Which visa to come to UK temporarily for new thai wife?

[fish fingers]

Need advice on what type of UK visa for my thai wife, the UK website is bloody confusing and it seems that government pay line in the UK gave me wrong info.

My thai wife would like to visit the UK for 6 months next summer and probably on and off after that. Thats the plan for the next 3 yrs or so. I dont want to take the risk of tourist visas after a small problem at Heathrow recently.

I'll living mostly in thailand with her and I too need to apply for a marriage visa in Thailand at the end of this year ..so its quite confusing -

Will my wife need a Family Of A Settled Person Visa?

Also what proof of relationship info will she need to present apart from marriage certificate and proof of income ?

[bobrussell]

Sadly there is no ideal visa for someone to move back and forth for prolonged periods between Thailand and the UK.

A six month visit is a very long visit and potentially may be seen as an attempt to by-pass settlement rules.

Start with the pinned visit and settlement visa topics at the top of the 'visas and migration to other countries' section to familiarise yourself with the options. Neither visa type is ideal from the sound of things but a decision has to be made about settlement or visit.

Settlement means making the UK the main base, it is expensive and long winded. Visits are limited and a six month visit is likely (but not impossible) to be difficult to get a visa for. There is also a convention (not absolute rule) that allows a visitor a maximum of six months within a twelve month period.

Shame there is no visa category for a long-stay but not permanent visa. The UK government are missing a trick here as they could probably rake it in form fees, NHS charges etc without offering settlement!

The Visa4UK website is a downright shambles and there is little help to be had even from the pay line! The pinned topics will give you a lot more help than you will get from gov.uk or associated sites.

While you are there check the visa agents pinned topic before spending money on advice!

[fish fingers]

Thanks for going to the trouble of writing that reply, much appreciated

One silly question

Is the official name of Spouse Visa = Family Of A Settled Person Visa?

[7by7]

A foreign spouse who wishes to settle in the UK with their British spouse would come under the 'family of a settled person' visa; yes.

Apply to join family living permanently in the UK.

As your wife only wishes to visit for periods of 6 months or less, then she needs a standard visitor visa (the category of family visit no longer exists; many different categories were recently combined).

Standard Visitor visa

She can apply for a term of 6 months, 2, 5 or 10 years.

See Long-term visit visas (multiple entry) from the guidance.

Note:

1. No matter the term of a visit visa, she can only spend a maximum of 6 months per visit in the UK and, usually, no more than 6 months out of any 12 in the UK.
2. The longer the term applied for, the higher the fee; but if the ECO decides to issue a shorter term than requested there will be no refund of the difference in fees.

[fish fingers]

Thank you 7by7 that is a massive help. The latter visa looks perfect for our needs, isn't too hard to apply for and the fee isn't too crazy. She can't work here but thats ok

Edited July 16, 2015 by fish fingers

[bobrussell]

Don't be too quick to apply for a longer multi-entry visa. ECO's seem quite reluctant to issue them without very good reasons. They are much more expensive than standard visit visas and there is no refund if the ECO only offers a six month visa!