UK Visa for long term Thai GF visiting my UK family (VAF1B)?

[theoldgit]

Just one other question, its ok for me too book one way flights back to the UK for my girlfriend or must it be a return? We will be travelling on the same flight together with our 2 year old son.

It's perfectly legal to travel on a one way ticket, though you might need to convince the check in staff at Bangkok that you're allowed to do so, also she might be asked for sight of her return ticket by the Border Force Officer at the UK Border, so she would need to have a reason why she's travelling on a one way ticket for a visit.

The actual requirement is that she intends to leave the UK at the conclusion of her visit and has the means to do so.

[7by7]

<snip>

The actual requirement is that she intends to leave the UK at the conclusion of her visit and has the means to do so.

If she is asked about this at UK immigration they will want to see a return ticket or evidence that the funds are available to her with which to purchase one; e.g. the bank statements of whoever will be paying for it and if a third party confirmation that they will do so.

But, as theoldgit says above, I think her biggest problem is likely to be checking in to leave Bangkok; the airline may refuse to carry her without a return ticket.

Airlines do tend to be wary on this point because international agreements and regulations say that if they carry a passenger who they believe does not meet the entry requirements for their destination then, should that passenger be refused entry, not only is the airline liable for the cost of returning that passenger to their departure point, they could also be fined up to (from memory) 10,000 USD.

Edit;

My sister in law returned home to Bangkok yesterday after a 5 month visit. As we were unsure of when she would be returning, we purchased a return ticket with a changeable return date. We had to pay a fee to change the return date; but it avoided any problems at check in to leave Thailand and on arrival at UK immigration; and it worked out cheaper than two singles.

Maybe you should do the same?

Edited August 17, 2015 by 7by7

[rob69]

Well just booked up some return flights direct with BA. At one point it was looking cheaper to book two one way tickets than a return, as there are limited seats or expensive fares from now until after 3 September due to it being the school holidays in Europe.

03 Sep - 07 Feb BKK - LHR Return was just over 700 UK Pounds per person. Not bad really, seeing as I almost booked us one way tickets at 510 UK Pounds per person!

[Saltwater]

Hello All,

Just saving opening up a new topic as my question is related to this topic anyway.

So the Visa my GF got and we used for our trip, is valid until end of December this year. Simple question is, can we use the same Visa to travel again before it expires (and come back before so of course)? I have read over many things, but want a concise explanation.

Do we need to notify anyone beforehand? What precautions we need to take if we can just use it again. She only went for 1 month, so she hasn't got the problem of staying in the UK for 6months or more in a year. How should we really carefully go about this if we want to?

Also... if we apply again after Visa expired, she doesn't need to wait 6 months or anything does she? That is just a recommendation? Thank you all.

[theoldgit]

Yes she can use the visa to travel again to the UK, she must leave the UK on or before the expiry date of the visa.

As with all visas, landing is subject to the Border Force Officer being satisfied that the holders trip is still genuine, there's been no material change and that they're likely to leave at the conclusion of the visit and conform to Immigration Laws.

She can apply for a new visa at any time, there's no rule to state she has to wait six months, though there is a convention that says a visitor can only spend up to six months in any twelve month period. It's worth remembering that all applications for visas are stand alone and considered on merit, the more often a person applies for a general visa the more the ECO will scrutinise the application, especially if there are reasons to return based on employment.

[toryboy1979]

I have read this thread with great interest, particularly the extremely informative and sensible contributions made by 7 x 7 and the Old Git who are without a shadow of a doubt two very knowledgeable gentlemen.

It was also satisfying to discover that Saltwater received a satisfactory outcome. Without wishing to hijack this thread in anyway I trust no one will be offended if I ask a question of my own as I am preparing the documentation for a similar visit.

My question is: I bank in the UK with the Nationwide and they have served me well. Using the secure message system they have for clients I asked them about getting a statement of account for six months, doing this because it was my understanding that the Bank Statement has to be an original document. I did this because my account is classed as 'paperless' in that they do not send out monthly or quarterly statements to me at my home address rather it is up to me to go on-line and produce a statement should I require one and as I understand the requirements this will not satisfy the UKVI.

They replied that it would be no problem and could do so at a cost of 5 pounds sterling and it would take about 7 - 10 days to reach me in the UK, which probably means a somewhat longer period to reach me in Thailand given the length of time it takes from arriving in Bangkok to final destination in Chiang Mai. They added that they could only send by post to my registered address and could or would not use email or fax. For Interest: I recently had a letter sent from my son via the UK Post Office via International Tracking and from BKK to CNX it took longer than the time from UK to Bangkok

I digress, so bearing in mind the postal delay, does anyone have experience in this and how likely are the UKVI to accept a document that has been generated some two to three weeks previously. I have a feeling very unlikely. Or will a statement produced on-line complete with address of bank branch, statement number and dated be acceptable in the circumstances

So advice please gentlemen as to how I might overcome this matter.

[Upnotover]

My wife has successfully applied for 3 UK visit visas over the past 3 years. Each time my own financial information has been self printed statements from my UK account. I've seen others here who have done the same.

[toryboy1979]

Thank you for your reply. I thought I could nott be the only one in this situation and so your input has taken the pressure off. Thank you again.

[7by7]

Officially, all documents, including bank statements, must be originals or a copy/printout which has been certified by the issuer, e.g. bank, as correct.

However, as Upnotover says, many people have had uncertified printouts or copies of bank statements accepted for visit visa applications.

(I would not advise it for a settlement application, though; the rules are much stricter then and ECOs have far less flexibility over the evidence they accept.)

No hard and fast rule on the age of financial information, pay slips, bank statements etc., for a visit application; but I'd advise that they are not more than 1 month old when the application is submitted. The ECO needs to see the current situation; not that of a few months ago.

[evadgib]

From HMG seen today:

Immigration Rules changes

Mods: Feel free to move if there's a better place elsewhere

Edited October 30, 2015 by evadgib