5 year family visitor visa question.

[dave bangkok]

Hi guys,

I will be resettling back to the UK at the end of the year. The main reason is that I want my daughter who also has a British passport to attend high school there. My wife of 13 years will be accompanying us to help get our daughter settled but needs to come back to Thailand to take care of family and business matters. We have decided on going for the 5 year family visitor visa as she will be spending a great deal of time back here in Bangkok so a settlement visa is out of the question.

We traveled back to the Uk last year and was granted the 6 month visa no problem and she was also given one over ten years ago which didn’t get used due to a family emergency.

The problem that I have is that we are going to rent somewhere to begin with and then possibly look at buying in the future. We will be staying with my sister for a couple of weeks whilst we choose a school for our daughter and get a place to live sorted. With this in mind I’m confused as to who I should put down as my wife’s sponsor as I don’t have a fixed address and I’ll only be staying with my sister for a few weeks at most.

We wont have a rental agreement as obviously we want to check out the best option for schools and don’t want to commit to living in a place that we haven’t even viewed.

I have rung the visa helpline and they basically told me to just write about my situation in the additonal information section on the aplication form. They didnt seem to know much else about it.

Not sure if I should go for the 5 year one as obviously its quite expensive should it go pear shaped. Just wandering if anybody else has had any similar experience with this and what advise you guys have.

Cheers.

Edited August 28, 2013 by dave bangkok

[7by7]

In a visa application the sponsor is not the person providing the finance and/or accommodation; it is the main person supporting the application; the person who is the reason for the applicant wanting to enter the UK if you will.

That'll be you.

But if your sister is providing the accommodation she should write a letter confirming this and describing the property and who already lives there to show that there is room. It will help if she can provide evidence of ownership, such as a mortgage statement, if she owns; or a letter from her landlord confirming you all can stay there if she rents.

Which is presumably similar to what you did when you all visited last year.

If you can convince the ECO that your wife has a genuine reason for making regular visits to the UK then they should issue her with a 5, or even if she asks for it a 10, year visit visa. See VAT1.4 Visa validity - What period for a multiple entry visit visa?

But, and IMHO it's a big but, her husband and her daughter are returning to the UK to live.

She needs to convince the ECO that she will spend no more than 6 months per visit in the UK and, although this isn't a rule, no more than 6 months out of any 12 in the UK as a visitor. See VAT1.5 Frequency and duration of visits

In other words that she will be a genuine visitor and is not attempting to use a long term visit visa to by pass the settlement rules.

So you and she need to explain in the application why she is remaining in Thailand and does not wish to live in the UK with her husband and daughter; and provide as much evidence to support her reasons as you can.

Edited August 28, 2013 by 7by7

[dave bangkok]

Cheers for the reply.

The reason to return isn't much of an issue for us as my wife has a successful business here in Bangkok that she needs to attend to.The main issue is stating my future address when it's liable to change. I presumed that after scouring through the UKBA site that the place that my wife will be staying at is a big deal for the ECO. I'm thinking whether it might be better to get a some kind of short term rental agreement with an estate agent to begin with to put down as an initial place of residence for us to start off?

Edited August 28, 2013 by dave bangkok

[7by7]

The 'big deal' for the ECO is that your wife will be adequately accommodated while she is in the UK; the actual address is not that important.

Rather than making it complicated, I'd simply explain that you and your daughter will be staying in the UK to live while your wife will be returning to Thailand and that you will be staying with your sister initially until you have arranged suitable accommodation for yourselves.

[Arkady]

Personally I think the British system of stealing the money, if a longer term visa is denied is an absolute disgrace. There is no justification for it. Just reimburse the difference minus a small administration fee, if you must. The Americans charge a flat fee and give everyone a 10 year visa for that, unless the ECO sees a good reason to give less, in which case there is no refund but then the flat fee is similar to what the UK charges for a 6 month visa. The arguments about having to recover costs clearly don't apply as the cost of issuing a 10 year visa is about the same as the cost of issuing a 6 month visa.

I took the risk of applying for a 10 year UK family visit visa for my wife and she got it but I don't thing I would want to risk the money in your case. The fact that I have a work permit in Thailand and am a permanent resident and she has a job too amounted to strong evidence that we would not seek to settle in the UK as a couple. In your case you are in fact re-settling there yourself which they might easily see with some justification as strong motivation for your wife to want to do the same, regardless of ties in Thailand.

Unfortunately there is no longer any advantage in the family visit visa over a tourist visa, since the government disgracefully withdrew the right to appeal denials in court.

[dave bangkok]

Yes a lot to ponder.

I was also advised that it might be best to try for a two year visa first as it might be easier to obtain in our circumstances. I suppose the fact that her daughter will be settling into a new school and way of life would justify her being able to visit and offer support to her if needed.

[7by7]

It could just as easily be seen as a reason for your wife to remain in the UK and not return to Thailand.

In other words, a reason to refuse a visit visa application from her.

This application needs careful preparation, and maybe some professional advice.

Perhaps a PM to ThaiVisaExpress would be a good idea.

Edited August 29, 2013 by 7by7