UK tourist visa for my GF - offered a 'back door' method

[thelongshoot]

I have a bit of a dilema here and I was hoping for some wisdom from you guys if you would be so kind.

I have lived with my GF for 3 years here in Thailand and we have had plenty of holidays away together, photo evidence of trips away and a couple of different houses lived in.... Basicly we have some measure of history to show that we are a 'real' couple who have been together a while. I would also be able to spnsor my GF for a UK tourist visa (obviously i am from the UK) she has a bank account with a steady salary going in there over the last 5 or 6 years, a few hundred grand saved away, a car here etc etc.... all evidence that she has some reason to come back. My point here in a long winded way is that I think she has a good chance of getting the visa.

Her boss has now offered to help get her the visa. He runs a tourist attraction here in Thailand with 50 staff, and also runs a tour company sending Thais all over the world on organized tours. He has said that he would pretend (for want of a better word) that my GF is taking a tour group to England for a holiday and will be the guide, so to speak. Or service rep, whatever you call it, i think you get the picture. He is pretty much adamant that she would get the visa this way.

My concern is.... would it be a mistake to do it this way? Am i exposing her to risk that isn't necessary because we have a good chance of getting the visa anyway? Apparently my GF would apply for a UK tourist visa as a holiday rep for the tour group and the visa she gets would be no different to a standard tourist visa, but i cant help worrying that somehow UK immigration will pull her when we land and hit her with "we have notes here that say you are a rep for a tour group.... where is the group?". Or would that not happen?

Any advice on this would be appreciated, thanks so much

Best, TLS

[7by7]

What her boss is suggesting is attempting to obtain a UK visa by fraud and deception.

I'm not sure, but think that a tour guide would not come under a general visit visa anyway, but some form of work visa.

Immigration at her port of entry will be able to mcall up her application and see exactly what she said, and so, as you say, wonder where her tour group are!

If this deception is ever discovered, even after she had left the UK and returned to Thailand, then she could be banned from visiting the UK for up to 10 years, and if considered serious enough could be banned from entering the UK in any category, including settlement as your spouse, for life.

From what you say she has an excellent chance of obtaining a normal visit visa without this charade.

Don't do it, is my advice.

All she needs from her boss is a letter confirming her employment and that her job will be kept open for her return.

You may find UK visit visa basics helpful.

[bobrussell]

Why take the risk when it is likely that a legitimate visit visa will be straight forward?

A visit visa is not difficult for anyone in regular secure and well paid employment especially if they have property etc to return to. Don't play with the system!

[The Fat Controller]

From what you say all you need from her boss is a letter saying she has been granted a holiday and that she will continue in his employment on her return.

Just make sure it has the company name and contact number on the letter as UKVI may call to check the details.

Do not tell porkies on a visa application !

[Basil B]

Agree with all the above replies.

Apart from your G/F getting a 10 year ban it could also hurt her bosses tour business.

[ezzra]

Not sure about a GF visa, but a 'back door' method has been proven to be painful for some....

[misterphil]

Don't do it. Its got disaster written all over it. If she gets interviewed at the embassy in Bangkok she will be lying and it'll be written all over her face.

Just go the regular way. As long as she has a reason to return to Thailand, cash in the bank, you and a job she'll get the visa.

[godden]

have you thought about her taking a boat or in the back of a lorry

[UKJASE]

my girlfriend didnt have a job, and she got a visitor visa. we provided a lot of papers etc, and she got the visa

we have since applied for 2 more visitor visas since we were married, and she got these too. one every year for the last 3 years

maybe include that you are thinking of getting married and you wish your family back home to meet her etc

good luck - and as the poster above said, using the back door method may leave her with a tear in her eye

[chrisdom]

The Visa people at the UK Embassy are basically concerned with weeding out the non-genuine applications from the genuine ones. A well-constructed genuine application will succeed unless there is a clear anomaly.

Include everything you think is relevant even if it isn't specifically asked for. Photos demonstrating the long-term relationship always help. Family photos (dogs, cats too) show reasons for returning. Trip itinery, places you'll visit etc.. A good letter from you to support her visit too. Details of your life in Thailand will help (to show you are not a dubious character really). Your business card and so on. In fact ANYTHING - in this case too much is better than too little. It shows commitment

Go down the route suggested by her boss and she might find she's turned away at entry (remember you won't be with her at that point). A visa doesn't guarantee entry and if found out the consequences going forward could be dire.

Honesty is definitely the best policy!

[Altalake]

Don't even think about it - everything is on computers now - Immigration officers are not fools and can be pretty nasty; you could land her - and yourself maybe - in very hot water.

[TheRascal]

Don't bother, I would say she's almost guaranteed to get the visa anyway.

My gf collected her passport on Monday, she was approved at the first attempt, the same as 89% of people who apply apparently.

She has a regular job for the past year, no property, 100k savings. I didn't sponsor her application.

What we did submit

- letter from me explaining why I wanted her to visit and what we plan to do while we are there

- letter from my parents as we will be staying with them while we are there

- proof of her funds

- letter from employer confirming she has a job, her salary and that she is able to take the time off work

- various photographs from different trips together

along with the application documents these were all arranged nicely in a folder so they were easy to browse through. It's an easy process and I don't know anyone who has had a problem with an application for a UK tourist visa, I'm sure it does happen but not for people from normal working backgrounds.

[ChiangmaiRob]

With what you say it should be easy to get a tourist visa, I got one last year for my gf no problem.

Don't try to complicate things, if you get caught, it will just make it much harder to get a visa later, that's if you can get one at all.

[ronaldo0]

Apply for a normal visit visa. Should not be a problem unless you are me!!

Twice i have applied .

1st time owning a house in uk with no debt on the house ,paid in full in cash for it and plenty of money in bank.

2nd time wife and i have plenty of money in bank,own 2 houses here and 2 cars,letters of details of flights, hotels etc,letters from my mother and signed copy of her passport.Provided years bank statements,wife has pay slips etc.

DENIED!!! Grounds were not enough money to buy a return ticket ! Wife had 1.5 million in her bank for over a year and 50,000 a month going into it! 2nd was there was no proof we were in a relationship! Even though we spend every hour of every day together and have been married for 7 years!!

3rd was no proof of my visa here! i Gave them my passport and my visa status here was not asked for!!

[technologybytes]

Apply for a normal visit visa. Should not be a problem unless you are me!!

Twice i have applied .

1st time owning a house in uk with no debt on the house ,paid in full in cash for it and plenty of money in bank.

2nd time wife and i have plenty of money in bank,own 2 houses here and 2 cars,letters of details of flights, hotels etc,letters from my mother and signed copy of her passport.Provided years bank statements,wife has pay slips etc.

DENIED!!! Grounds were not enough money to buy a return ticket ! Wife had 1.5 million in her bank for over a year and 50,000 a month going into it! 2nd was there was no proof we were in a relationship! Even though we spend every hour of every day together and have been married for 7 years!!

3rd was no proof of my visa here! i Gave them my passport and my visa status here was not asked for!!

What you have or don't have is sort of irrelevant in a visa application, the only things considered are the documents submitted with the application.

When submitted properly, your wife's application should have been straightforward, the problem is almost certainly that enough care was not taken with the application.

Perhaps next time it would be wise to use the services of a professional in preparing the application.

[spacebass]

Thais do not understand the rule of law tenuous as it may be dealing with UK immigration .

[kjhbigv]

Your GF sounds as though she will get a visa legit, why take the risk?

[pyphi]

Just apply for 1 year visa if she has car and employment should be ok

[dotpoom]

My intuition tells me that the correct procedure is the best way to go in this instance....if by any chance it fails at least you won't be kicking yourself....you cannot find fault with yourself for having her concern at heart.

[96tehtarp]

Only apply for the tour guide visa if she is the real and Bona Fide and De facto tour guide. Under those circumstances it would be perfectly OK to do so. Otherwise it's fraud and could mess up future visa applications for settlement etc. Think of the long term consequences.

OP's best bet is to follow the other advice given here and submit a really good visit visa application with all the required specs, and eyes dotted, and tee's crossed.

Good luck.

[mikiea]

Don't even think about it - everything is on computers now - Immigration officers are not fools and can be pretty nasty; you could land her - and yourself maybe - in very hot water.

in the year 2000 everybody got thru in china (no computers) , now , not so much, get your ducks in a row anc do it the old fashioned way, with honesty as they may find a lie.

[Suradit69]

Your GF sounds as though she will get a visa legit, why take the risk?

And if she works for a tour company, why claim to be a tour guide with no one to guide? If anything say she's going there to check out some hotels or holiday destinations where they might direct their customers in future. Since so many hotels there turn out to be antiquated dumps, it would be believable. But better still to avoid using a lie when the truth will probably work just as well.

[minikev]

My wife has been with me to England twice. On both visits she was pulled to one side and questioned by customs officers. As a non UK resident she has to queue in a different line to you at customs and you won't be able to help her talk to customs. If she has to lie remember she is being questioned by professional people that will see this. She will also be questioned in English so will be on edge.

Your relationship history and status pretty much guarantee a visa the correct way so I agree with with the posters telling you to do it the right and legal way.

[Jonmarleesco]

I would strongly suggest, given the situation and your GF's status, that you do it the conventional way.

[Jonmarleesco]

My wife has been with me to England twice. On both visits she was pulled to one side and questioned by customs officers. As a non UK resident she has to queue in a different line to you at customs and you won't be able to help her talk to customs. If she has to lie remember she is being questioned by professional people that will see this. She will also be questioned in English so will be on edge.

Your relationship history and status pretty much guarantee a visa the correct way so I agree with with the posters telling you to do it the right and legal way.

I assume you are referring to immigration, not customs. Actually, you can talk with them; I've done it. You simply go through immigration, then walk down the corridor to the desk for which your wife is queuing. Any issues, the officer will (usually) happily address to you.

[MrBanks]

To the O.P., don't do it via her boss, do it legit. From the info you have provided you should not have a problem, just follow the advice given already regarding a well prepared application.

To the guys who have mentioned about going through different immigration lines when arriving in the UK. I have been going backward and forward with my wife for 15 years now, we have entered the UK through Heathrow, Manchester and Leeds. I always go through the line for non UK / EU passport holders with my wife and I have never had a problem from any immigration officer. When they ask a question I let her reply and if she struggles a bit I help. She sometimes has a bit of difficulty understanding different accents. Not once have I been told that I am in the wrong line and none of the officers have minded me going through with her.

[rumbo1]

It's by no means simple.

My gf applied 2 years ago for a uk visitor visa to be with me while I returned to the uk for 3 months contract work.

I helped her with the application and wrote a covering letter offering to be her sponsor , I supplied copies of my uk bank ac going back 12 months , many pics of us together in Thailand , evidence of regular contact between us while I was in the uk , copies of my passport and visas etc.

Basically she was refused so we went to an agent with exactly the same paperwork and 2 weeks later she had a visa ( and we had £600 less money ! )

We have just tried again this year with the same files as last time plus more evidence of our living together in Thailand since we returned back to Los 18 months ago and she has been rejected again stating not enough evidence were in a relationship , no proof of my job.

I'm a contractor and the job wasn't starting till we returned but that shouldn't matter as I showed bank statements again with £100,000 +

She provided pics of us together on hols in Vietnam together , copies of our passports and my visa for Vietnam , pics of the house we've been renting together for the last 18 months since we returned from the uk together the rental agreement etc .

I'm not paying an agent again so it looks no more returns to the uk

[nealthewheel]

My advice is this -- don't lie to them!! My Chinese ex-wife tried to get a "business visa" using a bogus company and got caught - she is banned from applying for a visa for 10 years and has got to declare this rejection on all visa applications to EU countries - but she got into OZ without a problem so maybe they don't share info. But she always got a TV as long as I was "sponsoring" her and accompanied her to the UK, but the last time she went to the UK without me she stayed for 6 months and that was also duly noted. If they suspect anything they will just phone randomly and start to question your gf about the visa application - one wrong answer and she won't be seeing blighty this time. UK border agency are pretty strict so take care and go the normal route IMO.

What her boss is suggesting is attempting to obtain a UK visa by fraud and deception.

I'm not sure, but think that a tour guide would not come under a general visit visa anyway, but some form of work visa.

Immigration at her port of entry will be able to mcall up her application and see exactly what she said, and so, as you say, wonder where her tour group are!

If this deception is ever discovered, even after she had left the UK and returned to Thailand, then she could be banned from visiting the UK for up to 10 years, and if considered serious enough could be banned from entering the UK in any category, including settlement as your spouse, for life.

From what you say she has an excellent chance of obtaining a normal visit visa without this charade.

Don't do it, is my advice.

All she needs from her boss is a letter confirming her employment and that her job will be kept open for her return.

You may find UK visit visa basics helpful.

[bigyin]

To the O.P., don't do it via her boss, do it legit. From the info you have provided you should not have a problem, just follow the advice given already regarding a well prepared application.

To the guys who have mentioned about going through different immigration lines when arriving in the UK. I have been going backward and forward with my wife for 15 years now, we have entered the UK through Heathrow, Manchester and Leeds. I always go through the line for non UK / EU passport holders with my wife and I have never had a problem from any immigration officer. When they ask a question I let her reply and if she struggles a bit I help. She sometimes has a bit of difficulty understanding different accents. Not once have I been told that I am in the wrong line and none of the officers have minded me going through with her.

Yes I did the same thing last year. As a UK citizen you can go through any line you want. When I went through I did the little talking that was required and that wasn't much. Very smooth and easy. I have actually seen references in the forum somewhere to a family all going through the UK line together but I wasn't brave enough to try that.

[kennypowers]

Don't be silly. Don't risk it. Your GF has a far better chance of getting a tourist visa than most Thai women who apply. Many get visas while still working in a bar, with zero money in the bank, zero assets, no legitimate working history or education. This is a comprehensive step by step process to get a visa that details how to apply and all the documents you should submit: http://www.thethailandlife.com/uk-visitor-visa-thai-partner