Fiancee Visa For My Tg

[coralgraph]

Hi !

I would like to get a fiancee Visa for my TG,im not British Citizen but im living and legally working in a Uk for more than a year,my annual income more than 20K ,im working for 5star hotel in london as a chef,i have 2 different jobs and a good saving in a Uk and my homecountry (Hungary)I have a rented accomodation i been living here for more than 8 months. I met my girlfriend a year ago in thailand (she worked as a cashier in a shopping mall since she changed a job now she working as a secretary in my friend construction company in Pattaya)She never been married just like me.We lived together in thailand for more than 3 months and since i came to the UK we keep in touch on daily basis ( e mail ,messenger,phone etc etc ) she kept the record my e mails i sent her over a year period (more than 200 emails )and she also have her diary where she records everything we have plenty pictures together to prove our relationship.

Im coming to thailand in march, i will engage her but i dont want to marry her in thailand,and i would like to get a fiancee visa for her to come and live with me and if she likes here we will get married within a 6 months period.

I really appreciate any proffesional advice in this case.

Do i have a chance to obtain a visa for her with these circumstances?

Regards

[the scouser]

You say that you don't want to get married in Thailand, but if you were to do so, it would make the visa process a lot easier. Once married, your wife would be able to apply for a family permit for the UK based on her being a dependant of an EU national. These are issued free of charge and the qualifications are less stringent than the normal rules. A family permit can only be refused in limited circumstances and, basically, your wife would only need to show the visa officer that you are married, that you are a citizen of an EU country, and that you are working in the UK.

If you are intent on getting married in the UK you could not apply for a fiancé(e) visa for your girlfriend as you are not settled in the UK; i.e. possess indefinite leave to enter/remain. She would have to apply for a "marriage visit" visa and then, once married, apply to the Home Office for permission to stay on the basis of marriage to an EU national. However, the visit visa might be refused because it would be evident to the visa officer that your fiancée has no intention of leaving the UK after her marriage.

Overall, I would advocate getting married in Thailand and applying for the family permit.

Cheers,

Scouse.

[coralgraph]

Thanks for good advice Scouse,im coming to thailand by the end of the month and i will get married in thailand. I will apply for the family permit after the marriage ,do you know how long the processing time of the family permit and they require the TB test for the family permit?

Thanks

[GU22]

For full details of EEA Family Permits click here.

If all the documentary evidence is satisfactory then she should be contacted and asked to come and collect her passport with the permit in it within 10 working days of submitting the application. However, if there is some area of uncertainty then they may wish to interview her and she will have to join the queue. Current waiting time for an interview is 8 to 10 weeks. So make sure that you prepare properly!

All applicants applying to come to the UK for more than 6 months require a TB test. See REQUIREMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS TESTING FOR APPLICANTS VISITING THE UK FOR LONGER THAN 6 MONTHS.

[the scouser]

A family permit application should be decided on the day of application. They can only ask to interview your wife to be if they have serious doubts about the marriage and must provide a reason for wishing to do so.

You will be married and your wife therefore has an expectation to be able to exercise the same rights as you in the UK. Failing to issue the family permit on the day of application can be construed as interference with those rights and, therefore, the visa officer must have a very good reason for delaying a decision.

From the Diplomatic Service Procedures:-

21.4.1 - Handling and assessing applications for EEA family permits

Under EC law, priority must be given to applications for family permits. Wherever possible a decision should be made at the time it is lodged or after the interview is conducted. Applicants for EEA family permits should not be put into a settlement queue and an interview should be conducted as soon as possible. Where doubt exist (for example whether applicants are related as claimed) further enquiries may be made, but these should also be given priority.

Scouse.

[GU22]

I agree, Scouse, that in most circumstances an EEA Family Permit is a mere formality and so what you say is true.

However, there is a Danish guy currently posting on Thailand-UK who applied for an EEA Family Permit for the girl he married after knowing her for less than 3 months. She was refused as the ECO did not believe the relationship to be real after such a short time and as they had produced very little evidence of contact to show otherwise. (Most of the advice he received was that this would probably happen and they should wait for a few months and build up more contact evidence.)

They have re-applied and are currently waiting in the settlement queue.

I am aware that this is an exceptional case, but emphasis again that proper preparation is essential.

[vinny]

To help you prepare, read the relevant sections from Chapter 21 - The European dimension, where Scouse quoted from.

[the scouser]

...there is a Danish guy currently posting on Thailand-UK who applied for an EEA Family Permit for the girl he married after knowing her for less than 3 months. She was refused as the ECO did not believe the relationship to be real after such a short time and as they had produced very little evidence of contact to show otherwise. (Most of the advice he received was that this would probably happen and they should wait for a few months and build up more contact evidence.)

Obviously, we're not fully aware of the in-and-outs of the Danish chap's case, but I would wager that he has a case for complaining that his treaty rights have been breached.

Firstly, the re-application should not be in the settlement queue (as per the Foreign Office's own instructions) and, secondly, intention to live together is not a consideration in family permit applications, so evidence of contact is irrelevant. It may be that the visa officer believes that the lack of correspondence between the 2 parties is indicative of a marriage of convenience, but a decision can only be postponed when there are "serious" doubts and a lack of such evidence is insufficient to meet the evidential threshold the ECO has to attain. Under UK law the applicant has to establish that the relationship is genuine and under EU law the ECO must accept it a being so unless he possesses "real" evidence to the contrary.

If I were him, I'd write to the ECO stating that he has erred in his interpretation of both UK and EU law and that failure to either state the reasons why a decision has been deferred, or issue the family permit, will constitute a breach of treaty rights which will be pursued through the courts.

Scouse.

Another snippet from the DSPs.

21.4.9 Delaying a decision

You may only delay a decision when you have serious doubts. For example when there are real grounds for doubting the validity of an application, when essential documentation has not been provided, or when referral to London is necessary. In general, the longer the delay, the stronger the grounds for doubt need to be.

Grounds for making further enquiries need to be carefully considered and recorded in case they are needed to formulate a defence against any charges brought against HMG by the applicant or European Commission

[coralgraph]

Thanks again for everybody for the feedbacks and the all the advice.

I was reading through the UKvisas about the family permits ,let me tell you its to good be true ,if we avoid the settlement queue i can get a visa for my wife in 4 weeks while im staying in thailand.We have the official Amphur marriage this time but before that i will travel to her home Udon and we will make a party together with her family,im planning to make a religious ceremony the next time when i come back to thailand in 6 months ,i hope this dont have a negative effect on the visa application.I have strong evidence to support our case ,pictures ,emails ,letters dated back 1 year,phonebills etc etc .I have enough income to support her and i have a good savings as well so i hope she will be accepted.I will keep you guys updated about the case.

Thanks Again

[coralgraph]

Im just arrived to thailand and we are married,i have all the documents for her EEA family permit application ,my Missus heading to the embassy next week to hand in her application.Im asking all the expert on this forum to please have a look on this list and please tell me if anything missing from her visa application.

VAF 1 Visa Application form,Passport,Photograph from applicant (my wife)

Letter from Applicant to the ECO with the brief description of the relationship

Letter from Sponsor( me) to the ECO

Letter of employment (sponsor)

Last 6 months payslips from full time and part time jobs (Sponsor)

Last 6 months Bank statement from Bank in UK (Sponsor)

Bank statement from my bank in Hun

Tenancy Agreement and letter from landlord and pictures of the apartmant

Copy of the State Worker Registration Scheme from Home Office for sponsor

Copy of National Insurance Registration for and National Insurance number for Sponsor

Copy of passport for Sponsor (attested by UK solicitor)

Birth Certificate for Sponsor

Marriage Certificate ( Translated to english)

Birth Certificate for applicant (translated to english)

Tuberculosis Test Certificate for Applicant

Letter of employment for Applicant from 2 different employer (Outlet Mall Pattaya and a Real estate company in pattaya)

copy of about 150 e mails from sponsor to applicant (first sent in may 2005 last in march 2006)

50 pictures made different time and locations ( first last year february the last this year april)

Birthday Cards ,Valentine day Cards ,Chritmas Cards ,Letters

Applicant's personal diary first pages dated 2005 january ,last 2006 march about 200 pages written in english and thai

Records from VOIP phonecalls screenshot (SKYPE) showing sponsor made about 250 phonecalls to the applicant over the last 3 months

Regards

[the scouser]

Coralgraph,

I think you've got it covered.

Don't forget that as your wife is the spouse of an EU citizen, she is entitled to exercise the same rights as you in the UK and failure to issue her family permit on the same day for which it's applied, without good reason, is an interference with those rights. If the visa officer says that your wife must be interviewed, ask why, and direct them to their own instructions (the DSPs).

All the best,

Scouse.

[coralgraph]

Her Visa granted on the same day!!!

What a Day!

We went to the embassy this morning with my Wife ,we arrived at 5:30 am ,there was already about 10 people in the line (some came at 2 am in the morning)

My Wife went in at 7;30 and at 09 am she came out with a big smile ,the Visa Granted,i couldnt believed myself ,she said she handed in the forms and she had a short interview about 20 minutes and her application was approved,she needs to pick up the Visa next week .

Once Again i would like to say thank you for everybody on this forum for all the help,especially to The Scouser who helped us alot.

Thanks Again

[the scouser]

Well done!

Your wife's family permit will be valid for 6 months. Once you arrive in the UK she might care to apply for a residence document from the Home Office. Again, this is free and it is valid for 5 years. After she has been in the UK for 4 years, your wife can then apply for indefinite leave to remain and, after 5, naturalisation as a British citizen.

All the best,

Scouse.