Uk Family Visit With Onward Travel Not Returning

[sarus]

Hi all!

I have had a good look through this forum, but cannot find answers to my specific question. Sorry if this has been covered. You can point me in the right direction.

I have been married to my Thai wife for three years and we have a son who has a British passport. We visited the UK in 2011 with my wife on a family visit visa sponsored by my parents. The reason to return at that time was covered by me having a work contract and letters from my employer here in Thailand.

Recently both my parents have been fighting cancer and can longer make the flight to Thailand to visit us. I am very worried about them and am desperate to be near them.

As we are unable to apply for a settlement visa due to lack of finances, I have decided to move to Spain with my Thai wife and British child. Getting an English teaching job in Spain will pose no problem and my wife as the wife of an EU citizen will automatically receive a Schengen visa. Leaving Thailand and going to live in Spain will be relatively easy.

My work contract, work permit and visa here in Thailand will all end in early June and interviews and the hiring process for teachers in Spain begins in late August.

So, from early June to mid August, before we move to Spain, I want to visit my parents. My Mum and Dad are desperate to see their grandson. It would be good medicine for them both. If we don’t go and see them then, it may be a year or more before we meet again. I cannot bare my Mum's tears on skype anymore.

So my question is this: I will be applying for a family visit visa for my wife in March. My parents will be her sponsor same as our visa application in 2011. However we will not be returning to Thailand as we did in 2011, but traveling on to Europe. I can provide itinerary or tickets, proof of sufficient funds, letter of invitation to visit a friend in Europe and six months health insurance cover.

I will not be able to supply a work contract as there is no way to apply for a job in March that starts in September.

I desperately do not want this visit visa to be denied, as this will cause huge problems in the future. Do you think this application will be successful? Is there anything else we can provide? Any thoughts?

[Thai Visa Express]

Firstly, your wife doesn't have to show that she is returning to Thailand at the end of any visit to the UK, only that she will leave the UK. So, if you have enough evidence to show that you will all be traveling on to Europe after your stay in the UK then, in theory it should be okay. Obviously there are no guarantees, but as long as the application is reasonable and the ECO is satisfied, on balance, that your wife will leave the UK, then a visa should be issued.

Of course, if your wife already has a Schengen visa before she applies for a UK visa, then the UK visa application becomes that much stronger. She may have to apply for her Schengen visa in Thailand, and not while she is in the UK. In theory she is required to do this but you will hear stories of applicants being granted Schengen visas while in the UK on a visit. It might be a good idea to contact the Spanish Embassy in Bangkok to ask if your wife can apply in the UK. Don't take a verbal "yes" as confirmation, though ! As the wife of an EEA national, she should be allowed to apply at any Embassy, but it would be good to get confirmation first.

[sarus]

I don't know if I (my wife) would be able to apply for the Schegen visa five months before entering Europe. Anyway there would only be one month of validity left when we travel. As the wife and mother of EU citizens she cannot be denied entry into Europe if we travel together. Maybe I should point this out to the UKBA.

What does the UKBA find acceptable as evidence of onward travel. I can make a plan, I can show funds, I can get health insurance. That is it! The UKBA advises not to buy tickets until visas have been granted.

The UKBA are not known for their kind consideration.

[7by7]

The UKBA do not have any control over entry to the Schengen area.

As you will be entering Spain to exercise an economic treaty right your wife does have the right to enter with you; but

Your non-EU spouse, (grand)parents or (grand)children do not need to get a visa from the country they are travelling toif:

• the country they are travelling to belongs to the passport-free Schengen area (see list below) and they have a residence permit or visa from another country in that area, or
  
• they are travelling with you or travelling to join you and have a residence card issued by any EU country (except the country you are a national of).
  The residence card should clearly state that the holder is a family member of an EU national
  

(Source)

No residence card; she will need to obtain a Schengen visa.

These days, except in emergency cases, Schengen applicants, even family members of EEA nationals, are supposed to apply in their country of residence. So I'd recommend that she applies before leaving Thailand. It has to be first used within 6 months of issue, and as you only plan on spending about 2.5 months in the UK, this should be fine.

BTW, as you will be entering Spain to exercise an economic treaty right, job seeking, then she should say this in her application, not say that she is a tourist. Once in Spain she then applies for residence as your spouse. Once you have been working in Spain for any length of time, employed or self employed, you can then move to the UK, if you wish, and she can use the EEA regulations to come with you.

Remember, though, that if you have not found work within three months then you will both have to leave Spain. She would not be able to use the EEA regulations to enter the UK as you had not been working whilst in Spain, she'd need the appropriate UK visa.

So I would do as TVE advises above and also explain your plans in your sponsor's letter for her UK visa.

[sarus]

Thanks for that 7by7. Much appreciated!

So, I will get a Schengen visa for my wife in Bangkok before I apply to the UKBA for a UK family visit visa sponsored by my parents. I will tell the Spanish embassy and the UKBA of our plans to exercise treaty rights in Spain.

When we enter Spain from the UK there will be one month remaining on her Schengen visa (like a use by date) , but she will still receive the 3 months stay on entry. Is this right?

Also, the UK will be issuing my wife's UK family visit visa with the evidence of onward travel after her visit being; a Schengen visa, sufficient funds, health insurance coverage and perhaps a letter from a friend.

I do hope it will be that easy. With all that is happening with immigration rules, the UKBA have people running scared. I have heard some nightmare stories in the past few months.