Some questions about family/holiday UK visa for wife

[davejonesbkk]

Ive read many threads in this already but I know that it all depends on each application so Id like to get some feedback & advice from people here.

I have been with my wife for about 2.5 years now here in Bangkok and we have lived together most of that time. We got married in January of this year legally at the amphue but we havent had the big wedding yet as it will take some planning to get all my family over here etc! My wife has officially taken my surname and her Thai id is now with her new surname.

I do not work in Thailand however I have an online business that I get a revenue share from each month with that paid into a Thai bank account. Its not much but enough for us. My wife does not work and has zero assets, not even a motorbike or anything in her name.

We are thinking about a trip to the Uk, we are not in a rush to go but Im thinking within the next 12 months. When we do go it would most likely be for 1-2 months to give us plenty of time to travel around a bit and see my family etc.

For the application Im thinking of having my father be the sponsor and we will use his address. If I do this do I need to show my own money too and if so is a Thai account ok for that?

What would my wife have to show? She has a bank account with a fee thousand baht in and im thinking of paying some money in that each month to show she has some money, will this help?

How concerned should I be about her lack of job and assets here? Im worried they are going to see her as having zero reasons to return. We will be travelling together and coming back here together and we live in a house I rent on a 1 yr contract in my name, will that help the application?

What do people think our chances are of being succesfull getting the visa and is there anything we can do to improve our chances?

[theoldgit]

As you are not thinking of travelling for a while you need to take account of the fact that rules can and do change, but on what you have said I think you might be ok, though you will need a pretty robust application and really need to demonstrate that your life is stronger in Thailand than the UK.

Your wife needs to satisfy the ECO that the visit is genuine, affordable and that she is likely to return to Thailand.

The visit itself should be easy enough, it's not unreasonable for a couple to travel to the UK for a holiday and there is nothing wrong with your father offering to provide financial support. You should provide details of the trip, what you are going to be doing, I note you are talking about 1-2 months, I think that's at the top end of what the ECO might consider reasonable for a couple with no money. Where you are going to be staying and how the trip will be paid for? If your father is going to provide financial support, and accommodation, he should provide evidence of his ability to do so and a covering letter explaining while it's reasonable to do so.

Your biggest hurdle, in my opinion, is going to be a reason to return, you say your wife has no job and no assets, that in itself is no problem as the reason to return could be your life together in Thailand. You haven't said what your status is in Thailand, you have said that your income is derived from an online business, that doesn't necessitate you living in Thailand, so you need to bolster the evidence of your life here.

You say that you have married in an Amphur but haven't had a big wedding, having married in an Amphur means you are legally married, not having had a big village wedding doesn't mean you are any less married.

You will need to demonstrate that you have a life in Thailand, that will include money in the bank with regular income and expenditure, it doesn't really matter if it's one, two or a joint account, any concerns you might have you can rest assured the ECO will also have, so you need to convince them that it's likely that you return.

In summary your biggest hurdle will be satisfying the ECO that your life is here in Thailand and that it's likely that you will return together, if you have no strong ties, then neither has your wife.

[Bredbury Blue]

We've done this the past 3 years and my understanding of what the visa people want to see is:

proof that your wife is going to come back (i.e. what commitment does she have here which requires her to return, I.e. has a job here, kids in school here, etc),

proof that you have funds to pay your way on your trip (i.e. upto date bank statement),

proof that you have a sponsor is good (a signed letter from your sponsor).

Edited May 26, 2015 by Bredbury Blue

[mfharrison]

When I did this last year, a signed letter from my father and a signed letter from his company confirming his earnings wasn't enough. As we named him as the sponsor they wanted his bank statements. I had enclosed my own bank statements from Thailand and also the flight tickets the first time i applied which was not enough even though i had over 10k Egnlish in the bank for a 3 week holiday(this might be because i named my father the sponsor) They also ask for lots of pictures of you together throughout the relationship to prove that it is a genuine relationship. i also enclosed previous skype and facebook conversations with dates to show the longevity of our relationship.

hope this helps

[davejonesbkk]

@theoldgit - thanks for the detailed response and these are my answers:

I have been living in Thailand for almost 12 years now and its pretty much my home, I also did my bachelors degree at an internaitonal university here, not sure if they would be interested in that though.

Im on a non imm O visa and just did the 1 yr extension based on marriage, I did that based on 400k in the bank so I can easily show I have money.

I have regular income each month which I can also show, so its ok for me to be the sponsor and use a Thai bank account to show the funds for the trip? I can easily show enough to fund the trip coming in each month and also I have funds in a 2nd Thai account to cover the marriage extension requirements. I will be paying for all the flights and travel expenses and can show the money to do that, we will be staying at my fathers house though, so if Im then the sponsor what is his involvement?

About the length of the stay, 2 moths would be the max but we are also going for that amount of time as everyone in my family is always very busy with work and my father travels the country for his job so if we went for say 2-3 weeks Id only be able to see people once or twice at the weekends, if we go for a longer period then we get to see more people and its less hassle scheduling everything. Also my online business means I can be on the road for quite a while, I will still have money coming into my account in Thailand each month while Im in the UK too.

About proving my life in Thailand apart from the 12 years Ive been here, thai wife who has taken my name, 1 yr marriage visa plus the funds in the bank and a 1yr house rental contract what else can I do to prove my life here?

As for my wife I guess theres not much I can do? She has a very small Facebook page where she used to sell clothes and make bit of money, if they could see money coming into her account from that would it help her? Like I said no job, kids, car, house etc

Thanks also Bredbury Blue

[davejonesbkk]

When I did this last year, a signed letter from my father and a signed letter from his company confirming his earnings wasn't enough. As we named him as the sponsor they wanted his bank statements. I had enclosed my own bank statements from Thailand and also the flight tickets the first time i applied which was not enough even though i had over 10k Egnlish in the bank for a 3 week holiday(this might be because i named my father the sponsor) They also ask for lots of pictures of you together throughout the relationship to prove that it is a genuine relationship. i also enclosed previous skype and facebook conversations with dates to show the longevity of our relationship.

hope this helps

so were you successful on a 2nd application and if so what/whose funds did you show them and how much?

I have hundreds of pics of us together from the last 2+ years so that shouldnt be a problem

[ronaldo0]

Depends on your luck i think!!

I have applied twice and been refused,my friend tried 4 times with his wife and was refused every time (her friends even worked in the office!!)

First time my wife was refused as she only had 3 months bank statements not 6, although i had stated i was paying for everything and we ran a business together in Thailand.

Second time had car in her name(Paid in full), 9 million bht house in her name(paid), 1.2 million bht in her bank for over a year,she had a job paying 25,000 bht per month. No debts, letter from my mother stating she would be expecting us etc and would pay for everything if for some reason we could not afford the trip. Had my passport, full travel details ,costs and timescales. 6 months of my bank statements, wedding certificate(married over 6 years!) wedding photos and other photos of holiday etc. The trip was going to cost over 10K uk for 2 weeks.

Denied on the grounds that they didn't think our marriage was real,

they said she didn't have funds for a return flight!! ( 1.2 million bht is not enough??)

no proof of my visa etc, yet had my passport and copies of visa and passport page!

Didn't think she would return to Thailand! So she was just going to leave a house and car there for the fun of it??

If she was broke and from Europe im sure she would have no problem getting in and getting handouts from the government!!

Next time will be the last. After that we will be spending our money in places closer to home with less hassle!!

[mikebell]

Ronaldo, I cannot believe you were refused a visa on the above information. How can your marriage not be real? My wife & I have applied successfully for UK visa 5 times + a 10 year US visa. She has no-where near your wife's assets. She has a part-time job. I would look at your letter.

[kennypowers]

Do everything you can to show the good character of your wife. If she owns any land, show the deeds for that. If she is university educated, provide the degree documents. If she can get a character testimony from a respected person such as a current or former employer, or a high ranking official, get that. Provide as much as you can to show good reason for her to return to Thailand.

Putting money in her bank is a good idea, but if she hasn't a job with payslips to prove that she could have genuinely saved this money they will see through it. That said, if the money is in her bank it could have been gifted to her by her parents. Also be aware that you will need to show your visa/travel history for the past 5 years too. That's a copy of every page of your passport for the period.

There's a comprehensive post on exactly what you'll need here from someone who has done it successfully many times: How to Get a UK Visitor Visa for Your Thai Partner [in 7 steps]

[davejonesbkk]

@kennypowers thanks, she has zero assets not even a motorbike so it really have to be an emphasis on her and out relationship.

However she does have an online business selling clothes via a Facebook page and website, if I were to start making deposits into her account each month for say the next 6 months could she then show that as her income?

[ronaldo0]

Ronaldo, I cannot believe you were refused a visa on the above information. How can your marriage not be real? My wife & I have applied successfully for UK visa 5 times + a 10 year US visa. She has no-where near your wife's assets. She has a part-time job. I would look at your letter.

Believe me ! i would not be writing here otherwise!!

[thaiguzzi]

Ronaldo, I cannot believe you were refused a visa on the above information. How can your marriage not be real? My wife & I have applied successfully for UK visa 5 times + a 10 year US visa. She has no-where near your wife's assets. She has a part-time job. I would look at your letter.

Afraid it does happen, and i can believe it. We've been married for 10 years, lived together 12, known each other 15, kids etc. Missus has a LOT of assets here inc a LOT of land in her name, house, truck paid for blah blah. Went for a holiday visa in 2006/7 no probs, but then that was dealing direct with the embassy, none of this outsourcing Visa4UK boll#cks. This year, another routine holiday, visa rejected. I'm sure they did'nt even check all the supporting documentation re their refusal reply just did not make sense. Anyway, applied immediately again, even more financial info supplied, and got the visa. Been back about a fortnight. It is a lottery sometimes...

[kennypowers]

@kennypowers thanks, she has zero assets not even a motorbike so it really have to be an emphasis on her and out relationship.

However she does have an online business selling clothes via a Facebook page and website, if I were to start making deposits into her account each month for say the next 6 months could she then show that as her income?

I would register that as a business (sole trader) and pay whatever the small tax is due, which I'm sure won't be much. That way she has a legitimate business in Thailand, as regulated by Thai law, and therefore a good reason to return. Let's say she earns 10-15k a month from it, you could bump it to 20 or 25 and pay tax on that amount. This will certainly bode well for her going forward if you ever want to get a longer term visa.

[ronaldo0]

Ronaldo, I cannot believe you were refused a visa on the above information. How can your marriage not be real? My wife & I have applied successfully for UK visa 5 times + a 10 year US visa. She has no-where near your wife's assets. She has a part-time job. I would look at your letter.

Afraid it does happen, and i can believe it. We've been married for 10 years, lived together 12, known each other 15, kids etc. Missus has a LOT of assets here inc a LOT of land in her name, house, truck paid for blah blah. Went for a holiday visa in 2006/7 no probs, but then that was dealing direct with the embassy, none of this outsourcing Visa4UK boll#cks. This year, another routine holiday, visa rejected. I'm sure they did'nt even check all the supporting documentation re their refusal reply just did not make sense. Anyway, applied immediately again, even more financial info supplied, and got the visa. Been back about a fortnight. It is a lottery sometimes...

Same problem i had. Their reply letter made absolutely no sense!! It was as if they didn't even look at her details!!

Then when i wrote a complaint about the application i got a answer which made no sense and came from Vietnam!!

[mfharrison]

When I did this last year, a signed letter from my father and a signed letter from his company confirming his earnings wasn't enough. As we named him as the sponsor they wanted his bank statements. I had enclosed my own bank statements from Thailand and also the flight tickets the first time i applied which was not enough even though i had over 10k Egnlish in the bank for a 3 week holiday(this might be because i named my father the sponsor) They also ask for lots of pictures of you together throughout the relationship to prove that it is a genuine relationship. i also enclosed previous skype and facebook conversations with dates to show the longevity of our relationship.

hope this helps

so were you successful on a 2nd application and if so what/whose funds did you show them and how much?

I have hundreds of pics of us together from the last 2+ years so that shouldnt be a problem

In the end my father sent through his bank statements and an investment statement to show that he had the funds. As i said im not sure if i was rejected first time based on a small technicality of saying my dad was the sponsor even though i showed the funds of 10k+ English.

The second application was successful and i sent copies of my banks both English and Thai along with my dads bank statements. My wife(before just girlfriend) also had some land in her name and we got all those papers translated too.

i believe if you can get the papers from your family in the UK along with yours it would be much better. My experience of it all was you cant give too much so try to cover every base from your view your partners view and the family back home. I sent a huge amount of paperwork with my wife on the second attempt and we were successful i annotated every picture and also the screen shots of my facebook account.

When we finally got the visa through for our 3 week holiday it was a 6month visa so if shes accepted your length of stay shouldnt be a problem.

hope this helps

[jinners]

When I did this last year, a signed letter from my father and a signed letter from his company confirming his earnings wasn't enough. As we named him as the sponsor they wanted his bank statements. I had enclosed my own bank statements from Thailand and also the flight tickets the first time i applied which was not enough even though i had over 10k Egnlish in the bank for a 3 week holiday(this might be because i named my father the sponsor) They also ask for lots of pictures of you together throughout the relationship to prove that it is a genuine relationship. i also enclosed previous skype and facebook conversations with dates to show the longevity of our relationship.

hope this helps

so were you successful on a 2nd application and if so what/whose funds did you show them and how much?

I have hundreds of pics of us together from the last 2+ years so that shouldnt be a problem

Hate <deleted>, but in my experience they are total <deleted> looking for whatever reason possible to decline. I initially tried last year to get my then GF over for a holiday. She had he own business. I completed everything they asked for and more besides, including tons of pictures, but they refused as we'd not shown a balance sheet confirming what she had said she earns monthly. AS a small business there is no such thing, though we showed her bank account and my assets which was more than enough.

Nextt year, we decided to get married, amphur wedding so marriage cert and everything. Spring of this year I applied for a spouse visa. This was also refused. Reasons being they hadn't got paperwork as requested, which I had sent, and obviously have copies and emails proving this. So after a 1000 quid I was offered an appeal. I did that same day and sent all the doc's off to the immigration office, costing of course more time and money. I just received notince that they got the documents (I know this as I sent it regiatered) but have no link to the appeal. "Please send us the appeal number, payment number, name etcetcetc"

Level of incompetence is astounding. All the time I"m separated from my wife, spending more money with a joint future in the balance. Truly appalled at such a complicated expensive pedantic useless system.

Now waiting to see what happens. I was advised by immigration, once they look over the appeal, which takes about 10 days, they send to BKK where they have another look and the answer could be done in a week but might take 3 months. Scandalous.

I wish you luck and would say get everything in there including the kitchen sink and hope you don't get the same I did.

[7by7]

davejonesbkk, do not be put off by the horror stories posted by some. With respect to those who posted, whilst they are no doubt true we do not have the whole story; people often forget all the reasons given by the ECO for a refusal in such circumstances.

The fact is that consistently around 95% of visit visa applications in Thailand are approved.

From what you have said, I think you, or rather your wife, will have every chance of success.

She is your wife and so has genuine reason for visiting the UK with you. provide your marriage certificate plus evidence that you are, and have been for some time, living together. Photos? Up to you, I don't think they are necessary if you have documentary evidence of your life together in Thailand, but if you do submit them don't overdo it. A couple of dozen covering several years at most.

You can afford the trip. If you can do so from your own resources, fine. Simply provide evidence that you have the money; 6 months bank statements are best plus evidence of your earnings if you have it. If your father is paying, or contributing, then he should write a brief letter explaining why he is doing so and provide evidence of his ability to do so. There is no need to pad her bank account, indeed doing so will only arouse the ECOs suspicions.

You have somewhere to stay in the UK. Your father should write a brief letter of invitation, in which he describes the property and who else lives here to show that there is room for you. Proof of his ownership, or permission from his landlord for you to stay if he rents, can help, but is not essential.

She will return to Thailand after the visit. You are legally resident in Thailand and have been for a considerable period and can prove it.. You will be returning, so she will return with you. provide a copy of your passport to show your immigration status plus any other evidence of your life together; and your Thai residence. E.g. bank statements, hire purchase agreements, utility bills etc.

Have a read of the UKVI guidance for more on what is required and how to apply.

You may also find UK visit visa basics helpful. It is a little out of date, for example the category of Family Visitor no longer exists; but the essentials haven't changed very much, if at all.

However, I suggest that you come back and check on everything when the time does come for your wife to apply; no one knows what changes may have been made in the mean time.

[bobrussell]

it amazes me how many strange stories of rejection seem to surface. On most occasions the rejection letters are not posted here (with personal information blacked out!) so it is someone's interpretation of what is written rather than the true reason.

If six months bank statements are required and only three are presented then an application is likely to be rejected. If the ECO's were as careless as some suggest then the system is well and truly broken. Papers going missing between VFS and the Embassy?

A properly prepared application is going to be properly scrutinised, a bad one may well be considered inadequate.

My advice is to fully index and number pages before submission. At the beginning of each section list the documents and give them page numbers. Make these numbers large so everyone knows what should be there and missing pages obvious.

Obviously it is not possible to comment on bad experiences without knowing a lot more. I have found our applications were handled appropriately albeit without a lot of flexibility.

Someone being refused four visas suggests lack of preparation or an inability through circumstances to provide the required level of information to allow an ECO to approve an application. Four tries that do not give adequate reasons to return will be four rejections.

Sadly the removal of the right to appeal has made it much tougher to challenge cases where the ECO has not performed his or her duties well.

[wooloomooloo]

it amazes me how many strange stories of rejection seem to surface.

... and always after the fact. Never heard of these guys previously, you know, when they were preparing the application and asking pertinent questions. Strange, indeed.

[davejonesbkk]

Thanks for all the info guys, we are thinking of changing plans now and going to try for a visit around end August, I guess now would be a good time to apply then?

If we are rejected first time can we re-apply straight away? Do they give you feedback on why you were rejected etc. and what to do next time? How many applications could I do in a 2 month period?

[theoldgit]

In the case of a refusal then yes you could re-apply straight away, and yes they do give you the reasons why an application was refused and these reasons would need to be addressed in any subsequent application.

[Mobi]

I am taking my wife for her second trip to England this coming Thursday.

For both trips, we had no problems obtaining her visa although we did supply shed loads of documents to establish that I had sufficient funds and that she would return after the holiday.

Last time we went, I took EU channel at Heathrow immigration and my wife took the non-EU channel. I got through pretty quickly and went along the channels to see how my wife was getting on. The immigration officer was reading through the documents had given her - including a letter containing full details of her trip, addresses of family etc. In spite of this, the immigration officer called me across and asked me a number of questions before she let my wife through.

I have read somewhere, that non-EU citizens accompanying husbands from the EU can go through the EU channel with their husbands. Does anyone know if Is this correct? I don't really want to subject her to the hassle alone that she had last time.

Thanks for any info

Mobi

[Upnotover]

I am taking my wife for her second trip to England this coming Thursday.

For both trips, we had no problems obtaining her visa although we did supply shed loads of documents to establish that I had sufficient funds and that she would return after the holiday.

Last time we went, I took EU channel at Heathrow immigration and my wife took the non-EU channel. I got through pretty quickly and went along the channels to see how my wife was getting on. The immigration officer was reading through the documents had given her - including a letter containing full details of her trip, addresses of family etc. In spite of this, the immigration officer called me across and asked me a number of questions before she let my wife through.

I have read somewhere, that non-EU citizens accompanying husbands from the EU can go through the EU channel with their husbands. Does anyone know if Is this correct? I don't really want to subject her to the hassle alone that she had last time.

Thanks for any info

Mobi

Yes, 100% she can go through the EU line with you. (hope the weather improves for your trip, its horrible here right now!)

[Mobi]

Yes, 100% she can go through the EU line with you. (hope the weather improves for your trip, its horrible here right now!)

Thanks for that, it will make it a lot easier, and less stressful for her.

Well at least the rail strike has been cancelled - that was starting to worry me, as I have already booked some trips.

I've always had good weather when I went to England, but I've never been there in early June before. Fingers crossed.

[bigyin]

Equally you can go through the non EU line with her which is what I did. I certainly don't think they should ever go through alone.

[7by7]

Yes, 100% she can go through the EU line with you. (hope the weather improves for your trip, its horrible here right now!)

I would not be so definite.

Before they got their British passports, my wife and step daughter always came through the EU line with me, except on their first entry.

But this was with settlement visas then ILR, not visit visas.

It was also made clear to us on one occasion that this was a courtesy, not a right.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is more likely to be allowed at Heathrow than a regional airport.

I know of at least one instance at Manchester where the Thai wife of a British citizen tried to enter with her husband via the EU queue but was sent to the back to the non EU queue by the IO on the EU desk.

My advise is that the Thai passport holder joins the non EU queue while the EU (British) one goes to the EU queue and asks. Calling the Thai one over if the IO says it's ok, joining them in the non EU queue if they refuse.

Even if they are allowed in via the EU queue, it wont stop the IO from questioning them and/or examining documents if they decide to do so.

[davejonesbkk]

@Mobi - what questions did the IO ask you? Would you mind providing some details of your applications eg what funds and docs you showed?

[davejonesbkk]

Also can someone advise me how I can show evidence of our 2.5 years together? Like I said at the start of the thread we have been married 5 months and have the docs for that and she has legally taken my surname but the only other thing I can think of are pics of us together from the last few years...

[mfharrison]

When i was proving my relationship i used pictures of previous trips together but also linked those pictures up with different hotel bookings etc. I also took screen shots of old facebook conversations and pictures together as they are already dated along with skype conversations. These were all fine and accepted as evidence i indexed them all to make it easier for the IO.

When i went through Heathrow airport with my g/f i just asked someone on duty if i could go with my g/f and they said yea it shouldnt be a problem and pointed us both to the non eu line. We got asked a few basic questions like how long we were staying and where etc but the IO was very nice and wished us well on our travels after a few mins.

i do believe the main things is putting the data together in a clear manor and indexing it all. i clearly put the sponsors and their bank accounts in one section and then my details and proof of the relationship in another and clear enotations of pictures. I admit it was a massive pain and it took me a while to pull everything together but it was worth it

[Mobi]

@Mobi - what questions did the IO ask you? Would you mind providing some details of your applications eg what funds and docs you showed?

The questions were of a general nature about the purpose of our trip, where we were staying, where we would visit etc. and about our life in Thailand together.

I attach a copy of a list of visa requirements that I obtained from an agent a few years back. I think it is pretty comprehensive.