Settlement Visa Advice Please

[JemEll]

Hi All,

I'm hoping that someone on here can help with a few questions I have regarding my partners visa application for the UK.

I am currently working my way through the requirements on the UKBA site for the umarried partner settlement visa and I have a few questions that I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

Just to give a little history to help understand the situation. My boyfriend and I met in May 2008 when I visted Thailand for a 3 month holiday and to meet up with mutual friends who lived there. We stayed in contact as friends on facebook and I returned for another holiday for 2 months and to meet up with him again in Sept 2008, which is when our relationship started.

I decided to move to Thailand permanently in Jan 2009 and moved in with my boyfriend. We lived together in Thailand from Jan 2009 until just couple of days ago. We also have a 1 year old daughter together. During my time in Thailand I also worked for a year managing a dive centre from July 2011 until July 2012 (which I am able to provide a copy of my work permit and my bank passbook as proof of money earnt). I decided to stop working when our daughter was 2 months to be a stay at home mum.

My partner and I recently agreed that after more than 4 years in Thailand and now that we have a baby we would like to move to England to try and start a life here. We agreed that it maybe easier for his application if I return to England before him in an attempt to get things started her, i .e. enrolling our child in playschool, finding work for myself and also in assistance with his visa application. We hope that he can be over here with us in the next 3 months when he gets his visa.

I have no problems showing that we have been living together akin to marriage for the last 4+ years by providing receipts for the property we rented in both of our names and my old passport showing visa for the entire period of my stay, trips we have taken together, our flight back to England for a holiday in Oct 2012. I have lots of pictures of us together over the years, we have met several members of each others families and they are all going to provide letters and pictures proving this, plus we have a daughter together and can provide copies of her birth cert, thai and British passports.

We will be staying with my mother until I have a job and 6 months of employment in the UK enabling us to rent our own property and she will provide a letter of invitation.

My boyfriend has excellent written, spoken and reading in English (actually in the case of reading and writing, much better than his Thai), so he will have no problems with the English test. He doesn't have TB (which is a bonus : ) ).

The only problem that I can forsee is maybe with the financial element. I have only just returned to the UK and although I hope to get a job asap to be able to provide him with a letter of confirmation or copy of my contract of employment as part of his visa applciation, and a job that pays the approx 18000 pound minimum required earning per annum, it hasn't happened yet. It's my understanding that if I got a job within 3 months of returning to the UK and I can prove (with my bank passbook and work permit) that I was working in Thailand within the last year that this is a possibility. What do you think?.. The only I didn't renew my work permit and left my employer when it expired was because I had a baby, would this gap of 10 months pose a problem and make this possible route (if I get a job asap and it meets the threshold amount that is!!)?

Also, just a note, I know that I don't need to take into account that we have a child for the financial element because she is a British Citizen and passport holder.

If the above is too complicated to apply based on then I could always put the above in as supporting documents instead and apply based on savings. From what I have read in the requirements I think that I can meet the requirements. I have approx 7000 pounds in my current and savings accounts and a further 30,000 pounds in NS&I Bonds. The problem is that I have this... I have held the bonds since 2008 but when I travelled back to England for a holiday in Jan 2013, I cashed them in asking them to make a cheque payable to my mother as I wasn't sure when I would next be returning to the UK (as it had already been 4+ years since my last trip home) and I wanted easy access to the money from Thailand but wanted to keep it with someone I trusted to send to me should I need it in an emergency (what with having a child and no health insurance). Now that I have returned I have bought NS&I bonds again with this money.

It states on the financial requirement section that any savings etc has to be held in the sponsors name for at least 6 months. This is my problem!!.. I have had these bonds for 5 years as I opened them before I left to live in Thailand to be with my boyfriend, with the exception of the 4 months that I cashed them to my mother and then reopened them. So technically I have had them for over 6 months.... but technically I haven't!!.. I can provide copies and letters from when I held the bonds up until the day I closed them and the same for when I reinvested the money back into the bonds recently.

So this is my dilemma!.. on what financial grounds do I apply for my boyfriends visa? Would it be acceptable if I applied based on the savings and bonds, explained the circumstances of the missing months in the Financial Appendix section 5, and then added into my supporting docs all of the paperwork for the bonds, my work permit for Thailand and Thai Bank Passbook (possible letter of employment / employment contract- if a get a job within the next month) and hope that the overall case will meet a favourable eye??...

I hope that someone on here can help me with this because I want to get this application right the first time and not have to be away from my boyfriend any longer and for our family to be reunited here, not to mention the money we have to spend on the application etc.

Any help / advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[MrZM]

I'm not 100%, but just as a thought would it not be easier to apply for a Fiancé visa.

Though you would have to get married within 6 months and then apply for settlement.

This would give you time together in the UK whilst solving all the financials.

I could be wrong. I'm sure one of the knowledgable ones can clarify sand help.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

From the details you have given, I don't think you can meet the financial requirement. A couple of reasons for saying this are:

Even if the fact that you were working in Thailand was accepted, then you have to have been earning at least 18,600 GBP a year, and I don't think you will have been.

Your savings don't meet the requirement. The bonds weren't under you control for the full 6 months. In addition the savings requirement that you need to show is at least 62,500 GBP.

In order to for you to qualify as the sponsor you are going to have to be in employment (earning at least 18,600 GBP a year) for a minimum of 6 months.

No amount of pleading special circumstances, etc will get the visa issued. The ECO has no discretion at all to issue visas that do not comply with the requirements.

In order to qualify for a partner visa, you must have been living together for at least 2 years, which you have. But, when you apply for the visa ( which could be in 6 months time), then you may not qualify as you have been apart for 6 months. You may have to apply for a fiance visa, as MrZM suggests. The financial requirements are the same though.

[JemEll]

I'm not 100%, but just as a thought would it not be easier to apply for a Fiancé visa.

Though you would have to get married within 6 months and then apply for settlement.

This would give you time together in the UK whilst solving all the financials.

I could be wrong. I'm sure one of the knowledgable ones can clarify sand help.

I know that I can apply for a fiancee visa as well but the financial implications still apply and I would have the extra bonus paying twice, firstly for the fiancee visa and then for the application after we marry. So no point to do this as just throwing money away and we don't want to marry just for a visa anyway, we have been together for so long and have a child together that we would like to plan our wedding day on our own terms no for a visa!.

Also the unmarried visa will allow him to work immediately upon arrival as opposed to waiting till we may and for the marriage visa to go through..

Thanks though

[7by7]

MrZM, a fiancé visa is a type of settlement visa.

• Fiance; need to show that couple will marry within 6 months of arrival in the UK.
• Spouse; need to be married
• Unmarried partner; need to have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least the 2 years prior to the application.

As they are all types of settlement visa, the financial requirements, and fee, are the same. But, as JemEll says, with a fiancé visa an extra application will need to be made, and paid for, in the UK after the marriage.

JemEll, one of the ridiculous aspects of these new requirements is that your partner's employment prospects and income once in the Uk are not taken into account at this stage. He could have a guaranteed job with a salary well in excess of the required minimum but the ECO would have no choice other than to ignore it!

However, his income can be used at the FLR stage after 2.5 years in the UK and again at the ILR stage after a further 2.5 years in the UK.

If you cannot at this stage meet the financial requirement but do have a job yourself in the UK with at least the required salary, then one possibility would be a visit visa for your partner so he can at least spend the 6 months you need to have been working in the UK with you; which would not mean a break in your living together.

But if he did that he would not be allowed to work and would have to return to Thailand to apply for settlement.

You would also have to prepare his visit application very carefully to convince the ECO that he will return to Thailand when his visit visa expires and he is not trying to by pass the settlement rules.

[MrZM]

The only reason I suggested a Fiancé Visa, as the ECO my be lenient towards your current financial status of which you intend to rectify with future income and current savings.

As the ECO would know you would be applying again in 6 months time, the likelihood is you will meet the requirements.

But this is me thinking logically.

You should not look at it as marrying for the sake of obtaining a visa, you should look at it at marrying for the sake of your future as a family.

Only my opinion.

Thanks

[7by7]

Unfortunately, as TVE said earlier, the ECO has absolutely no discretion in this matter.

The government have laid down strict financial requirements for family settlement, albeit with a number of ways and combinations of ways of meeting them.

If those requirements are not met then the ECO has absolutely no choice; s/he must refuse.

[MrZM]

As I said I was thinking logically.

But 7by7 is right. The best option is to apply for a visit visa therefore you will be together for 6 months and your partner can return to apply for a settlement visa.

[wooloomooloo]

But 7by7 is right. The best option is to apply for a visit visa therefore you will be together for 6 months and your partner can return to apply for a settlement visa.

Visit visa is not the problem. If the OP is unable to meet the financial requirement for settlement now or in six months time changes nothing.

[MrZM]

TVE or 7by7.

As they have a child together and if they were to get married, I have heard before that the partner of which the child is in education in the UK, that it was possible to obtain a 1 year visa to stay.

I forget the name of the visa.

[JemEll]

Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

I think the mistakes I have made with regards to my finances and a few small gaps have caused us to not be able to apply for the unmarried partner settlement visa at this time.

Although going through my Thai bank passbook I have calculated that I earnt 1.1 million baht (approx 26000 pounds) during the period I held my work permit from June 2011 until June 2012. But again I think because I only 1 month within the last 12 month requirement on this section, they probably won't count the monies I earnt.

The screw up with taking the money out of the bonds and putting them in my mothers name for those couple of months have also screwed me over a little.

So I'm thinking that maybe the best route to go will be to have my partner come over on a visitor visa for 6 months because we can then at least be together and he can look after our daughter whilst I work and gain the 6 month employment history, accumulate the 6 month duration required on my savings and investments and he can see what living in the UK is like for a longer period than our last holiday and go home to Thailand to see his family whilst we await is visa applciation.

The cost of 2 lots of return flights, visitor visa, followed by the unmarried settlement visa (which still will work out cheaper than doing the finacee with intent to marry and settle visa in total) and knowing that his applciation meets all of the requirements when we put it in after the 6 months and the added bonus of being together again soon (and having him to help with the baby so that I can work without the cost of child care). This makes a lot more sense than to apply and hoping for a compassionate eye for my situation that would meet requirements were it not for a few stupid mistake on my part.

As mentioned he came over on a vistor visa f- valid for 3 months (for a holiday for 7 weeks last year) so it should be simple enough to do this. But as 7by7 says I have to be really careful when I apply for a 6 month visitor visa for him this time that they don't think he is trying to bypass the system and settle. So when I apply, do you think I should apply for the Unmarried visitor visa and say in my letter of support that he is coming over to spend time in the UK for a longer period to see his daughter as I had to return here for work or something??..

He does have a son from a previous relationship who currently lives with his mother and he has a job to return to so I shouldn't think that they would refuse him as they allowed him the last visa with no worries and with all the evidence of realtionship that I previously stated I am able to provide.

Thanks for all your help. It's not the ideal outcome but I think it's the safest and least likely to cause a problem, plus I can get him to do the English test in Bangkok and TB test when he goes to Bangkok to stay with his friend before flying over for the 6 month visit.

Finally things are a little clearer in my head and I can apply in 6 months with a little less worry of refusal.

[JemEll]

Thanks everyone for your advice and help.

I think the mistakes I have made with regards to my finances and a few small gaps have caused us to not be able to apply for the unmarried partner settlement visa at this time.

Although going through my Thai bank passbook I have calculated that I earnt 1.1 million baht (approx 26000 pounds) during the period I held my work permit from June 2011 until June 2012. But again I think because I only 1 month within the last 12 month requirement on this section, they probably won't count the monies I earnt.

The screw up with taking the money out of the bonds and putting them in my mothers name for those couple of months have also screwed me over a little.

So I'm thinking that maybe the best route to go will be to have my partner come over on a visitor visa for 6 months because we can then at least be together and he can look after our daughter whilst I work and gain the 6 month employment history, accumulate the 6 month duration required on my savings and investments and he can see what living in the UK is like for a longer period than our last holiday and go home to Thailand to see his family whilst we await is visa applciation.

The cost of 2 lots of return flights, visitor visa, followed by the unmarried settlement visa (which still will work out cheaper than doing the finacee with intent to marry and settle visa in total) and knowing that his applciation meets all of the requirements when we put it in after the 6 months and the added bonus of being together again soon (and having him to help with the baby so that I can work without the cost of child care). This makes a lot more sense than to apply and hoping for a compassionate eye for my situation that would meet requirements were it not for a few stupid mistake on my part.

As mentioned he came over on a vistor visa f- valid for 3 months (for a holiday for 7 weeks last year) so it should be simple enough to do this. But as 7by7 says I have to be really careful when I apply for a 6 month visitor visa for him this time that they don't think he is trying to bypass the system and settle. So when I apply, do you think I should apply for the Unmarried visitor visa and say in my letter of support that he is coming over to spend time in the UK for a longer period to see his daughter as I had to return here for work or something??..

He does have a son from a previous relationship who currently lives with his mother and he has a job to return to so I shouldn't think that they would refuse him as they allowed him the last visa with no worries and with all the evidence of realtionship that I previously stated I am able to provide.

Thanks for all your help. It's not the ideal outcome but I think it's the safest and least likely to cause a problem, plus I can get him to do the English test in Bangkok and TB test when he goes to Bangkok to stay with his friend before flying over for the 6 month visit.

Finally things are a little clearer in my head and I can apply in 6 months with a little less worry of refusal.

Sorry just realised I said about him doing the TB test before he comes for his trip over on a visitor visa. I know that its only valid for 6 months prior to the settlement application we planned to do once he returns to Thailand after the 6 months here, so he will do it then. Just thought I would add this to save anyone time in letting me know that it will have expired by the time I do the settlement visa. He can just do the English test as it takes 3 weeks for them to send the certifiate anyway and will save time at a later date and is valid for 2 years from Vantage Siam for the BULAT. Ta for your help again J