UK Fiancee Visa?

[mike1000]

Hi,

This is my first post, so please be gentle with me.

I coming out to Pattaya again in just over a week to try and get my G/F a Fiancee visa. (Bringing the ring with me.)

A Thai lawyer has told me there is very little chance of this visa because I have only known her 4 months. He sugests that we marry and then says he can get a spouce visa in a couple of weeks.

Also if we don't want to stay married we can get a divorce when we come back. So no problem, he says.

For this service he has quoted me about 51,000 Baht. which inc. the 16,330 for the visa.(I thought a bit high)

He's asked me to bring all my documents with me and my Thai lady has sort of taken it for granted that we will marry this time out.

Have any of you guys had experience with trying to get a Fiancee Visa?

Also, and this is what worries me, Is a registered Thai marriage binding in the UK to the point where the lady would be entitled to half my assets, as my last UK wife was?

Thanks in advance,

Mike.

[Guest]

A legally registered marraige in Thailand, i.e at a district registry office, is legally recognised in the UK. A marraige ceremony involving, say lots of monks, is just a cermony and not legally worth anything at all.

As to whether on divorce she gets half your wealth? I will leave that to others to comment.

Also I have always found the UK Embassy in Bangkok to be most helpful. I would be very wary of Thai Lawyers (fullstop!), espcially quoting that sort of fee. I am sure there is enough info on this site to allow you do it yourself although you may have to criss-cross Bangkok a few times to get the paperwork in place.

If the girl is then legally your wife I do not see how the Embassy could refuse a visa.

You should not need a fiance visa however as you are already married to her. A fiancee visa would allow you to marry in the UK which you do not have to do if you marry in Thailand.

If you try for a settlement visa this could take some months, just to get an interview.

If you are just trying to get into the UK for a short time a six month visitors visa should be obtainable more quickly, although you do not have to marry her to get this, however the Embassy may be unwilling to issue this if you have only known her for a short time.

Hope this helps a little. Just make sure you do a search of this site as there a mine of good info on this subject.

Best of Luck.

[BlazingStarz]

OK buddy, check out the visa section on this board I posted the story here so search on it.

Couple of points

1) What the hell are you doing talking to a Thai lawyer about this. You dont need anyone else.

2) You dont need a ring

3) You will have no problem getting the visa, so long as you have a place to live in the UK, 6 months bank statements, 6 months pay slips, proof that you and your fiancee have met, and that you SAY that you wil marry within 6 months of arrival, and that she can get through an interview without saying something stupid and knows a bit about you and your background ie age, where you live etc etc.

4) Check out the Thailand UK news forum for more http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thailand_UK/

[BlazingStarz]

PS if you marry in Thailand some translation work is needed and some other admin work, lots of links and info on the URL I posted.

The waiting list for interviews is approx 6-8 weeks so dont expect to be able to walk in and do it on the spot, links to all the forms and info you need are on the link I posted too.

Read my post in the thread titled

Topic: "To show money" for visa holiday visa to uk

[BlazingStarz]

PPS He cannot do it in a copule of weeks, I think he is talking a Thai couple of weeks which will be 6-8 weeks.

[BlazingStarz]

PPPS you wont get her in on a visitors visa, almost impossible based upon your circumstances. More detail on this in the post I made on the other topic

[mike1000]

Thank you both for your advice.

I have also now done a search of the visa section and the relationship threads and feel much more informed now.

On your two points Swishtz, a member of the Thai UK site emailed me and gave details of his Lawyer in Pattaya who got him a spouse visa, plus arrange the marriage certificates, a few weeks ago in two weeks flat. He said they were honest, and admitted that he didn’t have a job in the UK and that she was a BG. They got a visa after 20 minutes. Sounds like this Lawyer is Mr Fix it. His services are quite expensive though.

This Lawyer told me that we didn’t stand much of a chance getting a fiancée visa and the spouse one was the way to go, because when the fiancée visa was refused we would have to wait a year before re-applying.

Now, not wanting to jump in with both feet at this stage, I still needed advice on the chances of the fiancée option, but considering the short time we have known each other it is looking doubtful.

The ring was a Xmas present and just a token of my intensions.

Thanks again for your help, I now have to do some very serious thinking before I leave for Thailand on the 26th. Jan.

Mike.

[BlazingStarz]

I am surprised a Lawyer can "fix" it all in 2 weeks with no interview, sounds very weird as they have long waiting lists for interviews which are supposed to be mandatory. Also the interviwer is also English as are most of the decision makers, so hard to see corruption at those low levels working, and and not recoursing to DSS funds is another criteria, you have to have some financial standing in the UK for them to allow her in, that is the main objective of the whole thing. Who on the group emailed that to you, that is the first I heard of it. They could not care if she was a bg or not as it is irrelevant. I also am miffed how he jumped the queue, you will find the info there that is available similar to mine. I was in contact almost daily with the embassy trying to get a earlier appt, it was almost impossible, so perhaps the person who mailed you was a troll, or something has been misunderstood. If you marry her there or apply for the fiancee visa, it is pretty much the same visa, difference is if you get the marriage one she can work on arrival, if you get the fiancee one, when you marry and get the extension then she is legal to work, not before. I would suggest getting the fiancee, seeing how things work out in the UK, then at least you get 6 months to make a decision. Worst thing is that you could marry her there, bring her to the UK, then she hates it or you dont get along, then the severance is far more complicated.

Keep us posted as i am intrigued at this "miracle Lawyer" - maybe the Lawyer himself is going to these boards to drum up business

Now for the good news, the Embassy cannot dictate what a reasonable amount of time to know someone is, according to Article 8 of EU Human Rights Law, you have the right to a family, the cannot judge your relationship if they agree it is a real one. UK signed up to this in Oct 2000, this is why it is easier. So long as you meet all the criteria they have to give you one, if they refuse it they have to give grounds, if they give a reason like this, speak to whoever is in charge, get in touch with your MEP and let them know you will do this. In your letter of sponsorship just reference this Article so they know you know what you are doing. Remember they cannot and are not allowed to judge you and your relationship.

These are the immigration acts that need quoting

With reference to the UK Immigration Acts of 1971 and 1988, the immigration rules (HC 395 as amended) the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Immigration and Asylum Appeals Procedure Rules of 2000 we intend to fulfil the necessary criteria that will lead to a successful application.

[ January 18, 2002: Message edited by: Swishtz ]

[mike1000]

Swishtz,

Thanks again for the info.

That guy I mentioned said he did have an interview in the two weeks he was in Thailand. He said it was over in 20 minutes and then he was told they had the spouse visa. He wasn’t on benefit in England, he just doesn’t have a job, but has enough funds to support them both.

It may have been that he started arrangements before he arrived though; I’m not 100 per cent sure about this.

I think he was genuine as we may be meeting up if I can get my GF over to the UK.

I would rather not mention his name as he told me in confidence about his wife being a BG, and he probably doesn’t want it generally known. Saying that, you could have a point, maybe he’s also on commission.

I think I will try for the fiancée visa and really appreciated your time and help in this matter.

Just completed getting all my documents together, inc. a very good ref from my company stating that they hoped I would be working there for many years to come. (I haven’t yet told them I want to move to LOS within the next year.)

Do you think it may be worth emailing the Embassy to ask of my chances, providing I can supply all the correct documentation, or could this make matters worse?

Cheers,

Mike.

[ January 18, 2002: Message edited by: mike1000 ]

[BlazingStarz]

First of all the interview only lasts 20 mins, that is normal.

Make contact with the embassy via email, ask them anything you can think of, then at least they are aware of your interest.

Sarah.Adams@bangkok.mail.fco.gov.ukis the contact I used and she was most helpful, a day or two to get a reply is the norm.

You can ask then definitively what exactly you need to bring, how long it lasts, do you need to show wedding bookings, drive them mad and drown them in paperwork on interview, that worked for me.

Remember you need to send a copy of your passport and all the pages with Thai stamps, it must be notorized by a Lawyer or commisioner for oaths, easy one to forget and delay the whole thing.

Any correspondence between you needs to include the envelopes with stamps. Get her to print out emails, keep sending them, and send some cards and other junk.

When she goes to interview it looks good if she has a sackfull of correspondence, your phone bills,money transfer documentation, pictures, all sorts of crap.

At the end of the day the Embassy only bothered to glance at what my g/f brought in, asked her some questions which were really easy, I think they got the message

Make sure she knows your lastname and where you live, and how old you are and if you were married before and have any kids. Also they will ask her how long she plans to stay for and why she is going, little sneaky as the answer is to marry you (within 6 months) and she is staying with you forever. They may ask her about your living arrangements and what job you do.

They will definitely ask how you met and how long you have known each other for. Make sure that she has that story straight and does not contradict herself, the rest is plain sailing.

What you need is on the form, get the application in asap, you dont need to pay for it or have the non referenced documentation with you until interview, I think her passport, the form and her family papers are about all you need to get the interview date, the rest can be brought in at interview. E-mail them and ask for sure, but I think this is the case.

Fill the forms in for her - she can fax u a copy of her passport and you need to know her parents names I think on there also.

For settlement visa there are huge chunks of the form that do not need filling in, so before you panic over some of the questions you may not need to worry about them

 

[ January 18, 2002: Message edited by: Swishtz ]