Advise Dealing With Embassy

[psb_psb]

Gu22, and all

i not sure if you remember me, you have given me good advice in the past,

im still very much in contact with the girl i met in Samui October 05 after lengthy telephone conversations we have had ( by the way thankyou for the 18185 number)

I am travelling to BBK to spend a month with her early January 06 and if hope to approach the embassy towards the end of my stay, of couse we hope that the ECO will grant her a visa to return with me to the UK.. the time scale at this point, that which we can prove contact will be in the region of four months.. can you offer any guidelines that may help us ie:- shall we apply for another visitor visa or shall we go for a fiancé visa?

Do you think it may be beneficial to approach the embassy when i arrive in Jan 06 and ask them what they would require to justify a visa?? ( or is that not a good idea to approach them at that juncture)

many thanks peter

Edited December 14, 2005 by psb_psb

[GU22]

From what you said before, the main reason that the VV was refused was because the ECO did not believe that the relationship, and therefore her reason for visiting the UK, was genuine. This was because you had simply not known each other for long enough.

Four months is still not very long, but a lot better than before. You have photos? E-mail headers? Letters? Phone records? The more evidence of contact the better. Worth a shot.

shall we apply for another visitor visa or shall we go for a fiancé visa?

Depends what you both want. A fiance visa is not some form of visitor visa, it is issued for a specific purpose. That is to travel to the UK with the express intention to marry and settle in the UK. The holder must marry and apply for Further Leave to Remain within the 6 month life of the visa. If they don't they must leave the UK. It is possible to extend the visa beyond this 6 month deadline, but only in the most exceptional of circumstances and you must show a very good reason why you have not yet married and that you will do so in the very near future. If she were to leave the UK without marrying you and then apply again at a later date it is very probable that such an application would be refused, unless she could show a very good reason for not marrying you the first time.

Only apply for a fiance visa if are both certain that you want to marry and will be doing so within the 6 month life of the visa!

If you are both sure that marriage is what you want, then, unless there is a compelling reason for marrying in the UK, it is better to marry in Thailand and apply for a spouse visa. This is a 2 year visa, and cuts out the FLR stage, saving that fee (currently £335 by post or £500 in person).

However, I would strongly advise against marriage at this stage. Get to know her better and longer before contemplating that step. (Has she explained why you hear farmyard noises when phoning her at her parents home in an industrial area of Bangkok?)

Do you think it may be beneficial to approach the embassy when i arrive in Jan 06 and ask them what they would require to justify a visa??

They cannot comment on individual cases until they have seen the application, so all they could do is refer you to the Guidence Notes.