Settlement Visa For My Thai Fiancee

[Mon]

Hi all

I am at the final stages of applying for a Settlement Visa for my Thai Fiancee. I would appreicate any assistance.

My situation is as follows;

I met my now Fiancee in Bangkok November 2001, I was on vacation for one week and we met on my first day and by the end of my vacation we began our relationship. At that time she owned a small Women's clothes shop however now she helps on her Family's Tree farm and attends college aswell.

Since we met we have kept in regular contact on the telephone( I have bills with her telephone numbers ), I have numerous International phone cards( I 'm not sure if these hold any weight ), greeting cards and a couple of letters from earlier this year. I have sent all the relevant documents to her ( Confirmation of my home ownership, Bank and Building Society statements, attested copy of my passport, Mortgage statement, letter to British Embassy explaining our application and relationship ). My Fiancee can speak English very well also.

I returned to Thailand in March this year where we were engaged, we had the Religious ceremony and a celebration with many of her friends and family. We have known each other for 2.5 years now and we plan to marry in the near future. My financial position is as follows; I am a British citizen, I own my own proprty, I am a Director, I don't have any Children( so far as I know ) and I have never been married. My Fiancee has no children and has never been married. My Fiancee is 29 years old and I am 34 years old.

I have been studying the whole visa rules for a few weeks now, I've also spoken to the UKVISA department in London and to my Lawyer and I think I have covered most aspects.

I would appreciate any help regarding my situation, Is our relationship strong enough for the application of a Settlement Visa ? Are there any additional documents that I have to provide ?? What is the British Embassy looking for to substantiate our application ?? I read on another report on this forum that applying for a visa is " an Art and not a Science ". This is an interesting comment, thus it makes me understand a little more the whole Visa application procedure.

Thank you in advance of any assistance.

Regards

Mon

[Richard W]

There's a recent (Summer 2003) copy of the settlement visa checklist at Visa Interview Checklist.

To demonstrate ability to accommodate, it would help to have the survey report (or even the valuation report). If you live on your own, you could demonstrate that from your council tax bill (I think there's a discount for single occupancy). Alternatively, but less convincingly, you could request a formal extract from the electoral register. If you are letting rooms in your home, copies of the tenancy agreements and, if houses in multiple occupation in your area are licensed, the license.

It may also be worth getting confirmation from the mortgage company that your fiancée and then wife may live with you. She will be asked to sign a form allowing them to evict her if you default on your mortgage payments, and they will send a letter giving her permission to live in your home. I didn't have to pay anything for this nonsense, and building societies are used to it.

Note that you'll probably need attested copies of the company's accounts - life's easier for employees!

I'd send the phonecards to the interview. At least it's an indication that someone in your circle phones abroad!

As to the relationship, you will of course submit photographs of the wedding, won't you? Did you meet in 2002 and 2003? If so, I think photographs would help. If the relationship has not been continuous, it might be dangerous to pretend it was. (I've seen a claim that romantic love only lasts three years. Strange - I thought the love of me and my wife was romantic love.) I can see the ECO tring to panic your fiancée on that issue. He might also try fishing on your wife's curriculum vitae. However, as you've had your wedding, it will certainly seem odd if you don't try to live together now. I'm afraid I don't know how to ensure the ECO doesn't think your fiancée does not intend to live with you for ever. If it were obvious that your fiancée loved you, that would do the trick, but how to make it obvious without seeming false is another issue.

[caledonia]

As the last post says have you actually seen your wife in 2002 and 2003? If you were only in Thailand for a week in 2001 and then again in March they will really focus in on that. The emphasis is on you to prove you have a geniuine relationship, they don't have to prove you don't. It will not sit well if you are claiming to be financially stable and yet have not made trips out to Thailand in that 2 year period. Maybe you were out there though and I picked you up wrong

At the end fo the day it would appear all this comes down to luck. After watching a programme based in the Bangkok embassy where the only guy that cos a visa for his wife out the lot was over 70, at least 30 years ger senior , had met her for two weeks and she spoke no english I really don't have a clue how they determine these things!!!

[tyler2uk]

hi mon.....sound like you have got most of the information covered, but like many people will tell you is that it is very much down to how long you have known each other and if you can provide full cover for your partner whilst in the uk (accomodation and income)...We got our settlement visa a year ago and had all info covered but i have heard from many people i have spoke to who have qualified with much less....just make sure you partner is helpfull and carries a smile when being intervied

....if you type my name into the search engine and click to search all forums over the past 3 months you will find the way we got a settlement visa and what we took when applying...

...if you still unsure, mail me on [email protected]

good luck

[Mon]

Hi Guys

Thank you for feedback and advice.

Just clarify from my original post, we are engaged at present and plan to Marry in the near future. We have photos and movie film of the engagement ceremony.

I have been to Thailand in November 2001 and March 2004. Wiser thinking now I should of travelled there more often, we were just saving for the future and planning the engagement.

As stated, the emphasis is on me to prove that the relationship is genuine, as it is, this should come across as truthful when my Fiancee is interviewed.

Richard, I have sent a copy of my properties deeds, is this ok or do I need to send a valuation report additionally ? Also what may they ask her regarding her curriculum vitae ?

Tyler, should I be with my Fiancee in Bangkok when she submits her application and/or when she has her interview ??

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Regards

Mon

[Richard W]

Richard, I have sent a copy of my properties deeds, is this ok or do I need to send a valuation report additionally ?

It's possible that you could provide a description of your own accompanied by photographs. I know valuation reports have served me well, as they list the rooms and gave an indication of their size. Apparently one of the visa application preparation firms asks clients to supply photographs of the interior of the dwelling rather than asking for a survey. You could even use a recent estate agent's description, as they have to be honest nowadays. As I don't know whether you live in a mansion or a cramped one-bedroom flat, I can't easily comment further.

My guess is that if you had a band C or higher dwelling outside London and had the single-occupant discount on the council tax, your own description would suffice.

Also what may they ask her regarding her curriculum vitae?

See IanB-UK's horror story in Anyone get married and refused visa ?. (If you haven't joined up, I strongly recommend that you do. There's a noticeable overlap in membership - and in visa questions!) His story is as follows: Because he met his wife in Pattaya, she could only get her visa by lying that he met his wife as a prostitute. If he had stuck to the truth, the visa would have been refused on the grounds that the ECO was lied to. He therefore lied and his wife got her settlement visa.

Given that sort of attitude, I can see an ECO doubting that your fiancée had her own business to give up when she went back to working on the family farm. (If the family farm is a substantial business, it would help to show evidence that it is. How's she been paying to attend college?) If she had a lease on her premises and has kept her copy, that will help. (Did a rent rise force her to give up the business? I do remember one stall-holder - no door, so I won't call her place a shop - retailing clothes in Bangkok saying she would have to move because she couldn't afford the new rent.)

Did your fiancée speak English well when you met? If so, she should be ready to explain why. The professions that speak English best are the doctors, pharmacists and bar girls, though almost anyone with an overseas education will speak English well. Perhaps she was a good pupil and had a lot of tourists as customers at her shop. My wife's nephew at university in Thailand is supposed to know English, but he can't speak it. (Plenty of precendent there - I can read and understand most of Adjarn's website, but I have grave difficulty with spoken French.)

The visa application checklist does ask for evidence of her employment past and present.

Tyler, should I be with my Fiancée in Bangkok when she submits her application and/or when she has her interview ?

My opinion, as oppsed to Tyler's, is that it may help. It appears that some outrageous decisions - e.g. when an ECO has simply failed to read some of the evidence presented - can be overturned by an immediate appeal. Also, it seems that many Thais who are refused visas do not understand the reasons given at all. (Actually, I haven't heard of any that actually did understand the reasons given.)

A second thought is that being there may also help make up for the lack of physical contact in 2002 and 2003. In that case, it may help to make sure you are noticed. If your fiancée is allocated one of the 40 minute interviews, try to follow her into the interview room! You will be stopped, but the ECO will then be well aware of your presence.