Uk Tourist Visa Basics?

[finn]

To get striaght to the point, my family has invited my girfriend and i over to UK for the summer. My girlfriend is employed in a dept. store and we have been together (but not residing together) since Dec 2002. Other details are she has never travelled overseas, has only last month secured a new passport and doesn't speak English.

On my part, although a British Citizen i have not lived (or worked ) there for 15yrs and my finances are overseas.

My simple question is,

What is the best procedure i should follow for getting a UK tourist visa for her and of course any tips and advice would be most welcome.

Many thanks to all who reply.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

To get striaght to the point, my family has invited my girfriend and i over to UK for the summer. My girlfriend is employed in a dept. store and we have been together (but not residing together) since Dec 2002. Other details are she has never travelled overseas, has only last month secured a new passport and doesn't speak English.

On my part, although a British Citizen i have not lived (or worked ) there for 15yrs and my finances are overseas.

My simple question is,

What is the best procedure i should follow for getting a UK tourist visa for her and of course any tips and advice would be most welcome.

Many thanks to all who reply.

Can the lady return to her job when she gets back from the UK ?

[finn]

Unfortunately no. Her company will close down in June which is why i would like to get the visa ASAP and visit before then.

On the bright side, we're confident a new job can be found before the June close, however i don't want to give the UK embassy any opportunity (in tems of mentioning there will be no job in June) of rejecting her application.

Again any first hand advice (not the search engine) would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Digger]

Hmm so letter from the employer is going to be difficult, so why dont you have her enroll into Ramkapeng University, doing an English language correspondance course from home. Then two benefits a) she becomes a bona fide student with ID card and she can learn English at the same time.

If you have work permit or residency/long term visa here, the British Embassy is actually quite relaxed about these cases. They have never questioned my GF application at all once they realise she is travelling out and back with me and that my job is here in Thailand. She has now had 4 visas to UK and never a problem (and she is genuinelly studying at Ramkapeng, albeit on a correspondance course from home).

Hope this helps

[manfromoz]

Finn,

Firstly, everyone has different experiences depending on who you get to talk to at the embassy.

I have just 'helped' a friend from England go through this and this was his experience:

You need to prove:

- ongoing relationship between you and her.

- a reason why she wants to visit.

- she has enough funds to support herself OR a letter guaranteeing her fares, accomodation, food etc will be supplied by others.

- proof that he sponsor can support their claim. Thi smay take the form of bank accounts, proof of employment, etc

- she will return to Thailand after the holiday. A letter from her current employee stating that the holiday will be good for her advancememt and she is coming back to work for them after is usually sufficient. If she is studying or has family that can also helped.

If you get a letter from your family outlining they want her to visit and are supporting her in the UK and proof they can, a letter from her employer (this may difficult if they are closing down), proof of your ongoing relationship (phone bills, money transfers, pictures etc), proof of your ability to provide funds if necessary. Also, if you can prove you will be coming back to Thailand (ie, do you have a business here, or a long term visa, or any proof you spend the majority of your time here), this also helps.

That's all I can think of for now and even with all of this you may still be turned down. Dress nice, get there early and be curteous and polite to the counter clerk, smile a lot and just asnwer the questions being asked.

If your gf doesn't speak english, do you speak thai? If not they are going to want to know how you talk to each other and how you know each other well enough to travel to a different country.

Good luck.

[finn]

Manfromoz,

Good onya mate! You have been kind enough to fill in the blanks. You're advice is well noted and much appreciated.

Digger,

Many thanks. Its always nice to have a plan B.

Best Regards to you both.