Uk Settlement Visa Application Waiting Times, Bangkok

[simmsc]

Applied on 12th March...No news

That is taking a long time!

This indicates that there could be further delays ... i was already making plans for bringing my fiancee over on the 11th May 2012 ... my "hooray you're coming over on the 11th" shouting on Skype may have been premature ha ha

[retard]

Yep, I had the same idea until jingjingna posted. Another week!

[retard]

It's a real pain. I don't actually think they do any work at the embassy,they seem to have more days off! Did anyone go through a visa agency or submit the visa by themselves??

I used an agency. I did much of the work myself but he put a more professional slant on it. I am sure this doesn't speed up the process but I reckon his mark on it helps toward sucess of the application.

[retard]

Applied on 12th March...No news

That is taking a long time!

This indicates that there could be further delays ... i was already making plans for bringing my fiancee over on the 11th May 2012 ... my "hooray you're coming over on the 11th" shouting on Skype may have been premature ha ha

At the moment one way air tickets for direct flight are below 500 GBP. Maybe if we get the visa at the same time our wives can fly together!

[simmsc]

Applied on 12th March...No news

That is taking a long time!

This indicates that there could be further delays ... i was already making plans for bringing my fiancee over on the 11th May 2012 ... my "hooray you're coming over on the 11th" shouting on Skype may have been premature ha ha

At the moment one way air tickets for direct flight are below 500 GBP. Maybe if we get the visa at the same time our wives can fly together!

i'm happy with that - my fiance is from Nong Khai (near Udon Thani) ... she will be getting the bus from Nong Khai to BKK airport (to avoid baggage weight issues with either Nokair or Air Asia).

i usually book EVA or Thai Airways ... you?

[simmsc]

I'm actually quite disgusted with this whole process. We first applied on 15th February and it took 22 working days to be processed and refused, 15th February to 15th March. Lots of applications were taking about 20 to 22 working days (info gained from this forum), all these applications were submitted mid February, but at the start of March, the applications are taking 3 weeks longer. I know that there were holidays for Easter and Songkran, can't see that the olympics are the cause for longer processing, how many Thai's do you know interested in athletics?

i did read some of your comments on the other forum (after you mentioned it - not posting there though) ... and I understand your frustrations! you've been to hell and back.

may i ask the reason they gave for refusing? won't be offended if you don't want to say.

[simmsc]

Back hander probably then? I'm beginning to think i should of gone with a visa agency,maybe you have to pay a fee for their services but you might get put at the front of the line!

I doubt very much that even if the poster had offered a bribe that anyone at the embassy would have accepted it.

You are reminded that the defamation laws in Thailand are strict and rigorously enforced. You are also reminded of the forum rules, which you agreed to abide by when you joined. Rule 6) being relevant here

Not to post comments that could be reasonably construed as defamation or libel.Defamation is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm. Libel involves the making of defamatory statements in a printed or fixed medium, such as a magazine or newspaper.

As I said above, no agent has any influence whatsoever over the processing time, result or any other aspect of the way the entry clearance section deals with a visa application. Any agent who says that they do is a liar.

Glad that your wife has a degree; but this will not have any effect on her application. A tertiary education is not a prerequisite for a UK visa, and hopefully never will be.

I agree - I'm told our government is already in trouble and possibly being taken to court for demanding that people have to take exams before coming here (which some people argue is a form of discrimination) ... so i would be surprised if they were to add more demands to the list.

[jessicanguyenself]

Hi all , i am a new here . And unlikely here i am the wife ( well i have seen so far that all the posters are male and posting about their wives' visa ) . I have submited mine on 26th march in hanoi which was forwarded to bangkok . Apart from someone called my husband 2 weeks ago confirmming my husband's personal details then i have not heard anything from the embassy regarding my visa ( they never interviewed me ) .

We were hoping to get the settlement subject to KOL test since we have been married more than four years and we both living outside the Uk . We wonder if that lower our visa processing time ?? The worse part is i cant be able to use online tracking service because its not work if i applied from vietnam ...

[simmsc]

Hi all , i am a new here . And unlikely here i am the wife ( well i have seen so far that all the posters are male and posting about their wives' visa ) . I have submited mine on 26th march in hanoi which was forwarded to bangkok . Apart from someone called my husband 2 weeks ago confirmming my husband's personal details then i have not heard anything from the embassy regarding my visa ( they never interviewed me ) .

We were hoping to get the settlement subject to KOL test since we have been married more than four years and we both living outside the Uk . We wonder if that lower our visa processing time ?? The worse part is i cant be able to use online tracking service because its not work if i applied from vietnam ...

Welcome Jessica, i don't think that will speed up your application as they still need to do all the other checks. Don't shoot the messenger.

I personally wished I had found this thread (or the ones before) before ... because if I had known it was going to take approximately 2 months I would have planned my second trip to Thailand (to spend time with my fiancee) at a slightly later stage ... to break up the long wait.

Oh well ...

Edited May 7, 2012 by simmsc

[chogiekim]

I found flights to the uk for 18,000 baht one way. so i need to crack and get this visa. Still need to do lots of packing and also need to sell my car. I wish the embassy would just call people telling them the situation. If it will be another 3 weeks for example i could work still rather then sitting around spending more money!

[tribalfusion001]

I'm actually quite disgusted with this whole process. We first applied on 15th February and it took 22 working days to be processed and refused, 15th February to 15th March. Lots of applications were taking about 20 to 22 working days (info gained from this forum), all these applications were submitted mid February, but at the start of March, the applications are taking 3 weeks longer. I know that there were holidays for Easter and Songkran, can't see that the olympics are the cause for longer processing, how many Thai's do you know interested in athletics?

i did read some of your comments on the other forum (after you mentioned it - not posting there though) ... and I understand your frustrations! you've been to hell and back.

may i ask the reason they gave for refusing? won't be offended if you don't want to say.

I've sent you a pm with the refusal letter, have a read and I'll mail you back with how I addressed the refusal reasons.

[chogiekim]

I cant understand why people get refused if they have a good application.

[tribalfusion001]

I cant understand why people get refused if they have a good application.

PM sent with refusal letter.

[chogiekim]

Sent you a PM mate

[chogiekim]

I am confident that my partner will get the visa. I believe we have a good application. There is just that little doubt in my mind that they will try to find a problem or problems! Nothing seems straight forward.

[retard]

I found flights to the uk for 18,000 baht one way. so i need to crack and get this visa. Still need to do lots of packing and also need to sell my car. I wish the embassy would just call people telling them the situation. If it will be another 3 weeks for example i could work still rather then sitting around spending more money!

Is that for a direct flight and, if so, what airlaine please? It seems that now is the time to get her into the UK. Come on embassy, get your finger out!

[retard]

I am confident that my partner will get the visa. I believe we have a good application. There is just that little doubt in my mind that they will try to find a problem or problems! Nothing seems straight forward.

I think we are all going through that mind bending stage.

[tribalfusion001]

I am confident that my partner will get the visa. I believe we have a good application. There is just that little doubt in my mind that they will try to find a problem or problems! Nothing seems straight forward.

I think we are all going through that mind bending stage.

No info today then?

[farmerfred]

Thanks for setting up the new thread 7by7. Looks like we're a bit behind in the application race- 16th April ours went in after delays on documents getting to Thailand. It's a terrible feeling having our livelihoods hang in the balance but we've all just got to try and relax- the results are not too far away (I hope!). Keep us all updated.

[tribalfusion001]

Thanks for setting up the new thread 7by7. Looks like we're a bit behind in the application race- 16th April ours went in after delays on documents getting to Thailand. It's a terrible feeling having our livelihoods hang in the balance but we've all just got to try and relax- the results are not too far away (I hope!). Keep us all updated.

I hope they like complaints, because they will be getting one from me when this application is finally processed!

[jingjingna]

What I find annoying about this waiting game is that when we lodged the application, my partner was told it would take about a month and that we were lucky to apply when we did ( miss the longer waiting time). I know that it states on the receipt that it could take upto 12 weeks which is in my opinion a worse case scenario. It would have been better for the VFS staff to not have given an indication at all, there we were thinking a month, it'll be two months next week!

[simmsc]

not had any news today re the visa :-( tomorrow is another day.

[tribalfusion001]

It seems that UKBA have not updated the processing times for any country since February, and I wonder why UKBA gets such bad press! I thought a UK government agency would be more on the ball, it seems not...

[tribalfusion001]

This should give you a clue why settlement/fiancee visas take so long, it's got nothing to do with the process being more complex and time consuming, it's all about how much money UKBA receives in Bangkok and other countries.

In February there were 5293 applications for the following visas, general visit, business, family, other, and these visas cost £78 each, that makes a total of £412,854, there were 125 settlement visas in February at a cost of £810 each, total amount £101,250.

UKBA guidelines, non settlement visas up to 15 days, settlement visas up to 12 weeks, guess which visas are processed first, the one's that make the most money for UKBA!

Edited May 9, 2012 by tribalfusion001

[Basil B]

This should give you a clue why settlement/fiancee visas take so long, it's got nothing to do with the process being more complex and time consuming, it's all about how much money UKBA receives in Bangkok and other countries.

In February there were 5293 applications for the following visas, general visit, business, family, other, and these visas cost £78 each, that makes a total of £412,854, there were 125 settlement visas in February at a cost of £810 each, total amount £101,250.

UKBA guidelines, non settlement visas up to 15 days, settlement visas up to 12 weeks, guess which visas are processed first, the one's that make the most money for UKBA!

Do not forget we have the Olympics now only weeks away, possibly there is a priority on them, particular as UKBA have stated 15 days to process, if they end up with a back log, one of two things will happen:

• some competitors, support staff, officials, family members, will not get a visa in time and probably cause a diplomatic outcry.
  
• there will be such a panic to process them that many will be issued without the correct checks.
  

May be even both scenarios will happen...

[tribalfusion001]

This should give you a clue why settlement/fiancee visas take so long, it's got nothing to do with the process being more complex and time consuming, it's all about how much money UKBA receives in Bangkok and other countries.

In February there were 5293 applications for the following visas, general visit, business, family, other, and these visas cost £78 each, that makes a total of £412,854, there were 125 settlement visas in February at a cost of £810 each, total amount £101,250.

UKBA guidelines, non settlement visas up to 15 days, settlement visas up to 12 weeks, guess which visas are processed first, the one's that make the most money for UKBA!

Do not forget we have the Olympics now only weeks away, possibly there is a priority on them, particular as UKBA have stated 15 days to process, if they end up with a back log, one of two things will happen:

• some competitors, support staff, officials, family members, will not get a visa in time and probably cause a diplomatic outcry.
  
• there will be such a panic to process them that many will be issued without the correct checks.
  

May be even both scenarios will happen...

Thailand had competitors 51 in 13 sports during the Beijing olympics in 2008, the likely cause of any delays are the amount of holidays they have taken, plus summer tourists, olympics may add a few more, can't be many though. How many Thai's are actually watch athletics?

[chogiekim]

Still no news yet! Getting angry now. Found flights with quite a few airlines at around 18,000-23,000 one way. Cheapest with EVA and British airways! Come on Embassy sort yourselves out!!

[farmerfred]

Still no news yet! Getting angry now. Found flights with quite a few airlines at around 18,000-23,000 one way. Cheapest with EVA and British airways! Come on Embassy sort yourselves out!!

In my experience, EVA have always been the most competitively priced airline offering direct flights. Don't panic- we're all in the same boat

[chogiekim]

I can always get a flight,but yeah a good price right now. I just want to get this visa first and think about flights later. I just wish the embassy could just contact people to tell us what's going on. "Sorry for keeping you waiting sir,you are in a line and we will do our best to get your visa done in the next week or so" Anything like this so we have some kind of idea what is going on!

[tribalfusion001]

I can always get a flight,but yeah a good price right now. I just want to get this visa first and think about flights later. I just wish the embassy could just contact people to tell us what's going on. "Sorry for keeping you waiting sir,you are in a line and we will do our best to get your visa done in the next week or so" Anything like this so we have some kind of idea what is going on!

Dear Mr Chogiekim

I writing to inform you today that we have not processed your visa as yet. We have many applications to process and yours is not a high priority for us, we are not sorry about the delay, but it will be processed according to our guidelines of up to 12 weeks for settlement visas.

Thank you for your application fee of £810, we all decided to have a bit of a jolly up on your account, we had a great time in Pattaya! Things could be worse, Mr Bloggs has been waiting for 11 weeks, but his wife is quite ugly and so is he!

Yours sincerely

ECO, UKBA, Brtish Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand