A Little Guidance Please...uk Settlement Visa

[Mass]

Iam new here so hello to you all firstly...I'm looking for some guidance for the future so will give some background of my situation first..

I met my Thai gf 3 years ago and we have been in a relationship ever since. I have been to visit her 4 times now and will be going again in December for a month. I have met her family and gone to stay in her village every time and my parents have been to Thailand to meet her family. she has a degree and works as a sales rep but due to her company not allowing her any time off she has been unable to come to visit me in the uk. We are planning to marry christmass 2013 if not before and all the Thai tradition stuff will be sorted out next visit. I am currently living back home with my parents as this was best way to save for a house and plan to buy early 2013.

So my main concern is would it be a problem applying for a spouse visa if my soon to be wife has never been to uk..?

I would have proof of relationship from early 2011 we would be married and I would meet the income requirement.

All advice appreciated.

[Mass]

I'm sorry I forgot to say I'm fully British and she would be coming to the uk.

[theoldgit]

I'm assuming that your wife to be, eventually intends to settle in the UK, I have amended the title to reflect this.

There is absolutly no requirement for you girlfriend to have visted the UK before to qualify for settlement in the UK.

I note that you do not intend marrying for well over a year so will not go into too much detail at this stage, things could change.

You believe that you will be able to satisfy all the requirements, so she should be fine.

[Mass]

Thx for your help...if it was a problem I would have brought her over for a visit first which to be honest I still may do this early next year.

[liveforever]

I don't think it would hurt to bring her over for a holiday visit first, that's what we did,and all your details sound to be in order so its up to you really. We applied for visit then moved on to settlement later and now about to apply for ilr. You could of course apply for a fiance visa and marry in the uk while she is here.

Kind regards

[7by7]

It wont hurt to come as visitor first, agreed. But as far as a settlement application is concerned, it wont help much either. Although you could argue that having accepted the relationship is genuine when issuing a visit visa they couldn't then not accept it as such in a settlement application.

Having said that, a visit first may be a good move as it will give her an idea of what life in the UK is like, e.g. colder than Thailand and everything more expensive!

BTW, a fiance visa is a type of settlement visa, not a visit visa. You should only apply for one if the intention is to settle in the UK after the marriage. This would involve an application for Further Leave to Remain after the marriage, at a current cost of £561 by post or £867 in person.

Unless you have strong reasons for marrying in the UK rather than Thailand it is better, I believe, to marry in Thailand and then apply as a spouse because it saves the above fee. Visa and Leave to Remain fees are high enough without paying one you don't need to!

If you do want to marry in the UK while she is here as a visitor then she should apply for a marriage visit visa; although a rule change last year means these days someone in the UK as a general or family visitor can marry whilst here.

However, marrying while in the UK as a visitor means she cannot then apply to switch to settlement while in the UK, she would have to return to Thailand and apply for settlement there.

You may find UK Settlement Visa Basics helpful; although as theoldgit says, things may change between now and when she applies. So you should check nearer the time to ensure you are up to date.

Edited October 2, 2012 by 7by7

[Mass]

Thx for info..I'm basically just trying to make firm plans for the next year...marrying in Thailand is what we both want and would be less hassle to get my family there for the occasion as no visa required for them all..without changing topic to far we would like to try for a baby soon and I'm confused about the rules regarding children that are half British...I am British by non decent..father is English and mother is Northern Irish..I know I could apply for a British passport for any future child but, would the extra £2400 income requirement still come into effect and if so can savings of £2400 x 2.5 = 6 k cover this...just trying to avoid any future heartache for all concerned..thx

[7by7]

If you are British otherwise than by descent then your child will be British too. You can obtain a British passport for them while still in Thailand, see How to apply from Thailand (First time applications), note among the documents required is your full, long form birth certificate.

As the child will be British then they will not need a visa and so are not included in the financial requirement.

[Mass]

Many thanks to all....now the future looks good and my god and I can plan and look forward with no worries for a while.