Thai GFs second UK visit, do anything different? +1 best friend male.

[Saltwater]

Hi all again!

Been a while since I started this rather detailed topic at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/807489-uk-visa-for-long-term-thai-gf-visiting-my-uk-family-vaf1b/ for my GFs first visa, which was a success, with much help and thanks to the members here who helped and now we are after another one, so after reading that or remembering should give you the backstory and I will keep questions easy for my clarification and you great guys here.

The Short:

My Thai GF got her UK Visa last year valid Mid June 15' to Mid Dec 15' (6 mths) though we only went for 1 month, I was the sponsor and she was financed by my father.

I also got my Dual Nationality sorted out and now hold both UK and Thai passports, ID cards etc.

Q&A:

I can understand 2nd applications work the same way, but what should I mention in relation to our previous 'success' and evidence to my/our story (I got my Thai ID etc and new passport etc when I mentioned in the last application 'sponsor' letter) to aid us in another success this time around? BKK VFS complained we had too many documents last time (though they mattered) can we like, reduce the "picture gallery" of us etc this time now because we already did it once with success?

I assume my father needs to send again... bank statements if he is financing her? (that was one of the hard parts for my father)

- etc etc to above. Just seeing what exactly is needed for this 2nd round, so many papers for first time applicants.

I also have a thai male friend who wants to come too. Quick questions, does it benefit him if I help him apply for his visa? Like invite/sponsor letter him too? Quick facts, he can finance himself for the trip well more than required, his occupation is tour guide/leader for an agency, he has traveled around Asia a lot, singapore, vietnam, burma, china/taiwan etc. He will stay and travel with me and my GF, stay with my family too etc.

Many thanks all.

[theoldgit]

Your girlfriend will need to say that's she's previously been to the UK, it's a question on the application form and she will need to provide the details of the visa.

There's no need to go into too much detail regarding the application in her subsequent application. Maybe add a short sentence in her covering letter, it's interesting that you say she only went for a month, that's quite a long holiday.

You're correct in thinking that she will need to take as much care with her second application as she did with her first, that's where some people fall down. So yes, if she's being supported financially evidence will need to be provided again, take as much care as the first application.

Your friend seems able to qualify in his own right, most Thai applicants do, but by all means help him. If you're travelling together then by all means write a short letter confirming this, if you or your father are offering to put him up during his stay then include confirmation.

[Jip99]

Just to mention that Vfs no longer need a passport-size photo - they rely on the biometrics.

 

A quick plaudit for UKVI (and Vfs) - a friend submitted her application last Monday, a decision was made last Thursday and the visa was received first thing this morning. One week start to finish.

[Saltwater]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses, hopefully after the second time it will become second nature to me, but it is indeed a big deal to get all the same relevant documents I did last time for us, and a letter to support my friends case with my ID with it should be help enough I guess.

We will be applying at the new Chiang Mai office, there seems to be some 50/50 success here still too, but I guess we will do our best each time and see. Do we need to do anything different for the Chiang Mai office or will they just grab biometrics all over again anyway? Just trying to find 'benefits' to applying after a successful application last time.

The circumstances are even easier than last time, so looking forward to a yes, I will of course reply here if I think of anything else you could help me and hopefully other out who read this and my old topic.

Thanks.

[wooloomooloo]

1 minute ago, Saltwater said:

Just trying to find 'benefits' to applying after a successful application last time.

The circumstances are even easier than last time, so looking forward to a yes ...

There are no benefits and the circumstances are not even easier than last time.

It's a fresh application and should be treated as such, unless you like living dangerously.

[rasg]

Just trying to find 'benefits' to applying after a successful application last time.

The main benefits are that you have done it before and you should have most of the info from the first. The wife's first visit visa was a lot of work gathering info etc. The second took around six hours from beginning to end.

The online application on the settlement visa was quick but the financial docs as I am self employed meant that there were a lot more hoops to jump through. I left that bit to the accountant...

[Jip99]

5 hours ago, wooloomooloo said:

There are no benefits and the circumstances are not even easier than last time.

It's a fresh application and should be treated as such, unless you like living dangerously.

 

 

The only benefits are that (a) the genuineness of the  relationship - if appropriate - has already been accepted so that should take away any uncertainty relating to that criteria and (b) the reasons to return have been enhanced by returning from the previous visit.

 

[Saltwater]

43 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

The only benefits are that (a) the genuineness of the  relationship - if appropriate - has already been accepted so that should take away any uncertainty relating to that criteria and (b) the reasons to return have been enhanced by returning from the previous visit.

 

Thanks all, and I was thinking that this would be the perspective that could be taken into consideration, as last time I did indeed spend a lot of resources and time making documents showing/explaining our relationship was genuine last time and all evidence I have now shows we honored our story and intentions when travelling last time.

With that in mind, I submitted like 40 odd images last time on double sided A4s for pictures etc, can I tone that down this time? Want to give the ECO an easier time... as he will look up the last evaluation anyway? (I can do it, nothing fishy, just last time felt like I submitted a lot, I even submitted 2-5 pages of facebook and phonecall records) Or like wooloo /rasg mentioned it's fresh, so I should just do it like I did the first time and stop thinking like this. Cheers

 

 

[theoldgit]

You say that the application is being submitted in Chiang Mai, just keep regarding the Visa Application Centre as a glorified letter box, all the VFS staff do is receive the supporting documentation and capture the biometrics, where the application is submitted is immaterial, it is still processed by UKVI staff in Bangkok.

Do take as much care for subsequent applications as original ones, take nothing for granted and don't assume anything. However go easy with irrelevant "evidence" as I may have said before the UKVI advice is not to include photographs unless specifically asked for. 

[Jip99]

On 2/8/2559 at 9:07 AM, Saltwater said:

Thanks all, and I was thinking that this would be the perspective that could be taken into consideration, as last time I did indeed spend a lot of resources and time making documents showing/explaining our relationship was genuine last time and all evidence I have now shows we honored our story and intentions when travelling last time.

With that in mind, I submitted like 40 odd images last time on double sided A4s for pictures etc, can I tone that down this time? Want to give the ECO an easier time... as he will look up the last evaluation anyway? (I can do it, nothing fishy, just last time felt like I submitted a lot, I even submitted 2-5 pages of facebook and phonecall records) Or like wooloo /rasg mentioned it's fresh, so I should just do it like I did the first time and stop thinking like this. Cheers

 

 

 

 

As The Old Git said; photographs are not required unless specifically requested.

 

I agree 100% about making life easy for rthe ECO; in the application for a friend last week there were 7 pieces of paper (and one of those was probably superfluous).

 

Signed application.

My letter of intro.

Relationship background

Reasons for applicant to return

Copy bank statement evidencing funds

Sponsors letter

Passport ID page of sponsor

[rasg]

But was it successful?

[Saltwater]

Hi all,

 

So just checking up as applying now, but the vfs site at https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk mentioned that I could apply for the standard visiting visa via https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/product/uk-visit-visa I have gone through nearly the whole process now, up to the point where it is asking what payment options I want to use. Has anyone used this new service yet instead of the vfs visa4uk site? See attached for the stage I am at (you cant see any of her details), will it still request for my girlfriend to submit all supporting documents and do biometrics at Chiang Mai (place of choice?), also we'll probably do 3-5 workings days, as we are cutting it close with the days we can go right now. Cheers! All feedback would be great on this new system.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2016 by Saltwater