visa to uk for a girl friend, though i am still legally married to thai national

[dirtycash]

i got new job in london city, pays good etc , living here alone for time being. im still legally married to thai wife . my girl friend tells me she was to come to uk to stay with me, sounds ok to me .

what do i need to now do ? theres money in my bank, theres a good amount of wages going in every week etc. though i only live in digs now at moment ( shared house ) london really expensive for housing .

what way can i get her a visa ? bear in mind i am dual irish citizen and cab take her the EEA permit route application or not ? if things are too difficult then i will forget about it as when i was making visa for my first wife it was a pain in the arse and i really cant cope with too much more stress on top of this new job.

thankyou

[Upnotover]

Does the EEA permit work for girlfriends? I thought it was only for family members, i.e. wives.

[thonglorjimmy]

I'm in the same position as the OP, I'm still legally married to a Thai lady, though we haven't been together for almost eight years, I have no idea where she even is.

I've been with my current partner for some years, she has successfully applied for three visit visas for the UK, the latest one being for two years. She had no problem whatsoever, coincidently my wife's first application was declined. I think in the initial application I mentioned I was separated from my wife.

Not sure about the EU permit but my current girlfriend has had three Schengen visas since we've been together, the latest one was issued by the Dutch Consulate free of charge, on the basis of being a long term partner of an EU and was valid until three months before the expiry of her passport, and she didn't need proof on income etc.

Whilst the same rules apply to all Schengen States, I understand that the Dutch are more liberal with their interpretation of the rules.

[Donutz]

Not sure about the EU permit but my current girlfriend has had three Schengen visas since we've been together, the latest one was issued by the Dutch Consulate free of charge, on the basis of being a long term partner of an EU and was valid until three months before the expiry of her passport, and she didn't need proof on income etc.

Whilst the same rules apply to all Schengen States, I understand that the Dutch are more liberal with their interpretation of the rules.

The Dutch are just properly applying the Directive, it can apply to unmarried couples too if they are in a relation ' akin to marriage' . For the Dutch this means a durable, sincere and exclusive relationship which they will assume is the case after for instance 6 months cohabitation.

Most other countries do now allow immigration of unmarried partners (the Dutch do, I got my gf to migratie to NL and live with me) and do not give visa's or residency to aliens who are in a durable relationship with a (EU or national) citizen. And some just don't seem to wish to execute the directive properly and are too strict while basically it should be a smooth, easy " VIP" ride...

[howerde]

The option to use eea rules for dual citizens was stopped in 2012/2013, i assume british/irish. you will have tomake applications as a British citizen

[Donutz]

The option to use eea rules for dual citizens was stopped in 2012/2013, i assume british/irish. you will have tomake applications as a British citizen

Indeed, applies to all EU/EEA members as per the an ECJ ruling (2011?): a dual national needs to have excersized their rights in an/the other EU country.