Uk Settlement Waiting 2011

[VisasPlus]

If it comes to that looks like I will have to go back to the UK and work for six months worth of wage slips and tax returns, then make the application again, so with the six months work and the visa application again it could be 9 months before I see the family again, depressing thought!

No Im not legally none resident for tax purposes

thaiscouse, without judging you in any way, do you understand the implications of not paying UK tax just because you don't want to ? You are laying yourself open to a potentially large back-tax bill, or even criminal charges, depending on how much tax you owe. This is obviously not the forum to go into that, but you may need to seek advice.

How this affects your current settlement application will depend on how the visa officer views your financial situation. But, be prepared for the visa officer to decide that you have not shown that you are in a position to maintain your wife financially. I hope that this does not happen, but ( depending on what documentation you have provided ) it seems to be a possibility as he/she has asked you for wage slips and tax returns which, it seems, you are not able to provide.

[thaiscouse]

Thanks for the advice, Im not really worried about the tax, I'll just pay what I owe if it comes to that

[hotandhumid]

thaiscouse - best of luck with that mate. I will be interested to see how you fair as I may have similar 'problems' in the future.

I have joined the forum as it is obviously useful for feedback and help, but let's see how long it takes before I pick up a ban!

My story - I live in Jomtien (been in Thailand for 10 years) I left the UK when I was 30, after working for 14 years after I left school. I am going back to the UK in August for a holiday with my Thai fiancee and daughter (British Citizen)

All being well we then plan to apply for a settlement visa next summer, 2012. By then we will be me married and have another child (missus is currently 8 weeks pregnant).

Now, the problems I forsee are two fold and as follows...

1) I do not work here (wouldn't really want to) I trade the markets and make a living from that. So, when applying for the settlement visa next year I obviously cannot )as the sponsor and spouse) show any pay slips or any taxes paid in the Uk or anywhere else for that matter, the same problem thaiscouse has encountered. So basically no evidence of earnings, salary slips, tax, etc. Of course I can show the embassy that I can support my family by showing statements of my investment and bank accounts. My investment account is in Hong Kong and is tax free.

2) I live in Thailand with my family, I own my own condo here. So, when we apply for the settlement visa I will be here and then we will all leave together on a one way ticket to the UK as soon as we have the visa. Problem I can potentially forsee is that part of the supporting documents/requirments for this type of visa is for the spouse to show docs such as rent contracts mortgages, letter from landlord, council tax bill, electrol (sp) letter etc etc...basically prove that we have a suitable place where we intend to live, As I live here I obviously won't have anything at all like that. The plan would be to stay with my Mother for a short while, then rent and then buy.

Any feedback on the potential 2 issues above would be greatly appreciated. As I say, we are not planning to apply until next year so not stressing too much right now..

Hotandhumid

[thaiscouse]

I think your OK on the 2nd issue, if you can get a letter from your mum or rent statement off her or something of that nature I read somewhere it would be OK. I was going to use my mums address myself as my bank account was registered at that address but in the end I changed it over to my own UK address and so used that for the visa application.

I think you just have to show how many rooms it has and how many people are staying there, ie do you have a room for yourself and your family to saty in for your exclusive use. You could use the electoral register to show how many people are there.

[hotandhumid]

I'm not sure how I can get a 'rent statement' from my Mum? Whatever that is. It is a 3 bedroom house and only my Mum lives there, so there is enough space. I have a UK bank account showing the same address as my Mum.

I would say you did the right thing showing them your own address.

With the other issue, as you said, I just thought you had to show you could support them/her. Surley there must have been a lot of people who's wifes applied before who live off their savings here and then decide to return home?

That's like them saying to you that you have to be working, right? Maybe your mistake was telling them that you do work, you may have been better just saying that you have 30k in savings? Because our application will show that I do no work that cannot ask for wage slips or tax forms etc from me.

I have a gut feeling you will be ok. How was it left exacly with your other half?

[thaiscouse]

You'll be fine then, theres obviously enough room for you and your family. What I meant by rent statement was just something with her name on it to show the she is the legal occupier of the property or something to show she owns the property and and she can offer you accommodation.

With the 30k thing, it wasnt in one lump some, it was money going into my account over 6 months. Yes I know what you mean when you say "That's like them saying to you that you have to be working, right?" so if your not working or paying tax in the UK you cant have a visa!

I think the last bit of your post was how was the visa application left? if you meant did I leave it to the missus to do the application. No we did it together and Ive been here in thailand waiting for the outcome, didnt honestly think it was going to be this long though.

[hotandhumid]

Oh I see, that won't be an issue then. Thanks for the positive vibe on that.

Yep, I just don't understand how they can refuse you because you haven't been paying tax in the UK. Or similarly, in my position, will they refuse us because I don't work? Surely that is my choice as long as I show I can support my family, which I can. Besides, I will want to start working again when I'm back home, although I can't prove that of course and I doubt it would make any difference anyway.

Sorry I wasn't clear. You said the embassy called your missus asking for tax stuff and pay slips, how exactly did the call end? What is the next step for you?

[hotandhumid]

Oh I see, that won't be an issue then. Thanks for the positive vibe on that.

Yep, I just don't understand how they can refuse you because you haven't been paying tax in the UK. Or similarly, in my position, will they refuse us because I don't work? Surely that is my choice as long as I show I can support my family, which I can. Besides, I will want to start working again when I'm back home, although I can't prove that of course and I doubt it would make any difference anyway.

Sorry I wasn't clear. You said the embassy called your missus asking for tax stuff and pay slips, how exactly did the call end? What is the next step for you?

[thaiscouse]

You sound like your in pretty much the same boat as me as regards finances. The only thing I could do after the call was email them some more bank statements to show that I have a steady income.

Getting more info from the wife later, she said, they seemed more keen on getting "some paper to show my company" in her words.

[hotandhumid]

The difference I can see is that because you said that you are working they now want to see further information. I don't work so they cannot get blood out of a stone, so they would have to refuse the visa based on me not choosing to woreven though I don't have to?, Also they will know that it is diffulcult to get work here and even if you did is normally low pay. As I said there must have been hundreds of sponsors in the past who can afford to live here without working and then decide to return home. I would like to think I will be fine but trying to second guess these people is a waste of time.

In theory maybe they would ask when I last worked and how I initially got the money to build up my investments, but that would seem very outlandish to me.

[thaiscouse]

your right about trying to second guess them, it is a waste of time

[hotandhumid]

I just read elsewhere that even if you do have a job/income in Thailand that job would become redundant when you leave for the UK, so no further income until you get another job in the UK. This just compounds what I feel. So what use would showing them previous pay slips be when no more monies will come from that income stream anyway. You could do this if the sponsor is in the UK of course, but many sponsors live here in Thailand and will leave their jobs behind.

[englishinsiam]

I just read elsewhere that even if you do have a job/income in Thailand that job would become redundant when you leave for the UK, so no further income until you get another job in the UK. This just compounds what I feel. So what use would showing them previous pay slips be when no more monies will come from that income stream anyway. You could do this if the sponsor is in the UK of course, but many sponsors live here in Thailand and will leave their jobs behind.

I wouldn't worry too much, I trade Forex and have over £300K on trade with FXPro. When I applied for my Visa I submitted my Natwest Bank statements, my emails from FXPro confirming withdrawals for 12 months and a 3 month history of my trading activity. Then finally an excerpt from a Website showing my Forex activity is untaxable.

We got our Visa no problem. At the time my Natwest account showed about £500 in it as I was waiting for a withdrawal to hit it.

Incidentally last year we applied for a Tourist Visa I showed £80K in my Natwest account but no proof of earning and we were turned down.

As long as you cover where your earnings/savings come from then you should be okay. But you should mention any tax liabilities in them.

Anyway good luck with your applications.

[thaiscouse]

Geez, you got turned down for a tourist visa with 80k in your account? That easily enough to cover taking care of someone for the 2 year settlement visa. Was it just the one page of your statement you showed them or was it money coming in and out over a period of time?

[englishinsiam]

Geez, you got turned down for a tourist visa with 80k in your account? That easily enough to cover taking care of someone for the 2 year settlement visa. Was it just the one page of your statement you showed them or was it money coming in and out over a period of time?

3 months statements but what they told us was we didn't submit enough proof of a relationship.

We were a bit green then :-)

This time we took in 2 suitcases of paperwork with over 2,000 photo's and 500 pages of facebook and MSN

I thought if the ECO's want bedtime reading we'll provide it

[hotandhumid]

English - Thanks for the post but this whole trading/tax issue does seem to be a real banana skin, grey area etc. I could be opening up a can of worms for myself.

When the time comes when we apply I may just show them money in my UK account (the fact that I have a UK account should be a positive!) some money in my thai account, money in my wifes thai account, a letter of a job offer and suitable accomodation...plus my wife is a qualified nurse and we have 2 young children ++ that's not to say I would be complacent though.

Regarding your 80k, that ob wasn't the issue, maybe they thought other parts of your application weren't genuine. Maybe they thought your wife was not going to come back to Thailand, maybe the 80k ended upworking against you. There is a theory that it is easier to obtain a settlement visa over a tourist visa as no reasons/prove have to be given for returning to Thailand, a lot of applicants fail on this issue, particuarly if they are not working in Thailand.

On a seperate issue, can Thais get a UK bank account on a settlement visa? I assume they can if they are allowed to work.

[thaiscouse]

If youve already got a UK bank account I think you can turn it into a joint account so your wife can use it as well

[hotandhumid]

thai - Yes, that's one option, cheers. I'm interested to know if they can get their own one too. I hear these days that some UK citizens can't even get one!

How are you? Still feeling on edge?

[thaiscouse]

yes its hard for a UK citizen to get one, they want to know your inside leg measurements and everything, they check to see if you are on the electoral register?, then they check with the credit reference agencies.

No mate not stressed no more past caring now. Im just planning my next move if I get the knock back which Im sort of expecting now. I think I will have to return to the UK and find some work for about 6 months just to collect wage slips etc then put in for the visa again.

[hotandhumid]

So they can work but can't have a bank account. So how on earth do they get paid?

thai - Good attitude, what will be will be. Silly thing is if you ahd said you wasn't working you might have been fine, but you still might be anyway.

Not everyone will agree with this, but i do think sometimes you can give them too much info. Give them an inch and they'll take a yard.

[space1999]

So they can work but can't have a bank account. So how on earth do they get paid?

thai - Good attitude, what will be will be. Silly thing is if you ahd said you wasn't working you might have been fine, but you still might be anyway.

Not everyone will agree with this, but i do think sometimes you can give them too much info. Give them an inch and they'll take a yard.

yes, they can get bank account. I went to Santander as I am already account holder there and it was no probs getting basic cash acct...even though she had no credit history...just had to take passport and proof of address.

I am stilllllll waiting for our child visa...long time now...I am currently top of the list above so hoping we are next..but don't think it works that way

[Contractor]

My wife has her own bank account and also a joint one with me, both applied for and got on a settlement visa.

Proof of address is required, you normally need to show a utility bill with her name on it somewhere.

HSBC also offer their (fee charging) HSBC Passport Bank Account (aimed at new/temporary residents) where no permanent UK address is required

[thaiscouse]

Got a result! Got the sms wednesday that the application was ready for pick up, got to bangkok today and it was a pass. Id virtually convinced myself I wasnt going to get it because of the lack of wage slips tax receipts.

Saw a couple of people get a refusal while I was waiting and thought I was going to be next. But it was OK.

Funny thing was when I got all the paperwork back it looked as though it had hardly been touched, all the documents and photos were in all the same folders and in the same order Id left them in, I got the impression it was done in a rush, maybe they are under a bit of pressure. The only thing missing from it was the overview of the application, this was a 5 page thing Id written explaining what the documents were, our relationship history, and fiances etc..

Hope things start moving for everyone else too especially space1999, I bet it feels like youve been waiting since 1999.

Anyway good luck to all, I certainly got it today.

[hotandhumid]

scouse - Well done, what did I say about that gut feeling now.

I was reading on another forum somewhere that somebody said the ECO's just gloss over stuff. They look for 3 things...

That your relationship is genuine.

That you have suitable accomodation

That you can support yourself and your family.

If you can show those 3 things they cannot refuse you. After all, all you want to do is live in your home country with your wife, right? That is your right. Far too much is made of it all on this forum and there is a lot of scare mongering going on. As a mate of mine said who has taken his wife back to the UK 'it's a piece of p*ss

Again, well done.

[thaiscouse]

Another mate of mine whose been living in Thailand on and off for 20 years said "everyone I know whose gone for it has got it"

Yes H&H you did say that and you were right. and it did look like it had been just glossed over. On another note my missus sad the price for the settlement visa had gone down to 36,000 Baht form the 42,000 we paid a few months back. I never saw it myself though.

[bobrussell]

If youve already got a UK bank account I think you can turn it into a joint account so your wife can use it as well

With a settlement visa there will not be a problem getting a bank account. If your partner is not working there are very basic accounts available if you wish.

It is a good idea to have separate accounts as it helps to establish a credit history for your wife. In these days of an*ly retentive banks that is not to be ignored.

It will be necessary to show passport and visa together with proof of residence so get your wife's name on the council tax bill ASAP. Overdrafts etc will generally have to wait until the account has been open for 6 or more months!!!!

[hotandhumid]

I don't know anyone who has never got one either.

If you look at EU law, you have every right to have your spouse with you in your homeland. If I was refused I would take it to the courts.

Now you have the hard work living in the UK. Ha ah.

[space1999]

Got a result! Got the sms wednesday that the application was ready for pick up, got to bangkok today and it was a pass. Id virtually convinced myself I wasnt going to get it because of the lack of wage slips tax receipts.

Saw a couple of people get a refusal while I was waiting and thought I was going to be next. But it was OK.

Funny thing was when I got all the paperwork back it looked as though it had hardly been touched, all the documents and photos were in all the same folders and in the same order Id left them in, I got the impression it was done in a rush, maybe they are under a bit of pressure. The only thing missing from it was the overview of the application, this was a 5 page thing Id written explaining what the documents were, our relationship history, and fiances etc..

Hope things start moving for everyone else too especially space1999, I bet it feels like youve been waiting since 1999.

Anyway good luck to all, I certainly got it today.

Thaiscourse - Congratulations mate....am jealous though as we put in our child settlement visa 2 days b4 you and still no word. I know for a fact that child visa's are getting harder now beacuse of sole responsibility and they are being quite petty about this...read thison another forum i am memeber of.

Hope to have ours really soon......waiting since 1999...yes it does feel like that and frsutrating - esp when i phone and email VFS who are about as helpful as a choccolate teapot or glass hammer

[lingyaiyai]

Congratulations thaiscouse!

State of play as of 24th June:

space1999, 5th April = 11weeks and 3days,

brynpugh, 7th April = 11weeks and 1day,

lingyaiyai, 11th April = 10weeks and 4days,

storeman, 12th April = 10weeks and 3days,

leafmould, 11th May = 5weeks and 6days,

farrangkeenok, 17th May = 5weeks and 3days,

jasonr3255, 20th May = 5weeks and 0days,

stabbo-lad, 25th May = 4weeks and 2days,

aland2012, 26th May = 4weeks and 1day,

all4one, 27th May = 4weeks and 0days,

chronos, 27th May = 4weeks and 0days,

brumdave, 9th June = 2weeks and 1day,

For those who have been told of a decision the average waiting time has been 59.3 days:

shadyacres29, 7th March - 1st April = 3 weeks and 5days, successful

tigerjohn 15th March - 26th May = 10weeks and 3days, successful

englishinsiam, 28th March - 12th May = 6weeks and 4days, successful (expedited on compassionate grounds)

contractor, 31st March - 1st June = 8weeks and 6days, successful

neilo, 5th April - 9th June = 9weeks and 2days, successful

samcled, 5th April - 14th June = 10weeks and 0days, successful

thaiscouse, 7th April - 22nd June = 10weeks and 6days, successful

[thaiscouse]

Does anyone know if have to buy a return ticket fro the missus ? My sons got a british and thai passport so he,s OK I dont need anything else for him as far as Im aware.