Uk Visitor Visa Queries

[JonnyCod]

Hi, my Thai GF of over 5 years is due to visit relatives in Germany and is applying for a Schengen visa, she has visited there before about 8 years ago without problem. I would like her to visit me in the UK whilst in Europe and obviously she'll need an additional UK visa to do this. The problem I think we might encounter is that I have no income as such as I'm studying now, but I can get my mother to show she has sufficient funds for the trip. My GF has a good professional job in Thailand and has 3 houses and a car in her name. So what do you think her/our chances are for getting a UK visit visa ? would I have to be in Thailand with her to apply for the visa or could I just send her copies of my passport, my mothers bank statements etc ? how long can we expect the whole process to take ?

Any answers or suggestions greatly received.

[theoldgit]

Your girlfriend only needs a sponsor if she is not paying for the trip the trip herself, if she is a woman of means and can prove that she can afford the trip then that's all that she needs.

If your mother is paying for the trip, then yes a letter of sponsorship would be required from her explaining why she is providing sponsorship and that it's affordable, together with proof of its affordability, and yes bank statements are fine. To cross the t's and dot the i's you might want to add a letter detailing your relationship and that of the trip.

By providing details of her job and property holdings she is providing evidence that she is likely to leave the UK at the end of her visit so I think it's highly likely that a visa would be granted, as indeed most are.

Good luck

[JonnyCod]

Thanks for that theoldgit.

Would you or anyone else know if the supporting letters from myself and my Mother need to be originals handwritten and signed, could they be photcopies of such or could they be word processor document prints, I don't plan to visit Thailand before her proposed trip so the latter 2 would be easiest to supply. Similarly would my Mothers bank statements have to be originals or could they be photocopies. Also would I need to provide proof of having a suitable residence for her stay.

[7by7]

Sponsor's and other invitation letters do not have to be hand written, but should be signed and originals.

Also, bank statements and other evidence of finances should be originals. They are reluctant to accept photocopies etc. as these can easily be altered.

Yes. I would advise providing evidence of where she will be staying. If a private residence then a letter of invitation from the person offering the accommodation showing that there is at least one room for her use (sharing with you is fine); if they own then proof of this such as a mortgage statement or if they rent then a letter from their landlord confirming she can stay there.

Current processing times in Thailand for non settlement visas says about 15 working days.

[JonnyCod]

Thanks for the replies but still a few of things I'm not sure on:

It seems because my Girlfriend now works part time at her place of work (hospital) that she cannot get a letter from them to say she is entitled to time off for her proposed stay even though it's been agreed, they only do so for full time staff. Will this have a major effect on her chances of getting a visitor visa ?

Also as I said my Mother (retired) will act as sponsor for the trip and will put my girlfriend up in her home but this is a council property, I'm not sure what she/we can use as proof that she has somewhere for my Girlfriend to stay, would it not be enough for my Mother to state she has a 3 bedroom house that my Girlfriend is welcome to stay at.

I see this on the application form

Sponsored visits – If another person/a company is sponsoring your trip we must see the following documents- letter from the sponsor, a copy of their passport which include the biodata and all immigration record pages, their bank statements for the last 6 months or company registration and bank statements

So will my Mother have to provide a copy of her passports relevant pages even though she's never been to Thailand ?

Would it help my Girlfriends chances if we waited until after she hopefully gets her Schengen visa so she can show that and her return flight ticket Bangkok - Germany as proof she has to return there after her proposed stay in the UK ?

[MartinL]

My wife recently got a VV for UK and has just returned from a 4 week visit with me. We stayed with my mum, brother, sister & a friend at various times during the visit. In each case I sent them a draft letter of invitation which they each varied slightly depending on the nature of the accommodation offered. Each then sent the letter back to me along with copies of passport pages or, for my sister who has no passport, her driving licence. None sent copies of bank statements or ownership/rental papers. No problems in obtaining the visa, although we had a very strong case in other areas and, maybe, the relatively short time at each address helped.

A copy of the draft letter is attached, if it helps.

Accom. Offer (Family).pdf

[7by7]

It seems because my Girlfriend now works part time at her place of work (hospital) that she cannot get a letter from them to say she is entitled to time off for her proposed stay even though it's been agreed, they only do so for full time staff. Will this have a major effect on her chances of getting a visitor visa ?

She needs to show that she will return to Thailand after the visit, or at least leave the UK. If her employer wont give her a letter confirming her employment then she cannot rely just on her job; though she should of course mention it in the application.

However, as I say here:-

"Even if there is no 'concrete' reason to return, many people have obtained a UK visit visa based upon the strength of their relationship with their sponsor. If the ECO believes the relationship to be genuine then they will also believe that the applicant would not want jeopardise future applications, such as settlement, by overstaying or otherwise breaching the conditions of a visit visa."

Having already obtained a Schengen visa may help, as the BKK-Germany-BKK ticket may also. However, ECOs are reluctant to take such things on their own as evidence that the applicant will leave the UK. If someone were intending to enter the UK for nefarious purposes then losing the cost of a return ticket would not deter them. (Not that your girlfriend is intending to do so, of course.)

Also as I said my Mother (retired) will act as sponsor for the trip and will put my girlfriend up in her home but this is a council property, I'm not sure what she/we can use as proof that she has somewhere for my Girlfriend to stay, would it not be enough for my Mother to state she has a 3 bedroom house that my Girlfriend is welcome to stay at.

Your mother is not the sponsor; you are. In visa applications the sponsor, if there is one, is the person supporting the application. The reason for the applicant visiting the UK, if you will. That is you. Your mother doesn't have to provide a copy of her passport; you have to provide a copy of yours. You should also write a sponsor's letter in support of the application.

Sponsors often provide the accommodation, but staying with a third party, in this case your mother, is perfectly acceptable. Your mother should write a letter inviting her to stay and obtain a letter from her landlord confirming that there is room for her and that they have no objection to her staying there.

See the post linked to above for more details.

[bellboy86]

Why don't you get her to go back to her job and request a meeting with her boss and explain het circumstances I'n great detail to her boss and the importance of her job and that she will return to her job when she arrives back home. They may change their guidelines on a one off basis it's worth a try. Goodluck

[JonnyCod]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm hoping we'll have enough time to try for her visa. Like I said she is applying for a Schengen visa and has an appointment at the German embassy on 6th June to hand in her application, she's been told it takes about 3 days to process the application and get her passport back. She flies to Germany on 3rd July so this doesn't leave much time to put in for her UK visa after getting her passport back from the German embassy, I assume she has to hand in her passport at the same time she makes her application for the UK visa ?

Will we have to give an exact date for her proposed trip, she'll probably only stay about 2 weeks but I'm not 100% what dates until closer to the time, could we give an earliest date and then we book her flight for sometime between then and the end of her visa expiry ?

Bellboy, I've tried telling her to ask her employers if they can give her some kind of letter covering her for the period she's away but she's adamant they wont do it for her. Seems such a trivial thing to ask for given her service for them over the years but TIT.

edit,

Do we have to book a ticket for her return flight to the UK before she can get her visa ? she's read somewhere that we do but I read this on the vfs-uk-th.com website.

For all types of visa, you can apply up to 3 months in advance of your intended date of travel to the UK. Applicants are strongly advised not to confirm their travel arrangements to come to the UK until they have received their visa

[7by7]

Yes, she will have to hand in her passport with the UK application.

Put approximate dates for her visit. The visa will be valid from the day it is issued for 6 months and she can use it at any time during that period.

No, she should not purchase any tickets until she has the visa.

From the timescales you have mentioned, and given current processing times, she may be lucky to have her UK application processed before she needs her passport back to travel to Germany. If she asks for her passport back her application will be treated as withdrawn, with no refund of the fee.

[rawhod]

We submitted on 5 May and the documents were back at Regent House 18 May. That's 10 working days for processing. Then couriered to Chiang Mai for pick up 20 May. So 2 weeks processing time at present.

I used a computer print out for my sponsor letter and submitted print outs from my on line bank account (and we were successful)