A Couple Of Settlement Questions (Uk)

[Frogster]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post although I have been reading this forum for a while now, feeling like a squirrel getting some very good tips and storing them away... I have built up a comprehensive UK Settlement Visa Application and hope to be successful first attempt.

I am getting close to application time, in fact, I am returning to Thailand in September to get married to myThai Fiancé and subsequently submit our Visa Application whilst there.

The grand plan is as follows (please feel free to comment on any area you think won't work):-

Day1, Arrive BKK 07:30, meet my Fiancé, go to Embassy get Affirmation of Marriage startedat Embassy. Get measured up for the wedding suit at some tailors who will I am sure (for the correct sum of Bhat) expedite the making of it…. (open to suggestions where).

Day2, Go to Hospital for her TB test. Take Fiancé for her English Test, collect Affermation / Translations / complete any bits that didn't get finished from previous day, / MFA / Etc,Go back and get TB result, pick up wedding suit.

Day3, Get married at Amphur BKK, get any more required translations etc.

Day4, Go to Village for traditional Thai Family wedding stuff…. Party through to Day 7

Day7, through to day 14… Honeymoon somewhere…. Maybe even a short trip out of country for a stamp in her passport.

Day14, Return to Bangkok, collect English test result (I am sure she will pass).

Day15 Compile and Submit finalised settlement application to Embassy with newmarriage certificate, translations, English Test pass, TB test, additionalmarriage photos, more holiday photos, and all the other supportingdocumentation I have already built up - (She will keep her maiden name for thetime being as it would complicate things too much to change her ID and Passportat this time).

Day16 return to UK.

Tight schedule…. But I think possible…. However, I have acouple of questions that I hope someone may be able to answer.

1). Re Affermation of Marriage.

a) Can I book an appointment at the Embassy for this online prior to leaving the UK? Do I have to make an appointment?

Is my time scale reasonable?

2). Re English Test.

a) Can I book an English Test in Bangkok for my Fiancé via the internet for the day afterI arrive (She lives miles from Bangkok and will arrive the same day as me, otherwiseshe could have done it before).

b) How long does it take for the (hopeful) pass certificate to be issued.

c) Can it be issued at the test centre for collection, as we plan to travel thenreturn to Bangkok to complete the application with all the last min stuff includedand submit.

d) Is there still only two places that can do this test?

3). Re Settlement Application Timing.

a) Can I also submit the Settlement Application online just before I leave the UK andobtain a date for about a week later for her to deliver the hard copy with supporting docs to the British Embassy?

We are applying at the end of September and asking for a potential travel date ofend of December if successful, is this reasonable?

c) I will be booking a trip back to Thailand over Xmas and with luck take her hometo sunny UK for new year's day.

Thanks for any help / suggestions / etc

Kev (aka Frogster)

(Edit for Word miss placed spaces)

[StuartM]

I think you need to be in Thailand for four days before you can marry.

This doesn't mean that you physically can't get married sooner, but that your marriage (in the UK) might be seen as invalid.

I have seen this four day rule in a few places.

Might be worth checking out, or changing the dates slightly to be on the safe side. I wouldn't want you finding this out whilst standing in front of an over zealous immigration officer

Stu

[Contractor]

Kev

Seems too ambitious - remember you will be tired and jet lagged after a long flight.

You do not need to make an appointment to submit the Affirmation to the Embassy. Just turn up when it opens and if no problems it will be ready that afternoon - but too late to get to MFA and get things processed the same day.

I think you need to allow an extra day in Bangkok, before you marry and go up country.

I will leave it to those with more knowledge than me to answer your questions about the English Test, but I think this may be an issue timewise.

I would get the TB test and the English test out of the way first - without "passes" in both, she will not get a settlement visa.

Rgds

[toddmeister]

1) Affirmation - I had mine done on the same day. Turned up at the Embassy at 10.00am handed it in, paid the fee and was told to collect at 14.00 the same day. I then went to have it translated after which took an hour. So by around 16.00 on the first day I had affirmation & translation done.

***The MFA took longer than we expected. Get there early as possible. We arrived for it opening at 8.00am and it was already very busy. Waited 2hrs to hand it in & paid 800baht for same day service and told to collect at 12.00. Went back at 12.45 and told there was a problem with my translation and the MFA would not accept it. Had to have another translation done (there is a book shop downstairs at the MFA building that does translations). Waited another hour for the new translation and handed it back in at 14.00. Then had to wait again until after 15.00 so was too late to go the amphur which close at 16.00

2) English Test - which test are you doing? I noticed the VFS website has now updated the list of test providers within Thailand and there only seems to be three on the list. My wife did the BULATS through Vantage Siam, its two parts but the speaking test can only be done on Fridays. I think it only takes a few days for certs if you are collecting but my wife had hers sent to her in Phuket so took just over a week.

3) Cant help on the appointment timing yet. We did the legal marriage side & English test on my last trip to save time. My wife will also do the TB test before I go back. I'm also heading back in September and in theory all we'll need to do is do the online before I leave the UK and book a test appointment for when I get there.

I think day 2 sounds way too optimistic and, the things you intend to do on day 2 may take at least 2 days. Some things take longer than they should and lots of waiting around (the MFA for example). The TB test alone might be a full day thing because you have to go to the IOM then to a hospital and then back to the IOM with the xray. My wife is going to have her TB test done before I go over just incase there are any issues. There seems to be quite a few people that have had issues at the IOM and had to go back for repeat visits before they will issue a certificate.

Regards

[RAZZELL]

Don't know why your gf can't do the English and TB Tests before you get there?

Hire your suit. Quicker and cheaper.

RAZZ

[kunash]

I think you need to be in Thailand for four days before you can marry.

i do not think this is true

[kunash]

to answer some of your questions. i got my affirmation to marry on Monday. it is an efficient process. you cannot book an appointmengt online. no need to anyway. i got there at 8am and collected at 2pm. i then walked over the main road (is it called rama 1?) and there are lots of transslation companies there to choose from. the translation company can actually go to the MFA for you. i collected my legalised affirmation today at 12.00 from the translation company. i do not think the MFA do fast track any more. but i might be wrong.

i dont think you can book an english test for a particular day. the test center will run tests maybe once a week or once every two weeks. you will have to ask. if your wife's english is just ok, then i suggest she does the pre test as well. results can take from 7 - 14 days to arrive. ask the center if the certificate can be posted to them

yes you can submit her application online, and choose an appointment time up to 1 week in advance. current waiting times are from 8-12 weeks. your chances of success improve if your application is very thorough. also if you wish, in your sponsor letter can your wife's letter, you could ask to defer the start date of the visa, if sucessfull to a date that suits you ( or a few days before ).

if you wish to fly back with your wife at the end of december you might be pushing it a bit - as you can only really organise tickets for her once you know she has her visa. but, who know, with any luck you could have your answer at the end of november.

will your wife take your surname? if so she will need a new passport

good luck, i will be marrying my sweetheart on monday, and applying for settlement soon. will be getting a new passport and TB cert. done next week,

here is an earlier post which answer many of your questions . it is copied and pasted

'''getting married in bangkok

Dear All,

I have virtually just return from Bangkok.I hope my personal experience will be of help to all who are planning to get marry in Bangkok. We have just got married and about to apply for a visa. I am a British national and my husband is Thai.

1. to get the affirmation. Print out the suggested wordings on the British Embassy website : http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/resources/e...ffirmation-form

Please follow the wordings, word for word and replaces names etc as necessary. The wordings in the document , as I was told is what the British Embassy have in agreement with the Thai government. Thus if the wordings are different, it will not be affirmed. You have to print this out and apply in person to the British Embassy in Wireless Road. No matter how much of a hurry you are in, you can only collect this the very next day. Payment currently is 2750 Baht. ( Due to the weak pound) This was paid with cash but I believe you may pay with a credit card.

(We accept affirmations during normal consular public hours on Monday to Thursday at 08:00 - 11:00 hours and collections only at 13:00 - 14:00 hours, and on Friday at 08:00 - 11:00 hours and collections only at 11:00 - 12:00 noon. An appointment for this service is not necessary. The affirmation which is submitted before 11:00 hrs will be ready for collection in the afternoon.)

My greatest mistake: make sure if you are planning to marry, to enter Thailand with the passport you intend to get your affirmation from. I am of dual nationality and enter on a different passport. I did not think this was the problem but it started when we tried to get married at Amphur where they check the passport and entry stamped! This lead to further certification and more cost to prove that I am of the same person even when I have the exact same name on both passports!

Myth: you do not need to be in Thailand for 3 days before being able to affirm.

Truth: Affirmation can only be done when you are in Bangkok and not from England.

2.Collecting the affirmation: straight forward. You can collect from 9 am the next day. We have it translated in the shopping centre across the road and cost 300 Baht. It is very important to get your partner who knows Thai to check the spellings and wordings that is translated in Thai. THis is important as it will appear later in your marriage application at Amphur.

I got my affirmation of freedom to marry form translated (Along with my wife's birth certificate) for 300 Bt each. This was done at the small mall almost directly opposite the British Embassy. Wave place I believe it's called. There were 2 translation companies operating there on the second floor (small units side by side). I used Ploenchit Translation Center. So, as soon as you have your affirmation to marry, you may as well just pop over the road and get it translated there and then

You do not need an official translator to translate the document. You can translate it yourself.However we found it was convenient and not too expensive and it saves us time.

The next step is to get the translation legalised.

I am thankful to "Mario2008" on the website who suggests the quickest way to

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Legalisation Division

Department of Consular Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

123 Chaeng Wattana Road,

Laksi District, Bangkok 10210

The best and quickest way is to use the skytrain (BTS). The nearest station is situated opposite the British Embassy , Phloen Chit station and it cost 40 bht per person to Mo Chit ( 16 mins). From there take exit 3 or 4 and get on a taxi to the Ministry. If there is no traffic, it will take about half an hour. Cost: less than 100 BHT. If you decide to take a taxi, this can be a couple of hours depending on traffic and can cost 200-400 BHT.

Go up to the 2nd floor. Remember to get a ticket from the ticketing machine and at the same time, a form from the enquiry desk. You will need the express service to get the affirmation legalised in a day. Wait your number, and then present the translated version, the British Embassy Affirmation , a copy of your passport and the filled form from the enquiry desk. Payment: 800 Baht. Take a seat and wait for your receipt ( you need this to pick up your document later). If you manage this before 12 noon, go for lunch in the canteen. The staff goes for lunch between 12 noon and 1 pm. They will ask you to return at 2pm for collection.If you arrive very early in the morning, it is very likely you will get it before lunch. If you need further legalisation of any documents, it has to be done here. Thus organise this and do it all in one trip. Our documents was legalised within 2 hours when we came early. Otherwise it can be 3 hours.

3. Going to Amphur to get marry. I was told by the senior person who signs the marriage certificates, that lots of the Amphurs in Bangkok are very reluctant to marry foreigner and Thai as the complexity of checking documentations. Thus lots of the marriages are taking place in Bang Rak ( Translated: District of love). They are very helpful.The most important thing is to get your documents in order and complete set of necessary documents.

For Thai national: They need 2 copies of their ID card, and house log.

For the foreigner: a copy of their passport, entry visa( must be valid and not expired), affirmation letter in Thai and English( stamped by the Embassy)

You need 2 witnesses, however someone at the office can normally stand in if necessary.

Although the office officially closes at 4pm, do arrive early as on the day we got married, there was 15 couples waiting by 3pm and they have to turn people away. It takes up to 40 mins to 1 hour to marry a foreigner/Thai as they need to check the documentation thoroughly.They will also need to hand type whatever statement on your affirmation letter on to the marriage documentation.This takes time.For a Thai couple, all their documentation are in the computer system thus they are quicker to be dealth with. We were the last couple that day and we waited till 17.30pm! The poor officer did not even have lunch that day.The payment is 40 Baht for the marriage certificate, you can also buy a special folder to put your certificate in for 450 Baht.It is not cumpulsory but we like it. There is also a rickshaw in the office for you to take pictures! It is nicely set up.While we were there, there was a foreign/thai couple where one of them has been divorced.It is necessary to bring the original official divorce document.If not , the woman will need to have pregnancy test to prove she is not pregnant.This is to avoid the complication as to whom the father of the child is, as I was told. If the woman is pregnant it is very likely the marriage will not be registered that day( if the official divorce papers are unavailable).You have to be divorced for 310 days before being able to get marry again.

4. We are at the stage of applying for a spouse visa.The other necessity is to get a TB test, as he is going to be in the UK longer than 6 months. The test is necessary even though he has been in the UK previously on work permit for years and have been registered under the NHS.

The TB test is straigtforward. You need to go to :-

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) :

Kasemkij Building

8th Floor, 120 Silom Road

Bangrak, Bangkok 10500

Tel: +66 2 234 7950-5

Fax: + 66 2 234 7956

Email: [email protected]

Attendance is by appointment only and the full test fee of 2600 Baht must be paid in advance.

http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/tb.aspx

Required Documents:1) Original passport, and a copy of the passport;

2) Original ID card and copy of the ID card;

For children from 11 – 15 years, original birth certificate and copy;

3) Two 1.5"× 2" size photos (not older than 6 months);

4) Ante-Natal Care Book for pregnant women.

What you need to do is to pay the fees at IOM, then you are given 2 choices of Hospitals to go to: Phayathai2 or Bangrungrat Hospital. At the hospital, they will take a chest x-ray and in 15 mins, you will get the radiological report. You will then have to take this back to the IOM and a certificate will be issued. This should take you only a couple of hours. We did it in a morning. No sputum test necessary unless if the chest x-ray shown otherwise.

Our next step is to apply for the visa which he will be doing in the coming week. Up to this point, we have not use an agency. The process is straigtforward as long as you are willing to do all the legwork.We believe it is a test of our teamwork to a marriage.

I hope the above information is helpful to all those people out there who wishes to get married in Bangkok. Thank you to all who have help me previously.Good luck to all who are about to go through this! '''

[toddmeister]

"i do not think the MFA do fast track any more. but i might be wrong"

I believe that is the official line. However, when I went to the MFA last month for mine, they asked me at the info desk if I needed the affirmation certified that day. I told them yes and was shown into the supervisors office. I then paid 800baht for the sameday service (I think standard is 400baht). Most of the other couples at the MFA seemed to be going for the same day option too.

Good point about the surname too. If your wife is taking your name she will have to change her passport & ID card and I believe the TB test certificate has to bear the same name as the passport she will use to travel to the UK on. Also if she is changing her ID card and tabien baan I think this has to be done in her home province but I may be wrong. This wasn't an issue for us because we were married my wifes local amphur.

Regards

[Contractor]

"i do not think the MFA do fast track any more. but i might be wrong"

I believe that is the official line. However, when I went to the MFA last month for mine, they asked me at the info desk if I needed the affirmation certified that day. I told them yes and was shown into the supervisors office. I then paid 800baht for the sameday service (I think standard is 400baht). Most of the other couples at the MFA seemed to be going for the same day option too.

Good point about the surname too. If your wife is taking your name she will have to change her passport & ID card and I believe the TB test certificate has to bear the same name as the passport she will use to travel to the UK on. Also if she is changing her ID card and tabien baan I think this has to be done in her home province but I may be wrong. This wasn't an issue for us because we were married my wifes local amphur.

Regards

Your wife can travel to UK in her maiden name if she wants to - visa states it is for "SPOUSE / CP" of <your name>.

If she wants to change documents (as mine did) then of course it is cheaper and more sensible to do it before she travels. Yes, ID card needs to be changed in home province.

The TB certificate does not need to be changed. Your wife should have the official documentation linking her maiden and married name (which is also handy to get translated into English).

Whilst wife is in Bangkok she may want to think about getting a Police Clearance certificate as well. This is not required for her visa, but if in UK she wants to work/volunteer anywhere where a CRB check is required, then it may be useful. It takes about 10 days from application to issue and Thai Police will send it on to you when ready (they sent my wife's one to UK) - small charge applies, of course..

Rgds

[7by7]

I think you need to be in Thailand for four days before you can marry.

i do not think this is true

It isn't; though I suppose it could take 4 days to get all the paperwork sorted.

Also, to confirm that if the marriage is legal in Thailand, i.e. registered at an ampur, then it is legal in the UK.

[Frogster]

Thanks for all the comments .... some good advice in there, never thought about renting a suit..... that will cut down on time and costs. Any one ideas where to rent??? and Do they do "Fat Bastard" size???

[Contractor]

Thanks for all the comments .... some good advice in there, never thought about renting a suit..... that will cut down on time and costs. Any one ideas where to rent??? and Do they do "Fat Bastard" size???

For my Thai wedding, I rented a Thai wedding suit for the ceremony - 2000 baht - I looked like a character out of Thunderbirds with the sash (but everyone thought it was lovely) and I then slipped into a lightweight suit I had bought in the US, for the evening bash.

I did not get married in Bangkok so I can't help you with a tailor where you can rent.

As far as "Fat Bastard" size goes, I am sure that if you give enough notice, a tailor will be able to order in enough fabric.

Do try and get your partner to go to Bangkok and get the TB test and English exam done before you arrive in Thailand - it will save a lot of stress re timings on your trip.

Good luck mate and I hope all goes smoothly.

Rgds

[Frogster]

Do try and get your partner to go to Bangkok and get the TB test and English exam done before you arrive in Thailand - it will save a lot of stress re timings on your trip.

Good luck and I hope all goes smoothly.

Rgds

Thanks for the reply, I spoke to her today and it may be possible that she can go to Bangkok next month, it would ease the time and stress for sure with those two things out of the way in advance.

I am going to book her in for the Baltas English test with Vantage Siam in Bangkok (see my other post for an interesting take on the test and automatic pass). Although I am sure she would pass anyway, she has a good level of English, but never look a gift horse in the mouth !!

Cheers