UK family visit visa - proof of relationship

[Tine]

I was hoping that someone would be able to help me out with this. i am bit confused.

First let me give you some background. I met my husband (he is from the philippines) 5years ago in Thailand and we have stayed together in Thailand since we met. In January we had a baby together and we got married this month. We have been working in thailand for at least the past five years, we decided that it was time to go to England. My husband will be applying for a family visit visa first to see if he likes England and to see if he could possibly live there in the future and he will also be taking care of our son while i will be working

I have read on this forum of people talking about proof of a relationship. do i need to submit documents of proof of our relationship? if so what documents do i need. I looked on the UKBA website and could not find anything about proving our relationship. so i feel a bit confused.

also we are planning to leave our jobs here in thailand. he will go to england with me for 6 months and after that he is planning to go back to the philippines, to see his family and hopefully apply for a settlement visa (that is if he likes England enough). does he need to provide proof of return, because i am worried that he wont have any. will it be enough just to say that he is going to leave as he doesnt want to jeopardise any future visa applications. i feel a bit worried he might be denied for this reason. any advice would be gratefully appreciated

[theoldgit]

Normally it would be phone calls, proof of contact etc, but that won't be appropriate in your case.

I have lived with my partner in Thailand for a number of years, so was in the same position as you, except for the baby.

When my partner successfully applied for her visas she demonstrated our life together here in Thailand. Our condo is leased jointly and has been for seven years, we have a joint credit card and bank accounts as well as evidence of mail delivered to both of us at our address.

We have travelled throughout Thailand and Asia, so supplied photographs of us together, only supplied one for each overseas trip.

I assume your husband is named on your child birth certificate, I would think that would be pretty compelling evidence.

I think your biggest hurdle, and you have already picked up on it, are the reasons to return. You have a life in Thailand and you intend to give up your jobs here and go on holiday for six months, to ascertain if your husband will like it.

The Entry Clearance Officer may well be forgiven for thinking that you are using the visit visa route to circumnavigate the settlement route, put yourself in their shoes.

I'm not saying it cannot be done and what you suggest isn't unreasonable, but is six months really necessary? what would happen if he didn't like it?

[Tine]

Thank you very much for your reply. Well it's not going to be too much of a holiday. I actually plan to get a job during the time we are there. Because if my husband does decide he wants to go back to the Philippines and apply for his settlement visa while he is there we won't need to be apart for a long time. I heard that I need to be working at a salary for a minimum of 6 months at a salary of 18600 in order to be granted a settlement visa. So this is the reason why I wanted him to be with me for six months so if he does want to come back we would only be apart for a couple of months. Also as I will be working I would need him to help take care of our soon.

Is it possible to apply for three months to see if he likes it and then extend for three months if he wants to stay a bit longer? Or would this go against any future visa applications? Thanks again for your help.

[bobrussell]

Sadly I suspect from your second post it will be quite difficult to get a visit visa as it will be tough demonstrating reasons to return. If your husband comes to the UK why would he want to return to the Philippines, leaving wife and child? This is how an ECO is likely to view the application. My advice would be to contact ThaiVisa Express or another trustworthy agent (if there is one!) to get a professional opinion.

A visit visa cannot be extended in the UK but extending a three month visit to six (although legal to do as the visit visa has six months validity) might require a bit of explaining should a further visit visa application be made. I doubt it would have an impact on a later settlement visa though.

Edited July 29, 2014 by bobrussell

[Paul888]

I understand how something like this might look to an ECO but in this case it does strike me that Tine's 'plan" is actually based on a degree of logic and/or common sense. Clearly she ultimately wants to settle back In UK with her husband and baby but at the moment she is not in a position to qualify as sponsor on a settlement visa and so she must find a way to keep her family together while she gets herself into a position where she can.

There must be many people in similar situations, but also I am sure many people ready to abuse any discretionary powers that ECO's may hold so it's one of those see both sides cases for me.

I wish you luck Tine.

[7by7]

I assume your husband is named on your child birth certificate, I would think that would be pretty compelling evidence.

As would the marriage certificate!

Tine, unfortunately you are in the same position as many returning ex pats who are married to a non EEA national.

As you say, you need to have been working in the UK with a salary of at least £18,600 for 6 months before your husband can apply for settlement ( unless you have cash savings between you of at least £62,500) and do not want to be separated during that time; especially as you have a child.

As others have said, your husband needs to convince the ECO that he is not trying to circumvent the settlement rules and will leave the UK at the end of his visit so that, assuming you by then meet the financial requirement, he can then apply for settlement..

All I can suggest is that in your sponsor's letter you explain why you, he and your child want to be together as a family for as long as possible and that you both understand the rules and will comply with them.

Personally, I would not say that he wants to come to the UK to see if he likes it, as this could raise questions about what you and your child would do if he decided he didn't.

[Tine]

So just to confirm, it's best to be completely honest with them and tell them that we want to go to the uk so we can be together as long as possible, and I can be working while my husband will take care of the baby for 6 months and also we can be close to our family. I will also explain that I understand it is only a six month visa and he will go back to the Philippines at the end of the six month period and explain we want to be together for as long as possible and after I have filled the requiremnts for the settlement visa he will apply for that from the Philippines.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I am going to take all your advice on board. I really hope he is able to get the visa so all fingers will be crossed.

[bobrussell]

My suggestion would be that you get professional advice from someone with a lot of experience at phrasing things in a way that is more likely to be accepted by the ECO!

You must be honest at all stages but if the ECO feels six months is an attempt to by pass the settlement rules, you are going to have a heck of a job convincing him or her with a further application following a refusal.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

It would be an interesting application to deal with, as there are already quite a few questions that spring to mind For instance :

You have both been working in Thailand. Does your husband have a work permit ? With respect, if not, then this will throw doubts on his credibility as a genuine visitor to the UK. The visa officer will argue that, if your husband has worked illegally in Thailand, then he might do so in the UK too.

Do you have work permit ? If so, have you been earning enough to qualify already as a sponsor ( ie have you been earning the equivalent of 18,600 GBP a year ) ?

You will need to come up with reasons why your husband will leave the UK after 6 months. They will need to be reasons for him to return to the Philippines, not to Thailand, of course.

You will need to explain what will happen to your child when your husband leaves the UK. You will be working, so who will look after your child ?

It's possible that the ECO will take the view that your husband is not a visitor to the UK if his intention is to be a child minder while you go out to work. That would be an interesting point to argue in the application.

There will be a lot more, I think.

Tony M