No wedding/Sinsod.. Say I'm married at amphur.. Who thinks she come uk on spous

[dave25]

Hi

I can't afford big wedding thai style or Sinsod, Then a uk wedding .

I want to get my girl into uk to be together all the time , we are on uk tourist visa at the mo. 2 years together.

If we are married on paper at the amphur office she qualifies for a spouse visa.

She is happy to do this then have a wedding when we can afford it.

We are both in early 20's and visa fees are expensive. We starting a new life together .

I want to get her here as quick , cheap and easiest way.

Not having a big wedding but being married in paper..

Has anyone done this?

Who thinks it will work?

[steve187]

yes i got married at local amphur only, if you marry in an amphur, you are married and can not get married again in the uk.

will it work? - how long is a piece of string!!

good luck

[wooloomooloo]

If we are married on paper at the amphur office she qualifies for a spouse visa.

Your wife would qualify to apply for a settlement visa through marriage to you but wouldn't qualify to get on the next flight to UK as soon as you are both married.

And a visa application is anything but cheap and could fail. One thing is for certain - you'll need £1000 give or take a few quid for a settlement visa application and will wave goodbye to it whatever the outcome.

Edited July 11, 2013 by wooloomooloo

[TCA]

if you marry in an amphur, you are married and cannot get married again in the uk.

Hadn't really thought about this. Obviously no way they could check but do you have to make some declaration of singledom along the lines of the freedom of affirmation to marry in Thailand? How would they know if your Thai wife retained her maiden name?

Not suggesting any such thing. Just wondering.

BTW, I got married at an amphur. No sinsod and no wedding party. All depends on your lady and your priorities.

[beano2274]

You will need an Affirmation to Marry from the British Embassy in Bangkok, then get this translated and certified at the MFA, then you can go to the Amphur and get married, there they might ask for some witnesses, or pay some of the staff to be witnesses. Your future wife will need her ID card and her Tambien Baan (Blue book).

You can have a church blessing in the UK. But do you have the correct amount of cash savings or job so that your future wife can go to the UK to live permanently with you? Settlement visa fees are expensive, and also proof of the required amount of cash, that you must have.

[dave25]

Yeah I'm on 25-30 k a year. Self employed. 2 year relationship. She been here uk on tourist visa.

Have accommodation shared with my parents to live . They own property no mortgage. ( this is where she stayed before)

I have no savings but an afford visa stuff . Once she got here we shall save for a house and start new life together hopefully .

[meatboy]

Yeah I'm on 25-30 k a year. Self employed. 2 year relationship. She been here uk on tourist visa.

Have accommodation shared with my parents to live . They own property no mortgage. ( this is where she stayed before)

I have no savings but an afford visa stuff . Once she got here we shall save for a house and start new life together hopefully .

dave your goner struggle from the start,you need to put everything down on paper[cost]and search what you need and your future wife before you apply.you will need an accountants report on your earnings and proof eg.bank statements,you say you have no savings that will go against you expecially as your self employed,the cost of the application after your married and if she's successfull there's the flights.does her family know that you cant afford the sinsod?has she a job,there is so much to consider,you need to do a realality test

marrying into a thai family is not a bed of roses as you will soon find out.

good luck to you just take it easy.t.i.t.[taffy in thailand]

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Yeah I'm on 25-30 k a year. Self employed. 2 year relationship. She been here uk on tourist visa.

Have accommodation shared with my parents to live . They own property no mortgage. ( this is where she stayed before)

I have no savings but an afford visa stuff . Once she got here we shall save for a house and start new life together hopefully .

Don't think the UK count self-employed as having any income, so no VISA. I could be wrong.

[NanLaew]

^ Self-employed is not unemployed! As mentioned earlier, proof of income, tax paid, etc., will need to be furnished. The OP says that his partner already has visited the UK so we can assume that his self-employed status, earnings and banking passed muster for that visa application if he was sponsoring the visit.* The costs of the settlement visa are considerably more so maybe consider at least another couple of years of visit visa travel whilst savings can be accrued and the 'new life' planning can get a more thorough vetting and preparation.

Back to the point in the OP; the marriage registered at the Amphur will facilitate the settlement visa application whereas the Buddhist marriage ceremony alone would not. Sin sod has absolutely no relevance in this instance. Also note that getting married 'twice' although a nice idea, is sometimes precluded by local laws. The Thai marriage registered at the Amphur will already be recognised in the UK so any UK 'wedding' will just be the ceremony only; no need for registration, pretty much the same as any Buddhist bash in Thailand.

Good luck!

* Just re-read the OP's post where he says she visited the UK on a Tourist visa so maybe he wasn't a sponsor? His financial bona fides may not have been tested as rigorously, if at all. with regard to being her sponsor.

Edited July 12, 2013 by NanLaew

[dave25]

Sorry Meatboy but I'm 25 . I presume your an older man, what savings did you have at 25?? I don't know off many young people in the uk my age with large savings.

Are you trying to say they would deny every young western Thai couple the right because they do not have savings. That is completely untrue as I have read many stories on here and other websites where families have succeeded in bringing there wife's and families to the uk without savings.

The new law states you can have third party accommodation and earn over £18600 if you don't have savings.

Is this true ?

[7by7]

The ampur registration is the legal marriage in Thailand and, under the Foreign Marriages Act 1892, is recognised as a legal marriage in the UK.

So the UK would consider you married and she your spouse therefore she would apply as your spouse.

I suggest that you read UK Settlement Visa Basics and the financial requirements for the self employed.

You will see that you need to have had an income of at least £18,600 for the last full financial year and will need to supply the specified evidence to prove it.

Meatboy, whether the sponsor has any savings or not will not aid nor hinder the application. Unless the sponsor's income is below £18,600 and they need to supplement this with savings above £16,000.

Irrelevant in the OP's case, though, as the self employed cannot combine income and savings to meet the requirement.

[Kevin1908]

If you are self employed and stuffing cash under the mattress then you will have a problem. If you are squeakie clean then phone up HMRC and ask them to send you your SA302 for the last tax year. Then all you have to do is show how much you have earnt this year.

You need a good paper trail. I am not sure if they forensically check that pay slips match what goes into bank account, I don't see how that have time but everything should match.

[meatboy]

Sorry Meatboy but I'm 25 . I presume your an older man, what savings did you have at 25?? I don't know off many young people in the uk my age with large savings.

Are you trying to say they would deny every young western Thai couple the right because they do not have savings. That is completely untrue as I have read many stories on here and other websites where families have succeeded in bringing there wife's and families to the uk without savings.

The new law states you can have third party accommodation and earn over £18600 if you don't have savings.

Is this true ?

sorry dave regarding savings but you need a substancial amount to cover all expencess,you have to travel to thailand,your accommodation,taxi fares,gifts for the family,

fights,thailand is not cheap anymore

and not forgetting the visa application.what did i have at 25 same as you a job and no savings,but 20yrs.later i had a healthy bank balance,now 23yrs.later a lovely thai wf.married 23yrs.a lovely home in th.and still have that healthy bank balance.after seeing many successful relationships in thailand over the past 30yrs.the failed ones totaly outwheigh them mainly due to money.but once again dave good luck.

[dave25]

Meatboy.

I'm gonna be successful , I have not got savings, like you also didn't but your still with your wife after 23 yrs, so I believe I will be. I love my gf and she means everything to me and I'm not going to let anything stop us. From what I've read for requirements I feel I have,like I told you I have already succeeded in a tourist visa first time and can't see that the expenses for a marriage visa will be that much in difference

Dave

[7by7]

The financial requirements for a spouse settlement visa are completely different, and much stricter, than those for a visit visa.

Make sure you are able to meet them and that you provide the required evidence to show that you do.

The ECOs have absolutely no discretion on this; if you don't meet the requirement and provide the specified evidence to show that you do; they must refuse.

The only leeway is that if you fail to provide a specified document in the original application they can ask for it; but they are not obliged to. The onus is on applicant and sponsor to ensure the application is complete.

[meatboy]

Meatboy.

I'm gonna be successful , I have not got savings, like you also didn't but your still with your wife after 23 yrs, so I believe I will be. I love my gf and she means everything to me and I'm not going to let anything stop us. From what I've read for requirements I feel I have,like I told you I have already succeeded in a tourist visa first time and can't see that the expenses for a marriage visa will be that much in difference

Dave

yes dave i admire your enthusiasm,but as 7by7 says applying for a spouse visa is a totally diff.ball game.back when my wf.applied[1990] it was not so difficult then as long as you supplied the needed documents.my wf.had a job,never been married,no children and no family to support,so her side of it was easy,its what i had to produce that mattered.

i was doing sub-contract work then so if it was no work no pay,i gave them accomodation details,3yrs bank statements,reference from the bank manager,character ref.forwarding jobs,

plus i had already 11 stamps of entry into thailand so i was not a first or second time visitor.i dont know how of who does the interviewing at the embassey but those days the husband was normally interviewed as well,but as i made sure i had everything [papers] to support my wf's application we were in and out in 20mins.i was not even called in.

so make sure and listern to all your being told before you get married and your then wf.has her story and yours spot on,and one last thing its a good thing if she can speak and understand english.

[theoldgit]

These days there is no interview the application is decided on the evidence submitted.

It doesn't matter if she has visited before or not, if she you can prove that she meets the criteria she will be granted her visa, if you can't she will not, as 7by7 points out, the ECO's have no discretion.