Application for u.k visit visa for my Thai girlfriend

[theoldgit]

The crux of the refusal seems to be that there is no clear evidence that you actually lived together for the three months you claim, unfortunately your word counts for nothing as the ECO's only consider hard evidence, a receipt from a B&B clearly didn't convince the ECO that you were actually living together. Did she provide photographic evidence that you had met?

The other point of the refusal was her reason to return, she had been in her current job for about three months and has given it up to travel to the UK on holiday, so what were her reasons to return? Did she say what her plans for the future were, did she evidence this?

I cannot remember how long her proposed holiday was but I do recall you have not worked for some months as you were living off accrued savings, did you provide evidence of the funds available?

Feel free to repost the refusal notice after deleting personal details, as initially advised by Trevstar and of course7by7.

[jamo 99]

Refusal letter

[jamo 99]

At the embassy this agent guy asked if we wanted some free advice so we went to his office in the trendy building and he met ione the best way is to get married and he could sort it in a day with all documents for 12000 baht !! . Then we could apply for family visa which doesn't require as much evidence and the fact we are married confirms we are in a relationship . I asked him how long to get visa and he said by 25 or 26th of this month !! - scam do you think ?

[theoldgit]

Don't listen to the vulchers that hang around the Trendy building looking for pickings, if you feel that you need the services of an agent, ask on here.

Being married doesn't improve the chances of a visa when the core facts remain the same, you will have heard of marriages of convenience, well this is little more.

My advice is to stay well clear of "agents" like this.

By the way, you weren't at the Embassy, the Trendy building is just a glorified mail handling centre.

[7by7]

No agent is connected with or has any influence over the embassy.

No agent can guarantee a visa.

It may be easier to prove the relationship if married; but all the other requirements, including reason to return, still have to be met. Indeed, reason to return may be harder as she will need to convince the ECO that she will return and not remain in the UK with you, her husband, when her visa expires.

I cannot stress this last bit enough:

Do not get married just to get your girlfriend a visit visa for the UK!!!!!

Only marry because you both want to spend the rest of your lives together. You've known each other 5 months; are you both ready to make a lifetime commitment?

[7by7]

A quick read of the refusal seems to indicate that the main problem is lack of evidence of your relationship, that you live together and of your immigration status in Thailand.

What did she did she provide?

What did she say in the application and/or you say in your sponsor's letter about the reason for the visit your future intentions?

[bobrussell]

A bit depressing but not the end of the world. We put in an equally thin application first time and received a rejection for similar reasons.

Photograph everything, one for you, one for her and one for the ECO (on second thoughts perhaps don't photograph everything!). Document your life together. Why are you in Thailand, what do you do and what right do you have being there? If you can document a life together in Thailand you have almost covered reasons to return.

If necessary use the old chestnut "would not want to jeapardise future applications".

The two of you must convince the ECO that all is as documented.

A further application (perhaps a bit later) in itself, supports the genuineness of a relationship. A very nice man from the Embassy told me this (when you could speak to very nice men at the Embassy) together with the importance of photographs etc.

As 7by7 says letting the ECO know your future intentions helps to build up the big picture. DO NOT get married to get a visa. She is likely to have it refused and you will be married! Get married only if and when you want too!

It may take a bit of time but I have confidence you will get there! Don't get disheartened but do check the visa basics in the pinned topics. It is knowledge built up by the "been there, seen it, got the T shirt" brigade.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

At the embassy this agent guy asked if we wanted some free advice so we went to his office in the trendy building and he met ione the best way is to get married and he could sort it in a day with all documents for 12000 baht !! . Then we could apply for family visa which doesn't require as much evidence and the fact we are married confirms we are in a relationship . I asked him how long to get visa and he said by 25 or 26th of this month !! - scam do you think ?

There is no such thing as free advice, except from this forum ! Don't use those agents at Trendy, as they don't really care if you get the visa or not. They take their fee upfront. I didn't get involved in your original post as you received some good advice already from the likes of 7x7, and you seemed to be confident about your application. It's always difficult to decide whether to pay an agent, or save the money, but had you used our services you would either have the visa or it would have not cost you a penny. We offer a genuine "no-visa, no-fee" service.

However, if you want to apply again, then you need to address the reasons for refusal. As 7x7 says, the main reasons are that you did not provide (sufficient) evidence of the relationship, nor that you actually live together, etc. These reasons should be reasonably easy to overcome, but maybe not in the very short term. But, if you do have evidence of the relationship, then you might be able to get things going fairly soon. For instance, if you met on a a dating website, then there should be evidence of that ? Your online profiles at the website, chat, emails, etc ? Once the initial contact is documented, then the probability of everything you are saying becomes higher. I do know, from other visa applicants, that some websites, like "Love Links" delete all data after 3 months, so you might have a problem.

Regarding your girlfriends job, that is now a fairly heavy negative point in the next application. Obviously, she has nothing to come back to job-wise. However, if you are supporting her financially, and you can prove it, that might help, and it does, of course, help to establish your relationship.

The ECO is also looking at you as a sponsor. You have been here some time. What is your status ? If you are a visa - runner, then the ECO might think that you have little regard for the "conventions" of Thai immigration law. He could argue ( because he can pretty much think what he likes) that you might have the same outlook on UK immigration law too, so how could he accept your word that your girlfriend will leave the UK at the end of her visit. If he doesn't say it, he will surely be thinking it. If you have no "status" in Thailand, then you can't really show any evidence that you plan to return here with your girlfriend ( if that was the plan).

There are lots of things that need strengthening in your next application. You will continue to get some good advice on this forum, but try not to go to one of the vultures at Trendy.

Tony M