Hello

Please have a look:

www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/689377-the-financial-minimum-income-requirement-for-partner-visas-for-uk/

Is the pdf document attached still valid (the post if from December 2013, so maybe the pdf doc is even older).

What are as of now the requirements for a Thai person to enter UK? Can this person stay more than 3 months? Can this person work in UK?

I am a European citizen working in London, and I want my thai girl friend to join me, and if possible, work legally here. Is that possible or am I just dreaming?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Cheers. (I also attached the pdf doc in my correspondance for easier reference).

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/689377-the-financial-minimum-income-requirement-for-partner-visas-for-uk/

sn06724 minimum income for thai to get UK visa.pdf

If you're an EU citizen and not a British citizen, and do not have substantial assets, the cheapest way is to marry her outside the UK and bring her in on a family permit as a member of the family of an EU citizen. It also works if you're Norwegian. She will then be legally permitted to work, but very few employers will take her on until she obtains her residence card.

you would have to marry her, but this could be seen as a marriage of convenience by the British Authorities, who could legally stop her from entering the country. You would need to prove a long standing relationship existed before the marriage.

The minimum income thing is for British people bringing their thai wife to live with them in England, as a European using your Freedom of Movement you do not have to prove any finances.

If you want to use the EEA regulations so your girlfriend can move to the UK to live with you, then as said above you will have to marry her first as girlfriends, including fiances, are not qualifying family members under those regulations.

Unless you have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for at least two years and so she qualifies as your unmarried partner.

If applying under these regulation's the financial requirement does not apply; that document is for those applying to settle in the UK under the UK immigration rules.

However, you should show that she will be supported and accommodated in the UK without becoming a financial burden upon the state; from your resources, hers or both.

See Apply for an EEA family permit

If she only wants to visit you in the UK then, as she is not your spouse, she should apply for a UK visit visa, which would allow her up to 6 months in the UK; but if in the UK as a visitor she cannot work.

......the family of an EU citizen. It also works if you're Norwegian.

The freedom of movement treaty is an EEA treaty, not an EU one. So it applies if you are a national of any EEA country; which is all EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Although not a member of either the EU or EEA, Switzerland is also included.

you would have to marry her, but this could be seen as a marriage of convenience by the British Authorities, who could legally stop her from entering the country. You would need to prove a long standing relationship existed before the marriage.

A legal and genuine marriage is sufficient, they cannot refuse you for not having been in a long lasting relationship (before or during the marriage). A very recent marriage might be seen as a potential marriage of convience but it would not enough to refuse to acknowledge the marriage as genuine. If there would be such doubts you'd probably run into it when applying for the free EU/EEA permit for the Thai national, and possibly when crossing the border (with or without visa/permit if you managed to reach it). Ofcourse you could contact an immigration lawyer if one would run into issues.

I don't know how it's in the UK but in NL if you reach the border and are refused entry you may insist on having a lawyer intervening rather then being deportee right away without any way to object. Afterall borderguards make mistakes or bad judgement calls too so immidiate deportation would seem a bit harsh and unfair to me, but if the UK has any fair legislation on this I do not know.