Immigration Procedure For Thai Into The U.k.

[Unwell]

greetings all,

i posted this on another forum and was pointed this way for the best advice. in particular i was encouraged to see if a certain mr. scouser would assist me beings as he "knows his visa shit inside out"...

anyway, next year i'd like to return to the u.k. with my wife to study for my p.g.c.e. qualification. we think we'd like to stay for quite a number of years afterwards, no rush to return back to thailand. my wife has both a degree and a masters degree from a british university and has spent about ten years there on student visas from about 1991 to 2001. she doesn't have a (u.k.) job right now but is trying to land one before she gets there; it's very possible that she'll be able to land a gig at the same university i intend to study in.

sooooooooooooo, what's the scoop? what does she need? what does she need to prove? how about the process?

i'm sorry my questions may appear more than vague, to be honest we're both just at the start of this process, i haven't done much background reading on the situation, gonna start today.

any contributions you may have will be gratefully recieved.

cheers thai visa...

[vinny]

Assuming you are British or settled in the UK, see also

Guidance - Husbands, wives and partners (INF 4),

13.5 Spouses/civil partners and how they qualify,

Visa Application Centre's Settlement - Spouse checklist.

Edited August 19, 2006 by vinny

[Unwell]

cheers vinny.

i'm british but currently in thailand, not the u.k., think that makes a difference?

[vinny]

British citizens have automatic Right of Abode and are treated as "settled" (i.e. no time limits) for immigration purposes when in the UK. The links and guidance above would be applicable.

Edited August 19, 2006 by vinny

[Unwell]

ok, excuse my ignorance. are we talking about her or me?

i'm assuming i automatically have 'right of abode' being a uk-passport holding brit.

[vinny]

Correct. You have automatic Right of Abode. The links and guidances above would be applicable to both of you as they refer to both parties in the marriage. However, you easily satisfy some of the conditions automatically, just by being British.

Sponsors may be British citizens. Strictly speaking, a British citizen who has been resident abroad but who returns to the United Kingdom to live is not ‘admitted for settlement’. However if he or she expresses the intention of returning to the United Kingdom to reside, you can regard him/her as present and settled there (see section 13.21 for sponsors who are crown servants serving overseas

Where the sponsor has not been resident in the UK for some time, you should take care to ensure that the maintenance and accommodation requirements will be met.

Edited August 19, 2006 by vinny

[Unwell]

thanks for clarifying that...

[the scouser]

Unwell,

Vinny's links explain the process etc. and you will see that you have to demonstrate that you can support yourselves without recourse to public funds. As you will be studying, is this going to be an issue? Your wife will be able to work in the UK and, if possible, it might assist the application if she can show at the time of the visa application that she's already got a job lined up.

Scouse.

[Unwell]

thanks for the reply scouse.

yeah, it may be a problem as i'm expecting to have my p.g.c.e. fees paid and to recieve the living allowance due to trainee teachers.

what do you think?

[the scouser]

I don't know how much the allowance is, but it is likely that it won't be construed as being sufficient to maintain two people. It may also be considered to be a public fund, but I'll have to check up on that. Additionally, what will you do with regard to accommodation? If you rent somewhere, you will not be allowed to claim Housing Benefit.

Scouse.

[paully]

Hi, Unwell. The student bursary for the PGCE is not listed as an example of 'public funds' so you should be okay on that score. But, as Scouser says, you'll probably need more evidence of funding for a visa for your wife plus accommodation, particularly if she can't line up a job in the UK beforehand. Can your family in the UK help in this regard? Last year before doing my PGCE I enlisted the assistance of my long-suffering mum as a sponsor and also as accommodation for the purposes of my wife's UK visa, although in the event we rented our own place after arrival.

[Unwell]

thanks for the message paully.

good news about the bursary, hope it is the case.

my family helping is no problem whatsoever; they're more than happy to act as sponsors and to provide financial (limited!) support and support with accomodation; no problems at all.

thanks again.