Visa Applications

[scooty]

sawasdee all,

when your lady goes for an interview at the bangkok embassy for a visitors visa for the uk, when she has her interview will she be interviewed alone or could i join my lady at the interview so as i can explain matters to the interviewer ?

also is it worth using an agency to prepare my paperwork and to prepare my ladies application ?

thanks for any help and advice

[the scouser]

Scooty,

You won't be allowed in to the interview, I'm afraid. However, if your g/f's English isn't up to much, they do have translators present.

I, personally, wouldn't use an agency to prepare the application when you can do it yourself.

Cheers,

Scouse.

[GU22]

I, personally, wouldn't use an agency to prepare the application when you can do it yourself.

Quite!

Scooty, You will obviously need a translation agency to translate any Thai documents into English. Shop around and compare prices, you shouldn't pay more than 800baht per page, and many good agencies will charge even less.

As for so-called visa agents, avoid! There are some that will charge a reasonable price to help you prepare the application and supporting documents and even help the applicant practice interview techniques. However, there are far more rogues who will charge exorbitant fees and give poor, downright wrong or, at best, out of date advice.

If an agent advises you to make things up as it will look better than the truth; leave immediately!

If an agent says that they can guarantee a visa; leave immediately!

If you haven't already done so, read through:-

Application forms and guidance (01/11/05)

Guidance - General information (INF 1)

Guidance - Visitors (INF 2)

Guidance - Sponsors (INF 3)

Any questions, feel free to ask.

If you do decide that you'd rather use an agent, get some recommendations first. Talk to the agent, find out exactly what their fees are and what they will do to earn that fee.

[technocracy]

Ditto all what has been said.

My Lao Wife received her visa the other week and is back here in Blighty as I type. Just be a thorough with everything as possible even if it's not listed in the required documents provide it anyway! Emails, Photos, Bank Statments, Birth Certificates, Passports copies, Wage Slips, Tenancy Agreement/Mortgage details etc etc.

The best advice which can be given is tell the truth 100% in my sponsors letter I detailed nearly our entire relationship over the past year or so from when we met. The interview pretty much covered most of the history and we had no worries because it's was all 100% truthful so no matter what questions were asked the answers matched.

Things which I saw a questions which helped we stuff which we never really discussed such as my families names etc. Mainly as them to me and her were always Mum, Dad and Brother! Also the name of the town where we were going to be living . . . not really something that had occur to me other than my house!

If you think you need to be in the interview to explain things you either aren't ready to apply or need to detail these things in your sponsorship letter.

[Duality]

is it fair to say that the more you write in your cover letter the more questions she will be asked about the relationship?

[khon_fused]

when she has her interview will she be interviewed alone or could i join my lady at the interview so as i can explain matters to the interviewer ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At present you won't even be allowed into the Visa Section of the Embassy, let alone into the interview with her. This is a recently introduced measure due to overcrowding in the Visa Section:

British Embassy Bangkok News Entry

Access to Visa Section

In order to control the current overcrowding of the visa section from 1 August 2005 access to the visa section is restricted to applicants only.  We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause but are sure you will appreciate that by controlling the numbers in the section we will be better placed to offer an improved service to applicants. To resolve the problem of overcrowding we are now looking at outsourcing options and hope to appoint an outsource partner by the end of 2005.

[khon_fused]

is it fair to say that the more you write in your cover letter the more questions she will be asked about the relationship?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've never heard of anything to indicate this might be the case.

A cover letter is not specified in any official documentation thus it is not a formal requirement. Many people choose to include one perhaps because they keep hearing of the fact that others use them, and presume they are a requirement. Others use cover letters to make the task of the Entry Clearance Officer simple.

I'd suggest it is a good idea to use one, but to keep it straightforward and simple and if indeed there is a direct correlation between the contents of the letter and the questions the ECO asks, with hope those questions will be 'straightforward and simple' also

[scooty]

i like to say thank you to everyone for the good advice.i am now a lot clearer in my mind about what i need to do, the more i read the clearer things become.

there are a couple of points that i would appreciate some advice on

1.i was chatting to my lady tonight on MSN and she came up with what maybe a good idea, now i understand that the embassy want to see evidence that the lady will have good reason to return to thailand after her uk visit , ie . a job to go back to.my lady will loose her job if she comes to the uk , but she is also studying at college for a degree, she has suggested that she can get a letter from the college saying that she will return to thailand to continue with her studies especially if she visits uk during college holidays which would be april and may. do you think that this would help to satisfy the ECO ?

2. now as advised by technocracy, i have no intention of telling any lies to the ECO but the truth is that me and my lady met through an internet dating site. do you think this is a bad way to meet through the embassys eyes or do you think it is ok to tell them that we met on the internet?

and do you all think that so far im doing ok with my documents list, implan to produce

1. 6 months bank statements , i should have about £20, 000

2. i cant show wage slips as i am self employed but the payments will still show up on my bank statement

3. i will get a copy of my property papers, ( i have mortgaged a 1 bedroom flat and have been paying now for 15 years)

4 i can get an old phone bill from january 2005 to proove that i made a phone call to my lady on her birthday

5 i can print an email i recieved from april 2005 ( i deleted all the previous mails)

6 i can get a letter from the company that i am working for saying that they have plenty of work for me in uk

7 i will ask my sister to write a letter saying that she would care for my lady in the uk if for instance anything was to happen to me.

i have asked my lady to get these documents:-

1passport

2 letter from her college

3 her past wage slips (even though she will loose her job)

4 we have kept our photos from our engagement and from our holiday in october 2005 ( i also took her family along for the holiday )

4 we can show reciepts for our engagement rings( she actually paid for mine)

well i think thats about all for now

as ever all advice is very much appreciated/. i am going to thailand on january 3rd and plan to return to uk in late march and i hope to be bringing my fiancee with me for a 2 month holiday for her

.

[khon_fused]

By your numbering Scooty

1) I'm sure that wouldn't do any harm but I'm not sure that that alone would satisfy the reason to return clause. One might only speculate beyond saying that.

2) That's how I met my now wife (not so much through a dating site but through Internet chat) and the fact we maintained contact in part via such a system was documented in our settlement visa application supporting evidence folder. She was always highly uncomfortable with letting people know we met online, but purely as her peers and associates seemed to have a view that all online comms involve sordid dialogue or whatnot, thus for her first visitor visa application we noted how we first met physically, thus said 'met in a bar', which is where we did meet. Now if there aren't more than enough connotations surrounding 'meeting in a bar', meeting online is totally safe for a visa application. Naturally the ECO might like proof of subsequent real world meetings and time spent together

Document list:

6. More for a settlement visa than a visitor visa, but no harm in including it

7. Maybe overkill? I think, from what you say, you have enough in reserve to support her during her visit should that be necessary. The ECO won't be wondering what might happen shuld any harm befall the sponsor during the applicant's stay