vist visa for thai girlfriend and our son

[munkifeet]

hello i'm new to all this so bare with me

I have a thai girlfriend and we have a 3 month old son together we have known each other for the last 14 months 9 of which we have spent together including the birth of my boy i am back in the UK at moment sorting work out would like my girlfriend to come live with me at my mothers house due to lack of funds my mother is willing to sponsor her. my mother come to thailand for one month to visit me and my girlfriend at the family house we are very much in love and don't want to spend any time apart also would not want to miss out on my child growing up. i have read through lots of threads over last year some helpful some not. none so far mention anything about visit visa for mother and child together.

evidence i have so far

lots of pictures of family events dad becoming a monk, song kran visiting temple to see dad with my mother all in pictures

hotel bookings

flight bookings

car hire bookings for one month

mothers six month bank statements

tenancy agreements mothers

not so much emails or texts due to the amount of time we have been with each other side by side

sponsor letter from mother

letter from me

letters from both sides of family

no reason to return i have been spending six months of a year in thailand for last 3 yrs and intend to carry on doing so working part time in uk

any info would be massively helpful by any one who has been in similar situation

or knows any helpful tips been to government websites nothing on mother and child together

thanks for your time

[theoldgit]

First of all there's a lot of good information here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/446602-uk-visit-visa-basics/ you might want to have a look through it.

Secondly, if you are registered as the father of the child he may be entitled to a British Passport, I realise there are problems with passport applications at the moment, but possession of a British Passport but will negate the need for a visa for the child.

Regarding the visa for your girlfriend you talk about a visit visa but you also talk about her living with you at your mothers house as you don't want to miss your child growing up, so how long does she want to visit for? Visit visas are just that, they are normally issued to an applicant who wishes to visit the UK for a holiday, and when applying your girlfriend needs to satisfy that it is a genuine visit, it's affordable and that she will return home at the conclusion of her holiday. There is a danger, in what you describe, that the ECO may feel that she is trying to circumnavigate the settlement route.

So back to your girlfriends application, the main thing you have missed out is her ties to Thailand, does she work, study or have a business, if so she needs to demonstrate this, but she certainly needs to evidence her ties.

You indicate that you spend a great deal of time here, what do you do in Thailand, as you mention lack of funds how do you finance your stays?

How long is your girlfriends proposed trip, two weeks, one month? anything above that and it will start ring alarm bells, visas are routinely issued for six months, and whilst it wouldn't breach Immigration Rules to stay the full duration of the visa, if this is the intention it should be detailed in the application. What does she intend doing in the UK, sightseeing, visiting family and friends, she needs to demonstrate she is going on holiday.

[munkifeet]

cheers for info as i said before i'm new to this and the letter is a work in practice. been racking my head with this for a long while now have a few things outstanding. reasons to return is quite weak she has worked for last five years but can't anymore due to baby being only 3 months old. tried to get evidence of old employer no joy the only reason i can give is we do not want to jeopardise any future plans for a settlement visa. due to my working situation not being stable at the moment i'm not sure if i will be working full time or part time if full time will be applying for settlement visa if part time will have to apply for holiday visas in till circumstances change i'm not working at present but am confidant i will be in winter as i work as a heating engineer. this is the reason why i have to do a joint sponsorship with my mother who has the accommodation and money to support the application. been living of savings i had from previous work due to lending money out when i was working i have no financial records for the last year. i also have borrowed money of family for last trip all money borrowed was in cash as well. would letters from family members suffice or would they want bank records to show money transfers don't have any records unfortunately. looking into passport for the nippa not sure if i need to be there at office to apply. looked into it while i was back in thailand did not have long version of birth cert. due to age of child do you think the child will go on mothers visa or is that a separate visa application. would like my girlfriend and our child to come over for 6 months in this time i'm hoping to get the necessary paperwork ready for settlement visa trying my best to eliminate our time apart. if unable to get necessary paperwork ready for settlement visa i will have to work part time in UK and live part time Thailand as i am not willing to miss out on time with my girlfriend and my child's up bringing seems like a bit of a piss in the wind but you gotta give it a go. would apply for family visa but you have to know each other for two years minimum. sorry for the babble any further advice would be much appreciated.

[meatboy]

I think you may have a rough time trying to satisfy the eco with your application as every thing regarding finance is mothers.

you say tenancy agreement does that mean you live in rented accommodation.

also you need bank statements of your own.

who is supporting your gf.and son.[you need proof of that]

as for mentioning borrowing from family that would be a no no.as you have no way of paying it back.

I feel for you but going on what you have said you do need your own finances and a job.before you should consider making an application for a visit.

good luck.

Edited June 28, 2014 by meatboy

[7by7]

cheers for info as i said before i'm new to this and the letter is a work in practice. been racking my head with this for a long while now have a few things outstanding. reasons to return is quite weak she has worked for last five years but can't anymore due to baby being only 3 months old. tried to get evidence of old employer no joy the only reason i can give is we do not want to jeopardise any future plans for a settlement visa. due to my working situation not being stable at the moment i'm not sure if i will be working full time or part time if full time will be applying for settlement visa if part time will have to apply for holiday visas in till circumstances change i'm not working at present but am confidant i will be in winter as i work as a heating engineer. this is the reason why i have to do a joint sponsorship with my mother who has the accommodation and money to support the application. been living of savings i had from previous work due to lending money out when i was working i have no financial records for the last year. i also have borrowed money of family for last trip all money borrowed was in cash as well. would letters from family members suffice or would they want bank records to show money transfers don't have any records unfortunately. looking into passport for the nippa not sure if i need to be there at office to apply. looked into it while i was back in thailand did not have long version of birth cert. due to age of child do you think the child will go on mothers visa or is that a separate visa application. would like my girlfriend and our child to come over for 6 months in this time i'm hoping to get the necessary paperwork ready for settlement visa trying my best to eliminate our time apart. if unable to get necessary paperwork ready for settlement visa i will have to work part time in UK and live part time Thailand as i am not willing to miss out on time with my girlfriend and my child's up bringing seems like a bit of a piss in the wind but you gotta give it a go. would apply for family visa but you have to know each other for two years minimum. sorry for the babble any further advice would be much appreciated.

With respect, the lack of punctuation, especially paragraphs, makes the above difficult to read; so apols if I've missed anything.

In my opinion, firstly you and she should marry. To qualify as your unmarried partner the two of you would need to have been living together outside the UK for at least two years. But only marry if you want to spend the rest of your lives together; don't marry just to get her a UK visa, even though you have a child together.

At the same time, get your long form birth certificate from the GRO and apply for a British passport for the child. As far as I am aware, though the application will need to be made in Thailand, as that is where the child currently lives, you don't have to be there. You can send the necessary documents to your girlfriend.

Children, even infants, cannot be added to their parents visa application; they have to make a separate application, including paying another fee. Plus, for a settlement application, the financial requirement is higher if a child is applying as well. British children are not included in the financial requirement.

Then you return to the UK and find a job paying at least £18,600 p.a. and when you've been in that job for 6 months she applies for a settlement visa so she can come and join you.

There is no reason why she cannot apply for a visit visa so she and the child can be in the UK with you for that 6 months; but she would need to convince the ECO that she will leave the UK when the visa expires. Visit visas cannot be converted to settlement in the UK. She will need to return to Thailand and apply there.

If such employment for you is not possible, then you would need to have held at least £62,500 in savings for at least 6 months prior to her applying. The money must be yours, hers or belong to both of you jointly. Loans from a third party are not acceptable, but gifts are; provided you can prove the money is a gift and has been in your possession for at least 6 months.

See UK settlement visa basics for more.

If neither of the above is possible, then I'm afraid your only option is for her to remain in Thailand and for you to regularly visit her until such time as you can meet the financial requirement; either through income or savings.

In that situation, whether the child lives in Thailand with her or the UK with you is a decision only the two of you can make.

[munkifeet]

Thanks you for your feed back

I did contact the VFS in regards to joint visa of mother and infant no reply as yet. Looking quite likely that i will have to get passport for little man sorted before applying.

A holiday visa is the most likely one for time being due to money and work. in regards to who can sponsor there does not seem to be a block on joint sponsorship of my girlfriend. I am aware of the limitations of my application in an ideal world all of the requirements would have been met by myself but that is not he case.

Seems to be a bit of a mixed bag on joint sponsorship some say yay some say nay obviously I am the relationship side of the sponsor and my mother is the financial backer

which does cover the requirement of what immigration are asking just not from one person.

I know my financial situation at the moment is poor hence the reason for a joint sponsorship with my mother I was fully pre paired for the six month wait for my finances to recoup but my mother offered so i thought i would investigate

any info by anyone who has been in a similar situation would be most helpful

[wooloomooloo]

In the long run, maybe six months in Thailand and the remainder in the UK aren't doing you any favours.

Your child is only three months old so plenty of time to get a regular full time job and get your head down over the next few years ensuring your income flows in and out of your bank account.

You won't get too far with back to back visit visas anyway and you are unmarried so your options are obviously severely limited and limited to carrying on as you are or getting married and applying for settlement once you've sorted yourself out [that's assuming you both want to marry for the right reasons].

i understand where you are coming from but your life in the UK is so transient that you and your girlfriend have little hope of being together in the UK as it stands.

Some hard choices for you both but you have to start looking at the longer term rather than the quick fix.

[7by7]

I did contact the VFS in regards to joint visa of mother and infant no reply as yet. Looking quite likely that i will have to get passport for little man sorted before applying.

As already said to you

Children, even infants, cannot be added to their parents visa application; they have to make a separate application, including paying another fee. Plus, for a settlement application, the financial requirement is higher if a child is applying as well. British children are not included in the financial requirement.

So, get him a British passport (see here) then he wont need a visa for the UK, visit or settlement, and when/if his mother applies for UK settlement you will only need to meet the financial requirement for a spouse, not the higher one for a spouse and child.

Obvioulsy, you should get him a Thai passport as well so he can also enter Thailand without restriction.

Edited June 29, 2014 by 7by7