UK holiday visa for Thai girlfriend – fact or fiction? Ok you told Thai your wifey to be, you are going to apply for a UK visa for her to visit the UK and you spent an exciting daydreaming together and have walked around the air con shopping mall in Bangkok looking for a big coat to swamp your Thai missus in because you are scared she may turn into an icicle when she hits the tarmac at Heathrow or Manchester, but a big warm coat is probably the least of your worries.
The biggest reason UK visa applications fail – listening to her Thai friends?
When I did my visa for my Thai girlfriend at the time, the one theme that ran through the whole process was ‘reason for return’ Seasoned Visa professionals in Thailand will know this and it is THE main reason why so many people who do the visas by themselves without getting professional help, get the knockback from the UK consulate. The consulate employee tasked with making the decision to say yes or no and grant the visa to go to the UK is looking for one main reason to say no and that is:
Does this visa application satisfy in my head, that this Thai person has enough collateral and domestic reasons to want to return home from the UK to Thailand?
Not sure if you have seen any ‘recent’ political news and opinion, but many British people are becoming quite xenophobic and the political arena has to pander for this growing fear that a lot of people from poorer economies are trying to get into the UK and disappear to work for backhanders and not contribute to the economy, and even your UK consulate official looking at your UK visa application for your Thai partner has this in mind.
So, you have to be able to demonstrate on paper that your Thai partner has enough financial collateral of her own like; a good job, house or condo, or farm or business that is making them a comfortable living in Thailand to warrant their return. All this just to get a UK holiday visa for Thai Girlfriend, seems a bit over the top to be fair.
Many who try to apply for a UK visa are misguided by demonstrating the wealth of the host, as in how rich you are to take care of your Thai partner when they visit the UK, it does matter, but not as much as you may think, you may be rich, but is she going to run off as soon as she gets there and earn her own money, may sound crazy to you, but the consulate official looking at the UK visa application does not know your Thai partner personally they base it purely on what they see in front of them on the application forms.
Domestic reasons – reasons to return from your UK holiday?
Children going or staying. Quite simple, Your Thai partner has 5 children for example, are they all staying behind whilst mummy visits ‘Daddy farang’ in UK? The UK Consulate is thinking; Do you want to return to Thailand to see your children again or is the quest to make cash in the UK and send them home?
Where to get Thai food in the UK – Thai supermarkets in England?
Your missus saw a few menus online for Thai restaurants in the UK and has probably started filling a suitcase full of red chilies and fermented fish and crabs to last her the entire time in the UK, stop her right now, take her for a Papaya Bok Bok, because I find to get things to sink into Thai grey matter much easier after a spicy Papaya salad and she can listen to better post repast.
There are many, in almost every town in the UK, shops devoted to Thai and Asian food, yes, the prices may be a talking point for eternity when she gets back home, however, the price of getting a fine at the airport customs for bringing contraband foods into the UK is not worth contemplating, and I for one was nervous enough when my little honey-skinned lady came toddling up to UK passport control, even though we did everything right, so having contraband will not help your immigration nerves.
Accommodation requirements for UK visa application?
When you apply for a UK visa for your Thai spouse you need to show where you will be living, including in some cases; measurements and dimensions of your home. If you already have a home in the United Kingdom set up and you have been there at least 6 months this will be a plus for you for your application success. For comfort levels central heating will be a plus especially if you are visiting in Wintertime, I once returned home to a very cold flat and struggled to find the missus, only to find her in a t-shirt in our tiny galley kitchen with the cooker full-on heat like a sauna, chatting to mates on Skype on the PC, she told me; better to save money on expensive heating and stay in the kitchen all day!! Oh, how we laughed on the way to the burns unit!!
What questions are likely to ask me when I enter the UK?
Check the applicant has access to sufficient resources to maintain and accommodate themselves adequately for the whole of their planned visit to the UK or for the period of any application for extension of stay. At the border, you may want to ask where the applicant will be staying and ask for evidence that they have access to funds to cover the costs they are likely to incur during their visit.
Transport Costs – can you demonstrate you have sufficient funds for the holiday?
The UK is one of the worst countries for the expensive cost of transport, even a short bus ride to town will be a massive shock for your Thai partner, compared to being able to travel on a sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for around 25 pounds, to being around 5-10 times the cost for a comparative journey in the UK. If you have a car, be prepared to have the heat on excessively high and almost falling asleep as the driver on a long journey, that or make her wear her coat whilst you wear your T-shirt and shorts for driving.
UK holiday visa for Thai girlfriend – financial commitments
You must also take into account any ongoing financial commitments the applicant has in their country of residence such as rent/ mortgage payments and any dependants who they support financially, including those who are not traveling with them. Their income or savings, minus their financial commitments, must be sufficient to meet the likely costs they will incur in the UK and be a reasonable expenditure in light of their financial situation. Where an individual provides documents that show sufficient funds for their planned stay, but either all or the majority of these funds have not been held in their account for long, you may want to make further checks to establish the origin of this money
Get it the right first time – do not let your Thai girlfriend lose face!
Local knowledge is priceless and if you value your sanity get a professional UK visa company ran by UK visa people who have tons of experience and get it done right first time, if you think UK Visa professionals are expensive, then wait till you try to do it yourself or let your Thai missus use her mates best friend who claims as many do to know the Thailand Field Marshall of NATO to see how far they get for you…