually like these two statements:

"Anyway let me fill in the blanks, at the time of application I had spent time with my girlfriend on two seperate occasions in Thailand four months apart. I have since been back to Thailand to spend a few more weeks with her.

(Add where you met, how long you have known each other in total ie 3 visits over 1 year...due to work/financial constraints it would be impossible to visit more frequently blah blah blah)

And this:

"We have spent time together on three different occasions, we talk on the phone everyday, i dont support her financially as she lives at home with her parents and works on their food stall preparing and selling food. The first time we applied I provided records of all our conversations via internet phonecalls to her mobile and headers from all the emails sent and received from her email account (for some reason the ECO failed to acknowledge all the email headers), photos of us together and with her family. Pages from my passprt showing my entry and exit dates inThailand, my full financial details showing that i can support her while she is in the UK, copies of her ID card along with the original, proof of her address, a letter from her mum (translated into english by my girlfriend), a copy of her bank book."

Then add "our relationship is ongoing and subsisting".

You get the drift.

I think you've got a good chance this time. Good luck

RAZZ

P.S. Don't bother using an agent. You've obviously got the time/brains to do it yourself

P.P.S Got my gf's V/V at the first attempt in the Summer and we're waiting for a Fiancee Visa at the moment. I definitely wouldn't get married just to get your gf a Visa, your might not get one!!!

[stupotuk]

Thanks for your posative comments Razz

I did mention my accommodation details I.E my mortgage also utility bills and a councill tax bills in the visa application i just forgot to mention them in my post earlier, i dont think the problem was how she will be cared for while she was here i think i had that part well covered providing proof of my earning etc and since the last application i have gained a betterl paid job so i think everything is covered financially speaking it's just showing the relationship side of things.

As for the marriage option yes i know there is still no guarantee but as i know we will be married at some point i thought it might be a way to show we are commited but i do share your views about using it for a visa application it looks a bit desperate and i dont want the application look like that.egding ar

I will take your advice regarding referencing the reason for refusal thanks for the advice

Stu

[theoldgit]

Razz has touched on the reason to return and is absolutly right to do so, it's one of the most important parts of the application. You say that the ECO has to be satisfied that it's not a fraudulent application, you are right, but they also need to be satisfied that, on the balance of probability, the applicant will leave the UK on the conclusion of the visit.

You talk about a three month visit, are you saying she hopes to go to the UK for a three month holiday, if so that's a heck of a long holiday, the longer she intends to spend in the UK the more difficult it is, in my opinion, to convince an ECO that she is likely to leave the UK. She really needs to convince the ECO that the pull factor is greater in Thailand than in the UK.

I also agree with Razz that an agent probably isn't neccessary in your case, that said there are some very knowledgeable and honest agents out there, especially those that sponsor this forum and often give free advice here. Make sure you guys have a rock solid application to present to the UKBA, and come back on here if you feel you need to.

Good luck to both of you with your application and for the future.

[true blue]

its not easy to convince immagration that your going on holiday to uk for 3 to 6 months 3 to 6 weeks okay,but anyway all the best with your application.if at first you dont succeed.

[RAZZELL]

its not easy to convince immagration that your going on holiday to uk for 3 to 6 months 3 to 6 weeks okay,but anyway all the best with your application.if at first you dont succeed.

You are right...BUT if you have a valid reason and you can back it up, there's no problem with "long holidays".

RAZZ

[beano2274]

The reason for return is the biggest thing, this is the area you have to get sorted.

Usually the ECO is looking for job, mortgage, ownership of something, Education.

And do it all yourself, save the money and just get it perfect, loads of guys on here will help you, just keep asking.

[stupotuk]

Thanks for all of your replies

you all have very valid points,

ideally i would like her to come for the maximum 6 months but i know know this will be very difficult to get a visa for that length of time, this is why i thought 3 months would be easier but now i am not so sure after reading you responses

As for returning to Thailand she owns no property (lives with her parents) her job is selling food in the family food stall so we are really strugling to show a reason to return(even though we know she will return on time), all we can say is that she would not want to risk an overstay because she will want future visas and eventually a settlement visa, i am unsure if this will actually be enough reason, if it isn't enough i think we will be stuck forever as i dont see her circumstances changing much in the future.

We wont be using an agent thanks to the help and support of the members on this fantastic site, everything i know about visas i have learnt on here and there are always members offering good advice.

I'm not too confident that she will be given a visa, do ou think it will go against her if she keeps having visas refused?

Thank you all

Stu

[stupotuk]

The main reason for Or's visit is for her to see the UK, we want to get married but we think it is better if she spends some time in the UK before we get married as she will have to relocate here as i cannot relocate to Thailand, does anyone have any views on mentioning this in the visa application? I don't know whether it would be a good or bad idea to mention it.

Any Ideas?

[thecatman]

The main reason for Or's visit is for her to see the UK, we want to get married but we think it is better if she spends some time in the UK before we get married as she will have to relocate here as i cannot relocate to Thailand, does anyone have any views on mentioning this in the visa application? I don't know whether it would be a good or bad idea to mention it.

Any Ideas?

That's pretty much word for word what I wrote in my Girlfriends application last year. Although I should add, my Girlfriend has land in her name (in Thailand) and a reasonably well paid job, which I think is a big plus as far as reasons to return go.

I'd also add 'to meet your family and friends' etc. Also, a couple of letters from friends/family members in UK saying that they are aware of the relationship between you and your girlfriend, how you have spoken so fondly of her, telling them of your love for her, and them expressing a wish to meet her etc.

I done this, and also included signed & dated photocopies of the passports with the letters from those friends....it all helps.

All the best

[stupotuk]

The main reason for Or's visit is for her to see the UK, we want to get married but we think it is better if she spends some time in the UK before we get married as she will have to relocate here as i cannot relocate to Thailand, does anyone have any views on mentioning this in the visa application? I don't know whether it would be a good or bad idea to mention it.

Any Ideas?

That's pretty much word for word what I wrote in my Girlfriends application last year. Although I should add, my Girlfriend has land in her name (in Thailand) and a reasonably well paid job, which I think is a big plus as far as reasons to return go.

I'd also add 'to meet your family and friends' etc. Also, a couple of letters from friends/family members in UK saying that they are aware of the relationship between you and your girlfriend, how you have spoken so fondly of her, telling them of your love for her, and them expressing a wish to meet her etc.

I done this, and also included signed & dated photocopies of the passports with the letters from those friends....it all helps.

All the best

thanks for your reply i will update this thread as we continue with the application

stu