Thai Wife Getting Family Vist Visa For The Uk . No Job / Income Problem ?

[bermondburi]

Hello everyone .

I live in Saudi Arabia with my Thai wife and two kids . It is our plan to go to the UK for two months in the summer this year . The company I work for will be providing us with return tickets back to Saudi for my next contract . I'm doing the form online at the moment and something is worrying me . I know we will be seen as legit , kids are dual nationality, married for so many years ect ect . But I'm worried about the wife's income part . I just give my wife about 40,000 baht a month for us to live on and she then pays for everything . This comes from my salary and I give it to her in cash . So we have no record of her getting money from me . Is this going to affect the application . We're staying with my family when we go and that is the reason for our visit so there are no accommodation costs . All the money we need is spending money for when we are there . I'm hoping that my wife can just say that she will be getting x amount of cash of me for when we are there . I can show a bank statement of my salary and stuff like that but it's just she has no income on record in her name . Will this be a problem for getting the visa ?

[7by7]

She is your wife; you live together; she isn't in paid employment; you are and provide her with housekeeping/spending money.

A common situation all over the world, and not a problem.

Simply describe this in your sponsor's letter and provide evidence of your finances.

See UK Visit Visa Basics for more.

[rawhod]

We are in the same situation. I enter Part 5. Q 65. At least xxxxx Thai Baht per month from husband

[Neil1968]

Don't think you will have any problems, similar situation here, the wife doesn't work, I give her xxxxxTHB per month, have been successful in all family visit visas applied for, just be honest on the form. Explain the situation in your sponser letter and you won't have a problem.

[bermondburi]

Thanks for the info . You've made me feel better . I'm going to get a letter from my company stating my salary and I'll write a letter myself stating our financial situation . Hopefully that will be okay . Looking forward to an English summer . After Saudi the rain will be nice !!

[bifftastic]

I agree with the others My wife has shown no income for any of her three Family Visit Visas. All the finances have been mine.

The answer we've always used to the questions regarding how much money is available to you for the trip is "My husband will pay for everything" and "My husband will provide everything I need"

There's also a question "What will be the total cost to you of this visit?"

Answer "Zero"

[bermondburi]

I did the form online yesterday so I'm going to try and book the appointment for the interview tomorrow . Watch this space.....

[theoldgit]

I did the form online yesterday so I'm going to try and book the appointment for the interview tomorrow . Watch this space.....

Just one thing to clarify, there is actually no interview, the appointment at VFS is simply to lodge a hard copy of the application, the supporting documents and the biometric capture of fingerprints.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[bermondburi]

Went there on Tuesday to give them all the paperwork and we find out in about 2 weeks . Don't think they knew what they were doing though . They only asked for a employment contract and bank statement . It was only when I asked them if they wanted the marriage certificate that they thought that might be a good idea !

[7by7]

VFS are a handling agent, it is not up to them to ask for anything; it is up to the applicant to ensure they have included all the necessary documents.

[bermondburi]

VFS are a handling agent, it is not up to them to ask for anything; it is up to the applicant to ensure they have included all the necessary documents.

They are there to provide a service to the paying customer though .

[somtampet]

Thanks for the info . You've made me feel better . I'm going to get a letter from my company stating my salary and I'll write a letter myself stating our financial situation . Hopefully that will be okay . Looking forward to an English summer . After Saudi the rain will be nice !!

ont forget a letter from your mum,to say you are staying there

[theoldgit]

VFS are a handling agent, it is not up to them to ask for anything; it is up to the applicant to ensure they have included all the necessary documents.

They are there to provide a service to the paying customer though .

Their service is no more than to receive the application and pass it on to the UKBA and return the result in a sealed pack in due course.

They are not qualified, or supposed, to do any more.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[bermondburi]

VFS are a handling agent, it is not up to them to ask for anything; it is up to the applicant to ensure they have included all the necessary documents.

They are there to provide a service to the paying customer though .

Their service is no more than to receive the application and pass it on to the UKBA and return the result in a sealed pack in due course.

They are not qualified, or supposed, to do any more.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Which is a bit crap really when you consider that nearly all of the people applying won't speak English as a first language and they might find the form and process quite complicated . A good example of this is when we came to make the appointment . The part of the website to schedule an appointment wasn't working and when I tried to call them I just got a message saying no one could take my call . I was trying to get through for about 1 hour . I then sent an e-mail to the complaints department and someone did get back to me to arrange the appointment . For a non-native speaker of English none of this would have been easy .

[7by7]

I really do not see what point you are trying to make.

VFS staff at the UKVAC are Thai, so can speak to applicants in Thai.

The embassy employ Thai staff who can speak to the applicant in Thai if required.

Both the UKBA in Thailand and the UKVAC in Thailand websites are availble in either English or Thai; including the guidance on how to apply etc.

Yes, it is the case that the form has to be completed in English, and this could leave some people at the mercy of unscrupulous agents if they need help to complete it.

But I suspect that most UK visa applicants, wherever they may be, are;

• sponsored by someone who can speak English; e.g. a friend, partner, employer etc.,
• booked their trip via a reputable travel agent who will help them with the forms, or
• speak English sufficiently well themselves

I am aware that in your OP you say that you are in Saudi Arabia and so presumably applied there. Surely you don't expect staff at every UKVAC throughout the world to speak Thai!

Edited April 13, 2013 by 7by7

[bermondburi]

The point I'm trying to make is that in the world we live in now it is not that unusual for people to be applying in a country that is not their own . My own experience of applying in Saudi was that the women working there didn't speak English that well either as the women I dealt with constantly had to get another member of staff to come and translate for her . Obviously I don't expect them to speak Thai , English would be nice though .

[bermondburi]

Another point is that the service when applying for visas in other countries is actually loads better and they do help you with the application .

[7by7]

So a Saudi member of staff, who deals almost exclusively with non English speaking Saudi nationals, had to find another member of staff who could speak English with you; why is that such a big deal to you?

You live in Saudi, why couldn't you speak to her in Arabic?

Surely you aren't the sort of Brit who expects everyone to speak to you in English and takes umbrage when they can't?

UK visa application staff throughout the world are not supposed to advise on visa applications; it is against their contract with the UKBA, they are not qualified to do so and when they do they often give bad advice; as posts on this forum show.

[mancub]

I agree with the others My wife has shown no income for any of her three Family Visit Visas. All the finances have been mine.

The answer we've always used to the questions regarding how much money is available to you for the trip is "My husband will pay for everything" and "My husband will provide everything I need"

There's also a question "What will be the total cost to you of this visit?"

Answer "Zero"

[May I ask if you included the original and /or certified translation copies of the marriage certificate with your application ? We are in process and I was hoping ,given that her ID and passport are in her married name (since 2010 ),that it wouldn't be necessary ?

Any info gratefully received !

[7by7]

I would include it, to show that she is your wife and therefore it will be a family visit.

Original and certified translation; plus copies if you want the original documents returned.

[bermondburi]

So a Saudi member of staff, who deals almost exclusively with non English speaking Saudi nationals, had to find another member of staff who could speak English with you; why is that such a big deal to you?

You live in Saudi, why couldn't you speak to her in Arabic?

Surely you aren't the sort of Brit who expects everyone to speak to you in English and takes umbrage when they can't?

UK visa application staff throughout the world are not supposed to advise on visa applications; it is against their contract with the UKBA, they are not qualified to do so and when they do they often give bad advice; as posts on this forum show.

No I don't expect everyone in the world to speak English but when applying for a visa for the UK , yes , I do expect the official visa agent of the UK government to have staff working there who speak English .

In this day and age of people working all over the world many people would be applying for a visa in a country that is not their own . That is not that unusual .

Asking why myself or my wife do not speak Arabic is simply childish . For all you know I could work one year in Saudi , one year in Ghana and so on . Realistically no one is going to gain sufficient fluency in a language in that time .

Call me old-fashioned but I quite liked the way things used to be when you went to the embassy . Do you have shares in VFS or something ?

[theoldgit]

OK let's reign this in a bit please, this thread was started to seek advice about obtaining a visa, so please keep it on track.

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[7by7]

fair enough, og. I'll leave bermondburi to his dreams of the days when the sun never set.

[bermondburi]

+1 . and I'll leave 7by7 to the reality of privatisation of every service that used to be exactly that , a service . Long live Maggie !!

[bermondburi]

just for anyone else but my wife got the visa back in about a week . So even though I wasn't too keen on VFS at least we did get the visa . I will now be taking wife and children to the UK for the 1st time in the summer .