Uk Settlement Visa

[binnsy]

She has a 8 o;clock appointment so fingers crossed that she is seen and hopefully they will give her a visa.do you no of any reasonable flights from BKK to HEATHROW?

Good Luck Binnsy,

When would she be looking to travel approx, any preference on Carrier, direct or other.

Moss

Thanks for the good luck message.As for the flight i would expect it would be mid September and i would want a direct flight for her.I have found EVA to be as good as any other airline but at the end of the day it comes down to price.

binnsy

[GU22]

Binnsy,

I see that you refer to her as 'my wife' and so assume she is applying for a spouse visa.

If so and there is going to be a gap of more than 28 days between receiving the visa and actually arriving in the UK then she must make sure that the visa is post dated accordingly.

This is because when she comes to apply for her Indefinite Leave to Remain she cannot do so until 28 days before the 2nd anniversary of her first arrival in the UK, and she must be in possession of a valid visa when she applies. If her spouse visa expires before this time she will need to apply for Further Leave to Remain to cover the gap, at a cost of at least £335!

Visas are valid from the date of issue, unless the applicant requests it to be post dated, which can be done for up to 3 months. But she must make sure she asks for this at the interview.

This is not so important with a fiance visa, as the qualifying period for ILR starts after the marriage and FLR has been obtained.

[binnsy]

Binnsy,

I see that you refer to her as 'my wife' and so assume she is applying for a spouse visa.

If so and there is going to be a gap of more than 28 days between receiving the visa and actually arriving in the UK then she must make sure that the visa is post dated accordingly.

This is because when she comes to apply for her Indefinite Leave to Remain she cannot do so until 28 days before the 2nd anniversary of her first arrival in the UK, and she must be in possession of a valid visa when she applies. If her spouse visa expires before this time she will need to apply for Further Leave to Remain to cover the gap, at a cost of at least £335!

Visas are valid from the date of issue, unless the applicant requests it to be post dated, which can be done for up to 3 months. But she must make sure she asks for this at the interview.

This is not so important with a fiance visa, as the qualifying period for ILR starts after the marriage and FLR has been obtained.

gu22,Thanks for that information i will tell her that if she is granted a visa to post date it by 2 weeks.fingers&toes crossed

binnsy

[Mossfinn]

Thanks for the good luck message.As for the flight i would expect it would be mid September and i would want a direct flight for her.I have found EVA to be as good as any other airline but at the end of the day it comes down to price.

binnsy

I agree, Binnsy I would go for a direct too, Eva are pretty good, I have just booked with them at xmas and Thai in Oct used both many times before, I will check with the agent I use tomorrow but don't think I will better sarangon's suggestion earlier.

Anyway Good Luck again,

Moss

[binnsy]

Moss

Thanks for you remarks.If the travel agent that you use are competitive please give me there details.

Do they do bookings on the net?

binnsy

[Mossfinn]

Moss

Thanks for you remarks.If the travel agent that you use are competitive please give me there details.

Do they do bookings on the net?

binnsy

Binnsy,

Just spoke to the agents and unfortunatly they are not able to service one way tickets from LOS to UK from the UK, I have a feeling this might be the case with all agents, but not sure about this.

The other half has just informed me of her daily mantra, ' You never remember anything', as this was the case for us as well.

You have to buy a one way ticket from the LOS i'm afraid or does anybody know different?

Good Luck

Moss

[saranagon]

I was told by my Guy

at Dialaflight he could book one way tickets from his end and e-mail me e-tickets

but not cheap @ between 400 and 450 with british airways

Telephone 0161-954-7096

[Mossfinn]

I was told by my Guy

at Dialaflight he could book one way tickets from his end and e-mail me e-tickets

but not cheap @ between 400 and 450 with british airways

Telephone 0161-954-7096

Hi sarangon,

I have used DaF before and found them very good.

Which end do you mean?, Depending on when you're flying 400-450 with BA isn't too bad.

Moss

At this rate I can see this being moved to another sub-forum

Moss Edit I just realised its one-way, which appears a bit pricey but then they usually are when you only go one-way

Edited September 1, 2006 by Mossfinn

[saranagon]

I was told by my Guy

at Dialaflight he could book one way tickets from his end and e-mail me e-tickets

but not cheap @ between 400 and 450 with british airways

Telephone 0161-954-7096

Hi sarangon,

I have used DaF before and found them very good.

Which end do you mean?, Depending on when you're flying 400-450 with BA isn't too bad.

Moss

At this rate I can see this being moved to another sub-forum

Moss Edit I just realised its one-way, which appears a bit pricey but then they usually are when you only go one-way

I agree yes it might just be moved ,I was of course referring to Uk end booking and collecting e-ticks via your personal addy

However i still think trying the bucket shops in bkk is still a cheaper option

[GU22]

I have today e-mailed the embassy to ask. (if sponsors are allowed into the embassy)

Reply recieved today

Due to the present security reasons and advice from the UKVisas, sponsors are not generally permitted to accompany applicants to their interviews.

However, if a sponsor is presently in Thailand during the time of an interview, please ensure that applicant have your mobile number in case an Entry Clearance Officer wishes to clarify some issues.

Yours sincerely

Sumana Vejjajiva

Correspondence & Casework Officer

Visa Section

British Embassy Bangkok

Tel: +662 305 8333

Fax: +662 254 9579

mailto:[email protected]

[slimsam]

Expedia has just allowed me to book a one ticket for my wife from Thailand, mid sept.

I booked direct flight, BA/Qantas (code share) for £382.

Neither the BA or Qantas websites would allow me to do this.

It is an e-ticket and so my wife needs needs only to know the booking ref.

however note you need to know the passengers passport number.

[the gent]

I have today e-mailed the embassy to ask. (if sponsors are allowed into the embassy)

Reply recieved today

Due to the present security reasons and advice from the UKVisas, sponsors are not generally permitted to accompany applicants to their interviews.

However, if a sponsor is presently in Thailand during the time of an interview, please ensure that applicant have your mobile number in case an Entry Clearance Officer wishes to clarify some issues.

Yours sincerely

Sumana Vejjajiva

Correspondence & Casework Officer

Visa Section

British Embassy Bangkok

Tel: +662 305 8333

Fax: +662 254 9579

mailto:[email protected]

I'm sure all are grateful for your efforts GU22.

As a previous poster already mentioned, there is no such prohibition upon visitors to the consular section which is located directly above the visa section. Perhaps you may wish to reply asking for an explanation as to why a visitor on consular business does not pose a security threat whereas the same visitor in the guise of a sponsor does? Moreover, what is the extent of the security threat likely to be posed? Bureaucracies are seldom willingly transparent and in the current climate invoking security concerns is possibly just another means of obfuscation.

For my own part I know full well why sponsors are excluded from attendance. In adverse decisions their representations are time consuming and difficult to handle particularly when the visa officer has conducted a poor interview not necessarily wholly within the rules.

Citing security concerns are weasel words and unconvincing, and expecting sponsors to swallow them is insulting to their intelligence. But then, this is Blair's Britain after all........

[GU22]

I suspect that their reply would be that persons entering the consular section on business are allowed in, but anyone accompanying them would have to wait outside.

Unless anyone knows different.

However, you can read into this what you like. If the 'real' reason is past problems with potentially violent sponsors who object to the girl they have known for a whole 2 weeks being refused, then the blame lies with those morons, not with the embassy staff.

You're right about Blair's Britain. We have become a nation where everyone knows their 'rights' but no one cares about their responsibilities. But that's a subject for another time and place.

[atlastaname]

Didn't think i would ever agree with the gent .... but i do!! I have been saying this is the real reason for ages. GU22 comes up with his usual slant, defending the decision by blaming violent sponsers of bar girls, but doesn't address the FAR more important issue raised by the gent that genuine applicants , refusued a visa , are unable to be represented immediately by the sponser. That is very serious ... and that is the British Embassy for you.

[the gent]

I don't wish to belabour the point or deflect attention from the OP but I think this canard of "security " should be well and truly nailed.

Shortly before marriage the British sponsor must attend the consular section for his affirmation that he is free to marry. However, this same person cannot attend the visa section one floor below, possibly 6 weeks later, in order to accompany his wife for interview because of " security reasons ". The interview is conducted through bullet proof glass, in a secure compound marshalled by Ghurka soldiers and at least 2 teams of armed Thai police. Ingress is controlled and searches are conducted. So, what are the threats posed now that did not exist previously?

Quite simply, there are none but to dwell upon this lame excuse is to miss the point. Visa staff do not relish the prospect of justifying dodgy decisions if they can possibly avoid it and citing security reasons in the current climate is a heaven sent opportunity. I don't blame them, it's only human nature after all, but they have chosen their vocation because of the handsome benefits that may accrue and should be prepared to defend their decisions as detailed in their operating gudelines( DSPs). But they choose not to, not for security reasons, but because they are lazy and lacking in moral fibre.

Hypocrisy is the watchword but as I said previously what can one expect from a dysfuntional civil service emasculated by a bunch of proto stalinist social engineers?

[saranagon]

Good Luck with the Interview tomorrow Ollie

We submitted paperwork on friday 21st sept and got the call to pick up passport on the 28th

We now have stepson back in uk ,after a hectic 2 weeks in Bkk

[Ollie]

Good Luck with the Interview tomorrow Ollie

We submitted paperwork on friday 21st sept and got the call to pick up passport on the 28th

We now have stepson back in uk ,after a hectic 2 weeks in Bkk

Many thanks and congratuations on your successful application! I'll post what happens. Wife and step-son arrived in Bangkok about 2pm LOS time today.

[Ollie]

Well, heres what happened.

Pre-interview nerves for me and the wife. Late at night into very early morning in the UK found me messenger chatting to the wife, unable to sleep in a pre-dawn hotel bedroom in Bangkok, shared with my wifes sister and step-son.

Eventually I had to let go and went to bed and tried to sleep - no chance - caffiene saw to that!

So 03.30am UK time came and went (the wifes interview was at 09.30 at the UK embassy), then 04.30 and 05.00, then shortly after, a phone call. Hard to understand what the wife was saying, but got the gist of their being a problem.

Back to the messenger. There was a problem with one document, or lack of it. The original of my wifes divorce papers. The embassy were insisting on seeing it. Now, this was identified as an issue pre-application, in that my wife, for whatever reason, only had a copy. The original, retained by the Amphur, had been sent, after our marriage registration at the same Amphur to wherever (later identified as the "Foundation of Thailand?").

This was one of the jobs that was down to my wife. I understood that she had a document from the Amphur, which basically explained the above and was signed and stamped by an Amphur official.

The application wasn't refused, but was marked as pending. I was now wide awake. My wife had already phoned the local Amphur who said that they now had the original back. I thought it unfair that yet again she would have to travel 100k or so to the other side of Korat to get it. (Theres a history here). On 2 previous occassions, with the TB test and the initial application at the VFS, she ended up travelling back and forth, all at extra cost and hassle. For example, when her x-rays for the TB test showed a "problem", she was told that she had to attend 3 successive mornings for further tests and asked when, was told, "we'll phone you", she had just back home when she got a call telling her to report back in Bangkok 2 days later, at 7.00am(!) for 3 consecutive mornings!!!

So I phoned the embassy in Bangkok. By this time it was gone midday and I couldn't get through! Had to wait until 07.30 UK time. Then got through to the visa section without a problem. Spoke to a very polite and courteous Thai lady, who although helpful was sticking to the line that the original needed to be seen. I tried to explain about all the other supporting evidence and that surely common sense had to apply. I, in return, was polite, but admit to becoming increasingly frustrated. After about 20 minutes, she agreed to put me through to her manager and whilst hanging on got cut off. Grrrrr!!

2nd call, another Thai lady, similar story, but quickly understood I had been on the phone previously and went to check with her colleague. Then a little wait and I spoke with the (Thai) lady that interviewed my wife. She was very professional, as her colleagues had been and explained that the document from the Amphur wasn't quite so clear cut as I had been led to believe. Ah, said I, a little humbled. I asked how then, it had been accepted by the VFS office and she explained that they still had problems with files, either as things were missed, as I guess is what happened in our case, or because applicants insisted on them being accepted, even when being told it wasn't "ready" (not the case with us, that was another trip home). She also explained that in all other respects, the application appeared to be in order.

Then I was in for a pleasant surprise. The embassy staff were now phoning the Amphur to confirm the final peice of the jigsaw that supported my wifes application, but couldn't get through. It was left that they would do what they could and then contact my wife - I had explained that she was staying locally in a Hotel.

The embassy staff I spoke with had all been very professional in their dealings with me, despite their initial view that the document needed to be seen and my increasing and evident frustration and requests for common sense to be applied and to spare my wife yet another long journey! I can't praise them highly enough, not just bacause everything worked out okay in the end, but also as a "public servant" myself, I know how hard it can be at the receiving end of such calls, but I never lost it or was rude, but admit to expressing frustration.

I headed off to work. It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes after I spoke with the embassy and just 5 minutes after leaving home that I got an excited call on my mobile from my wife, and after pulling over she told me that the embassy had called and that she could collect the visas the next day!!!

And thats what she did - this morning!

I still don't quite get the issue of the original divorce papers, and unbeknown to me and the embassy, my wifes father had taken matters into his own hands, travelled to the amphur, got whatever was needed and jumped on a bus to Bangkok! He arrived at 11pm, my wife couldn't contact him to say it wasn't needed after all and to turn around and go home - as he'd fallen asleep! I told my wife to get him a beer on me and paid for a hotel room for him. It was the least I could do.

So thats it. Earlier in this thread I queried what the the need for an interview was and now I know the reason. Not all of the documents were 100%. The moral of this tale and in hindsight? Don 't trust the VFS saying all the documents are in order, as we were. I also wished I had phoned the embassy earlier, as I have read others have done, to check the reason. It might have been the case that we could have got the document that was needed and not waited the 6 weeks fot the interview or at least have known what the problem was and dealt with it.

Phew!

So finally, a big, big thank you to The Scouser in particular Fantastic advice from start to finish, not just on my posts, but picking up on others as well, and to GU22 - many thanks. I think we might be meeting soon, so a beer is in order. And to others, Vinny et al and for the best wishes I have received from many others over the last 17 months or so of seeking advice. And to TV for this forum.

Ollie.

[the scouser]

That's excellent news, Ollie.

All the best,

Scouse.

[saranagon]

Great News Ollie

Well done and i can relate to all the frustrations involved in getting it right ,I had a similiar experience with original docs ,I was in the wifes village a 2 hour drive from Khon Kaen ,I gave my wife a plastic folder to put all her original docs into for our travel to Bkk ,we then drove for 12 hours all night to bkk and checked into the hotel ,I then proceeded to double check all docs for submission to VFS,I asked my wife where all her original docs were as this was the only thing i was leaving her responsible for ,she told me she gave them to her mother for safe keeping and would nip along to her room to get them ,well she came back in tears after her mother had told her she left them in her safe place at the village ,What a blow ,anyway as luck would have it a taxi guy was leaving the village that same night to drive to Bkk and he delivered our docs to the hotel first thing next morning at 5.00 am at a cost of 500 bhat ,What a relief

All i can say is Never again ,

And if anyone is looking at trying to get step-sons or Daughter over to uk for settlement i will be more than happy to give them a full list of all docs i submitted for a successful 5 day visa grant

[Ollie]

Thanks Saranagon,

I've had more chance to speak to the wife now. The Thai lady I spoke with must have been the interpreter, the ECO was a male.

The interview lasted about 15 minutes and they asked what my name was, where we met and what my wife was doing there (cooking), they then asked her how she made somtam, which she thought really funny! They asked about my job, what I was doing in Thailand (holiday) and then my relationship with my step-son and that was it!

But as you say, so much pressure!

Never to be repeated!!

[Mossfinn]

Wow, Ollie what a carry on, but all worth it in the end.

Character building stuff all in all.

I reckon the Father in Law deserves more than a beer though, even if he wasn't entirely required in the end!

Good Luck to you and your family.

Moss

[mrbojangles]

Well done Ollie and congratulations to you both

[Ollie]

Thanks mrbojangles and mossfinn!

Take your point about the beer, but it was late!!

They - my wife, her son (my step-son), sister and father all had a bit of a blow out at a nice restaurant as well.

He also got the dowry, inherits a bike and a good few other goodies!

What do I get in return? The offer of fried frogs for brekky with Chang and ice!

Actually, I'd settle for that, time will tell!

[caledonia]

Congratulations.

Thats excellent news and I would agree with the politeness of the embassy staff. I know they get a bad rap but they have previously been nothing but helpful to me.