[OUT OF DATE] How to Obtain a Spouse Settlement Visa for the UK

[Frogster1953]

ADMIN EDIT:

The law contained in this topic was only valid up to 8th July 2012.

The thread has since been revised and republished here.


Please also read the Family migration changes from 9 July 2012 topic for details of some very important changes to the Immigration Rules.

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How to Obtain a Spouse Settlement Visa for the UK (OUT OF DATE)
(The Frogster Guide)

Preamble:
I am a British national, married to a Thai, we both reside in the UK, the information, ideas, opinions, views, etc, mentioned in this guide, represent the way that “we” (my wife and I) approached, collected, documented and successfully applied and obtained a spouse settlement visa.

This guide should not be taken as “the only way to do it”. Others may have just as effective alternative ideas and methods. I am sure that all the information below is available on various places on the internet. I have tried to combine all the information required to one place.
Although we applied for a “Spouse” Settlement Visa, other types of visa may require the same information or similar documents and processes.

I acknowledge that to be “politically correct”, it was my wife’s application, but in reality, like most who will read this, it was down to me, to collect and collate the majority of the information and present it in a folder, and direct my wife with the bits she needed to do. Also, I do not profess to be a writer, so if the “Wife/Spouse” terminology I have used here offends, I apologise.

This document is meant to be used as a reference aid, an informative guide, it is the method we used, the things that we found out on the way, what we included as various supporting documents and how we finally presented the supporting folder for the Visa Application.
To the best of my knowledge, the information contained within this guide is correct at 01/01/2012.

Finally, there are supporting bits of information included that although are not a direct part of the Visa process, they are important when applying for a Visa, i.e. Obtaining a Thai Passport for your spouse.

I hope some, if not all the information is of use to the reader, and helps future applicants on their “spouse settlement visa” application journey.

Things to remember before starting out.

1. It is never too early to start collecting the supporting information for a spouse settlement visa.
2. You are not the first to do this; there are others, many on this forum, who are very knowledgeable and can help you.
3. Whatever problem you come up against, someone has undoubtedly come up against it before, and has found the answer or work around.
4. It is not an overnight process, allow yourself plenty of time and work on the application bit by bit, It’s like eating a big bar of chocolate, a bit at a time is manageable, try cramming the whole bar in your mouth at one go and you will choke and get sick of it.
5. Remember there are two of you collecting and supplying documentation, but it is your wife’s application.
6. If you follow this guide you will see that for most situations, there really is no need to use a Visa agent (in the majority of cases).
7. The UKBA require a lot of supporting documentation and information to issue a settlement visa. They provide some idea, but not all information as to what is required on their website.
8. In my opinion, it is not a lottery, a UK Settlement Visa is a qualified right, in other words, providing you qualify…. fit the criteria, tick all the boxes and provide all the evidence, etc…. You will obtain one for your spouse.

It is logical to include at the start, a section on “The Marriage Process” in Thailand… as the marriage is a driving factor to obtain a settlement Visa and the documentation is obviously an important part of the spouse application requirement. If you are just starting out, it may be part of the process that you still have to do, so I include it here.

Getting Married in Thailand
The legal Amphur marriage is very similar to a registry office marriage in the UK and is required in order to count as the “legal ceremony” for the official documentation and certificates. The Buddhist ceremony or "village" wedding is not official, but is often viewed as a lot more important in the eyes of Thai’s, and is generally a big party with everything done for show / face, however, remember that on it’s own, it is not legally recognised in the UK.

If you are a foreign national and you intend to marry a Thai national at an Amphur, then the first thing you will require is a document called an “Affirmation of Freedom to Marry”.

Affirmation of Freedom to Marry
This is a document, stating you are legally free to marry. Retype the Affirmation of Freedom to Marry, replacing the blanks with your details. Type it on one page and in the same format as this Example Affirmation and take it, in person, to the Embassy in Bangkok or one of the other Honorary Consulates in Thailand List Here to sign and have it witnessed before a British Consular official. They will in turn countersign it.

An appointment for this service is not necessary if using the British Embassy in Bangkok, but may be needed at other locations.

British Embassy Bangkok
14 Wireless Road
Lumpini
Pathumwan
Bangkok
10330
Phone: +66 (0) 2 305 8333

The Embassy (Consular Section) provides this service to British nationals only.
You will require:-

• an unsigned but completed Affirmation of Freedom to Marry
• your passport, as proof of identity
• a fee of 3,250 Baht.
• evidence that any previous marriages have been dissolved / terminated i.e. an appropriate death certificate or divorce certificate for the UK (must be a certified / original decree absolute from the court) this is important.

Certificates issued in a Third country outside UK and Thailand must be certified by the relevant British Embassy/Consulate or its respective Embassy in Thailand.

Only the original certificate of divorce etc or a certified copy (court stamped) will be accepted – photocopies will not be accepted under any circumstances. This process may take up to half a day to complete, so my advice is get there early as you may need to wait or collect it later.

To perform a marriage at an Amphur, the above “Affirmation of Freedom to Marry” has to be translated and legalised.

Translations & Legalisation
This process consists of (a) having the document(s) translated (b) authenticating the British Consular signature and (c) certifying the Thai translation (d) recording the document(s).

Once you have the signed and countersigned affirmation, you will need to have it translated into Thai. The British Embassy does not undertake the preparation or translation of documents.

There are however a number of companies within a short walk of the Embassy who do, or you could use the small bookshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that is very good. As you will be going to the MFA for the legalisation of the translated documents I would suggest getting the translation to Thai done there at the same time.

I would also suggest (at the same time) getting a translation of your wife’s Birth Certificate to English [for later use], I can not remember exactly how much we were charged, but it was not much, around a 300 Baht per document.

As a side note, the canteen on the ground floor of the MFA is very reasonable and serves very good Thai food and beverages, if you have to wait for a while.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Legalisation Division
Department of Consular Affairs
123 Chaeng Wattana Road,
Laksi District, Bangkok 10210
Tel : +66 (0) 2 575 1056–59, 0 2981 7171

Web Site: Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Once translated you will need to go upstairs in the MFA and have the translations legalised, this involves joining some bits of paper together and stamping them with the official stamp, and recording the documents on file etc. Typical Thai efficiency here, so take a number and expect to wait a while.

You will require:-

• the signed and completed Affirmation of Freedom to Marry
• any original decree absolute, evidence that any previous marriages have been dissolved / terminated.
• your passport, as proof of identity
• a fee of 400 Baht (Standard Service) or 800 Baht (Express Service)

Get there early, as you need to present the translated documents upstairs before 12:00 midday if you want to use the express service (you will be directed to the supervisor’s office) and with luck, you will have them back that afternoon.

That’s the extent of the legal documentation required to enable you to get married. You can now go and get legally married at an Amphur (the equivalent of a registry office).

The legalised affirmation and translation can be submitted to any Amphur registrar, along with your passport and “intended wife’s” ID Card, Birth Certificate, House Registration, etc, The registrar will then if satisfied, marry you, register the marriage and issue two copies of the Thai marriage certificate.

Amphur Marriage
In theory, you could now get married in any Amphur, however, you may find that your spouse will want to marry in her local Amphur. This can have some benefit as she can obtain a document and immediately change her surname on her ID card, House Registration Document, etc (this change can only be done at her local amphur office).

Or, she can obtain a certificated document to enable her to do it at a later stage if she requires.

Required documents etc:-

• the legalised completed Affirmation of Freedom to Marry
• any original decree absolute, evidence that any previous marriages have been dissolved / terminated.
• your passport, as proof of identity
• your spouses ID card (maybe your spouses birth certificate)
• your spouses house registration book
• a fee of 40 Baht, maybe a few Baht more for photocopies etc.

It is advisable to obtain some photo copies of the marriage certificate and name change document at this stage.

At some point and this really depends when it is convenient and you find yourself back in Bangkok, have the original marriage certificate translated in to English and certified / legalised at the MFA. Required for the Visa Application later.

Congratulations – You are now officially married, and if you have followed the above, will hold the correct “marriage documentation” essential when submitting an application for a spouse settlement visa.
More information and links about Thai Marriage, Customs etc, can be found here http://www.marrythailand.com/

Obtaining a Thai Passport for your Spouse
If your spouse does not already have one, it is important for them to obtain a passport, as other stages and obtaining documents will require the applicant to have one as a prerequisite, for example the TB Test.

A point to remember also, is that the TB Test Certificate should be in the same name as on the passport, as should any travel documents etc. So, getting married first and your spouse changing her name officially at her amphur, will provide the new ID Card etc, required to obtain a passport in their married name.

It is not essential though, everything can be completed in her maiden name if required.
A Thai citizen who wishes to apply for an ordinary passport is required to apply to a Passport Office; it is reasonably easy for a Thai National to obtain a passport providing they have the required documentation. They will be issued with an “E” electronic passport that has their photo and fingerprints encoded into it.

There are a number of provincial Passport Offices, but the Head Passport Office is located at:-
The Department of Consular Affairs
Thanon Chaengwattana
Laksi
Bangkok
Tel. +66 (0) 2 981 7171

Your spouse will require:-

• a completed application form
• their birth certificate
• their identity card
• a fee of 1,073 Baht for a 32-page passport or 1,573 Baht for a 64-page passport. (5 year validity).
• maybe a few Baht more for photocopies etc.

Applicants will be able to collect the passport 3 working days after the day of application from the main office, or, in the case of applications made at a Passport Office in a provincial area, 10 working days after the day of application.

TB Testing
It is important to remember that the TB test is only valid for a period of 6 months, so some forethought and planning has to be done so that the test is still valid when the time comes for the Visa.

As part of the current UKBA requirement, your spouse, or anybody from Thailand expecting to stay in the UK longer than 6 months) has to have an X-Ray for TB in Thailand and provide and subsequently hold a pass certificate / report from the IOM (International Organisation for Migration) based in Bangkok.

International Organisation for Migration
Kasemkij Building
8th Floor, 120 Silom Road
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Tel: +66 2 234 7950-5

Your spouse will need to book an appointment for about a week ahead. The current fee for the test is 2600 Baht and is required to be paid at the above office when registering on the day of the test.

The test itself will be undertaken at either the Phyathai 2 Hospital or the Bumrungrad International Hospital and she will have to travel from the office to the respective hospital, and back again to the office after the test to obtain the report / certificate.

Your spouse will require:-

• Two (2) passport size pictures
• Original national passport
• Photocopy of the national passport (Bio-data page)
• Original ID Card
• Photocopy of ID Card

Evidence of English Language Ability
A very emotive subject, but, from 29 November 2010, any migrant applying to enter the UK or applying to remain in the UK as the partner of a British citizen or a person settled in the UK will need to show that they can speak and understand English. This is achieved by undertaking and passing a test. More information is available here UKBA Language Information and here UKBA Information on English Test Requirement

There are a few places in Thailand that conduct an approved English Language Test and a list is available on the UKBA website, although at the time of this report, they are all situated in Bangkok. UKBA Approved English Test Locations I would suggest taking a look at the different ones on offer, my wife and I decided she would take the BULATS test, so the following information relates to the BULATS test as my wife and I only have experience of that one.

The test is not very hard, but it is not specifically designed for the purpose of a settlement application. Whatever supplier you use, their tests are existing tests that have just been approved by the UKBA as acceptable.

If your spouse decides, like mine, on taking the BULATS test, they are going to possibly find themselves answering questions about a hypothetical business meeting, or what to do to facilitate a conference lunch, as the BULATS test has been designed for testing the use of English in a Business environment.

Although not ideal, it is not as bad as it sounds, and at least with BULATS test your spouse can complete some practice questions on the website, to give them an idea of what to expect.

The BULATS computer test is "adaptive", it selects questions during the actual test based upon to how well you have answered the previous question, not on some preconceived order. The next test question is only selected after the computer grades your answer on the current question. Answer the question correctly and the computer will choose your next question at a slightly more difficult level. On the other hand, if you have given a wrong answer, the test will drop a level and keep dropping until you can answer begin to questions correctly.

In other words, test questions become progressively easier or harder until the system has a reliable assessment of the candidate's level. The pass level required for settlement purposes is very low.

You may obtain some test & score result sheets (usually a blue colour) on the day, the final certificate (cream in colour) will take about three weeks to arrive, it is issued from Cambridge University in the UK.

My wife took the BULATS test at:-
Vantage Siam.
65/213 Chamnan Phenjati Business Center Building
25th Floor, Rama 9 Road
Huay Kwang
Bangkok 10310
Tel: (66) 2-248-8306 to 13
Web Site Here

They will require:-

• to book about two weeks in advance
• original ID Card
• Other form of Identification (passport etc)
• a fee of 7000 Baht (if taking the BULATS test, other fees for other tests)

Collecting Information for a Visa, Where to start ?
The UKBA have a reasonably good website, with a lot of information on it, but the information is not always where you would expect to find it, or always up to date. I will try to narrow down the areas you may want to look at regarding a settlement visa.

The type of visa your spouse will be applying for is covered under Part 8 of the Immigration Rules, that can be viewed here Settlement Spouses & Civil Partners (Part 8) and here Visas & Immigration .

A Visa company will provide you with a list of things to do, items to collect under various headings, and arrange those items in a folder to “support your spouses application”, they may also suggest wording to use in supporting letters etc. If you follow the information here, you can easily do it yourself, saving you a lot of money in the process. Please don’t be swayed by stories of “a friend of your wife who used XYZ agency and they got their visa”…. You can do it yourself… I just want to make it clear that even if you did decide to use a Visa company, you would be doing 85% of the work yourself.

In principal, to obtain a Settlement Visa for your spouse, all anyone needs to do is:-

1. complete an application form
2. fit the set criteria
3. provide supporting evidence
4. pay the appropriate fee.

It sounds simple, and in reality if you approach it the right way, with a plan, slowly and surely you can tick off everything required….
I would suggest that a lot of unsuccessful visa applications are unsuccessful simply because they have not spent the time to provide suitable and adequate supporting evidence. It is never to early to start collecting the information / evidence to support your spouses visa application.

So where to start…..
There are the four main points to keep in mind that you / your partner must evidentially prove:-

1 your partner is personally eligible for a visa
2 you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship
3 you are able to financially support your spouse, without your spouse requiring recourse to public funds
4 you are able to provide adequate and suitable accommodation for yourself and your partner in the UK

These four main areas obviously will need to be covered in detail to make sure that the application is sound.

The system (that most applicants use), is to put everything into a folder under various headings or sections, it makes it a lot easier for the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) at the UKBA to see, follow and understand.

There is no “set way” to do this; there will be many variations on how to do it. Over a period of a number of years, a lot of information has been fed back from previous applicants who have both succeeded and failed. This forum also has a few ex-officials from the UKBA / Immigration So hints and tips have been provided from far more knowledgeable and “connected” people than I. The method used below is a combination of all this knowledge.

So, let me share with you how we did ours, you could use it as a starting point or copy it as is. Some may say it is too much, others will say not enough, some will say you don’t need document “X” others will say you do….. Everyone has their own opinion; all I will say is this… “It worked and we got the Visa, first attempt, no questions asked”. As they say in Thailand “it’s up to you”.

This is a list of all the 50 items we provided in our folder and how we divided it into sections:-

Full Index and Contents Page
Section 1: Application Form and Letters of Support

1. Copy of the Visa Application Form
2. Letter of Support from Sponsor
3. Letter of support from Applicant

Section 2: Personal Details of Mrs XXXXX

1. Passport of Mrs XXXXX
2. Birth Certificate of Mrs XXXXX
3. Copy of Thai I.D. card for Mrs XXXXX
4. TB Certificate issued by IMO for Mrs XXXXX
5. A1 English Language Test Certification Mrs XXXXX
6. Copy of All Passport Pages Mrs XXXXX
7. Original Marriage Certificate & Translation for Mr ZZZZZZ & Mrs XXXXX
8. 2 x Passport type Photographs of Mrs XXXXX (signed as true likeness)

Section 3: Personal Details of Mrs XXXXX

1. Passport Identification Page of Mr ZZZZZZ
2. Birth Certificate of Mr ZZZZZZ
3. Self Certified Copy of All Passport Pages Mr ZZZZZZ
4. Divorce Certificate of Mr ZZZZZZ
5. Certified Affirmation to Marry Mr ZZZZZZ

Section 4: Accommodation

1. Photographs of House of Mr ZZZZZZ
2. Floor Plan of House of Mr ZZZZZZ
3. Mortgage Agreement / Letter of support from Landlord / Change Tenancy Agreement
4. Council Confirmation of Register of Electors 2011
5. Council Tax Bill 2011
6. Electricity & Gas Statements - 12 month Statement of Account
7. T V licence 2011
8. Utilities Water Statement 2011
9. House Contents Insurance 2011

Section 5: Employment, Finance & Financial Support

1. Certified Copy of Contract of Employment (Terms & Conditions of Employment / Service Agreement)
2. Confirmation from Employer of Current & Continual Employment
3. Last 12 Months Pay Slips
4. P60 End Of Year Certificate for 2011
5. 12 months Bank Statements (Current Account)
6. 12 month Statement of Interest (Savings Account)
7. Copy Kassicorn Bank Book (Thailand) Savings Account 2011
8. Most Recent Credit Card Statements
9. Bank Confirmations of Transfer of Funds to Mrs XXXXX Bank

Section 6: Proof of Relationship and Contact

1. Flight Confirmations and Boarding Passes for all previous trips
2. Receipts for Hotels (in joint names)
3. Receipts for gifts, flowers, presents, etc
4. Photographs of Holidays together
5. Photographs at wife’s home village
6. Photographs Holidays with Family
7. Photographs of Wedding
8. Photographs of Honeymoon
9. Photographs with Family
10. Records of letters / gifts sent by post (last 1 year)
11. Records of all SMS to / from Mr ZZZZZZ & Mrs XXXXX (last 1 year)
12. Phone Record / Skype Receipt page for pre paid calling plan “Unlimited World” (last 1 year)
13. Phone Record / Skype mobile calls to Mrs XXXXX using Skype mobile. (last 1 year)
14. Skype Video Call Log. (last 1 year)
15. Examples of screen shots of original Skype records. (last 1 year)
16. Other Telephone records etc (last 1 year)

• All items, wherever possible, were original documents.
• Each Section had a Section Index with detailed explanations where required.
• Every item was marked in the top right hand corner with the item number, in case one or two pages were dislodged from the folder.
• Where required, items were cross referenced to other sections.
• A full photocopy of the folder was added for retention by the UKBA.

As you can see, this made up a fairly chunky “supporting documents folder” so a decent quality folder with 100 fixed transparent pockets was used at a cost of about £20.00 A printed front title sheet with Visa Application of Mrs XXXXX, made it look presentable.

Visa Application Process
Once you have collected all the information you will want (or more correctly) your wife will want to apply for a Settlement Visa.

In Thailand, the UKBA outsource the handling of the Settlement Visa applications to a company called VFS Global, they initially collect the application from your spouse and forward it to the UKBA at the British Embassy for processing.

Your visa application will be processed and decided by UK Border Agency staff. VFS Global staff does not, play any part in or influence the outcome of your visa application.

The first step in this process is to complete the online application form this can be done in stages, and may be saved at various points, so if you need to you can save it and come back and complete it later. The system holds your application for 1 week, but you can revisit it and save it again if needed.

A point to note here is - entering the date you want the visa to run from. If you want to be able to use it as soon as you get it, put a date just a few weeks ahead, some people, thinking it will take 12 weeks to process, have put a date 12 weeks ahead, only to get the Visa in a 2 weeks, but with a “can be used from date” still 10 weeks in the future, so they have to wait.

When you have completed the application you will be directed to print it out and make an appointment for your spouse to hand in the application, this is also completed online Book an Appointment Here.

You (or your spouse) will be able to make an appointment to present the application with supporting information up to one week ahead. You can if required cancel or change the appointment times by re visiting the booking system.

It’s a good idea to print off the appointment letter and another copy of the application for later reference.

Presenting the Application
When the time comes your spouse will need to attend the appointment at the VFS Global Office in Bangkok:-
The VFS Global office is located here:-
Regent House 2nd Floor
183 Rajdamri Road
Lumpini
Bangkok 10330

At the same time VFS staff will collect Biometric Data from your spouse, i.e. fingerprint scans etc.

I would advise that you / your spouse arrive in good time, and be prepared to fend off any over zealous visa agents who also work in the same building and try and influence you to have your application reviewed.

It would appear that one change from when we went through the process is the ability to pay online, I can not comment on this, as we used the bank on the ground floor of the building to get a Cashiers Check for the application fee, and included this in the application.
Only the applicant is allowed to enter the Office at the appointed time, so if you are with them you will have about an hour and a quater to kick your heels, there is a coffee shop downstairs that does a reasonable toasted sandwich.

Your spouse will, at the appropriate time be allowed into the office and will have her documents and application form checked double checked and accepted.

There has been talk that the VFS remove items from supporting document folders to save on space when forwarding the applications to the UKBA at the Embassy. I instructed my wife, not to let them take out items from the original folder and tell them everything was referenced with a contents list and in a particular order. They listened to her and forwarded both folders intact, when she got the original folder back, nothing had been removed.

Your spouse will need to have the following:-

• Appointment letter
• A cheque for 40,500 Baht application fee (or pre payment)
• Copy of completed application form
• 2 x photos, signed on back as a true likeness
• Supporting documents folder as suggested above with original documents attached (Passport, TB Xray Report, English Language Pass, etc)
• A copy of the supporting documents folder with photocopies of all required documents for retention by the UKBA

Your spouse will also have the option of paying some additional baht to (a) be kept informed of the application progress by SMS and (b) having all documents returned to an address by courier rather than have to collect them from the VFS Office in Bangkok.

Finally
In a nutshell, that’s it…… now sit back and wait, it can take up to 12 weeks but it is usually done before that. At best settlement applications have been processed in just a few days when the demand is low… Ours took about 4 to 5 weeks, but was during the floods and that delayed things.

This will not have answered all your questions, but hopefully will have helped with a lot of them, and given you a better overview as to the requirements and the process.
The forum is a brilliant source of knowledge and information, without it I would not be sitting here with my wife at my side in sunny (not) England.

I would like to thank all those who helped me on my journey, I am sure some of them will still be there to help you.

Good Luck in all that you do.

This is my way of giving a little back..............

Frogster (Kev)

[Millsey]

It is advisable to obtain some photo copies of the marriage certificate and name change document at this stage.

At some point and this really depends when it is convenient and you find yourself back in Bangkok, have the original marriage certificate translated in to English and certified / legalised at the MFA. Required for the Visa Application later.


Frogster, thanks again for this post, and in particular your comments above.

I'm sure lots of people have made this mistake and forget to translate their marriage certificate into english, and then have it legalised/authenticated by the MFA.

My wife to be has been looking on some thai immigration forums and raised an interesting point.....

Once you are married and have translated the certificate to english, Do you then need to get the translated certificate (english) legalised/authenticated at the UK embassy?

The thai forum poster stated she attended the UK embassy on 2 occasions - the first for the purpose of affirmation of freedom to marry, and secondly to have legalised the english translation of her marriage certificate.

Can anyone help clarify the situation?

[Frogster1953]

Well done mate Next module is ?

colin 244

How to get a Divorce ??? Just kidding..... don't know yet, but give me a few days

Kev

--- Update ---

Thank you Frogster for sharing .

great help for me and miss testa,
we are off end of the month to get married

Good luck to you both!

--- Update ---

Once you are married and have translated the certificate to english, Do you then need to get the translated certificate (english) legalised/authenticated at the UK embassy?

The thai forum poster stated she attended the UK embassy on 2 occasions - the first for the purpose of affirmation of freedom to marry, and secondly to have legalised the english translation of her marriage certificate

Millsey,

All I can say is... I didn't do it that way, and I have not heard of anyone getting the documents legalised at the British Embassy. It is the MFA that leagalises the documents after translation.

A translation of the marriage certificate has not always been 100% required in the past, I know some people have not included the Marriage Certificate translation to English and still obtained the visa, however it is advised as the UKBA state somewhere that "all documents relied upon should be translated to avoid delay or rejection". So why risk it for so little.

Also, once your wife does come to the UK and you want to go on holiday she may require a Shengen Visa and this will be needed for one (at least 90% of the time - depending on the country you want to visit).

Kev

[Gary Turner]

...awesome !!! you are the man !!
I know we have PM'd each other in the past and swapped info, so my congrats to you both. My wife still in Thailand but coming in March when son finishes college.
A couple points to expand on for others about to embark.
1. TB test is NOT a formality my wife had to do the sputum test and wait 8 weeks for result. Even tho she had been cleared twice in the previous 12 months(once at the Kings hospital) as the doc asked her if any family members had ever has TB. Also......the one goolie I made was....wifey got tested when not married ...cert issued in maiden name DOH !!! Oh and as she will not becoming till March longer than 6 months since test......we've got re tested as well.
2. I don't know how common it is but wifey got called for an interview. The questions were almost verbatum from one of the post on here !!!!

Well done Kev brilliant post.

[bifftastic]

2. I don't know how common it is but wifey got called for an interview. The questions were almost verbatum from one of the post on here !!!!

If you don't mind me asking, what were they?

[Gary Turner]

Hiya Biff - [see link below] The two interesting things were:-
1. Jin couldn't remember my parents names...hardly suprising as they've been dead for 21 & 29 years !!!

2. Me and Jin have been together over 5 years and they really wanted to know why we had taken so long to get married !!!!

The questions will be found:

Settlement visa interview questions

Gary

[Tobias]

As the content of this topic is particularly useful for those intending to apply for a settlement visa I have tidied the thread up to make it easier for those looking for information on the subject to find it. To this end I have removed all the posts that were thanking Frogster1953 for his hard work. Please use the "Thanks" tab at the bottom of the OP to thank Frogster1953 so as not to clog up the topic with posts that might detract from the excellent work Frogster1953 has done.

Please only post comments and questions relating specifically to the OP and the subject matter of the topic.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation.

[OneAlanShearer]

Hi Frogster - All

Excellent and well written Frogster !

Just to add 1 thing, as you state regarding The Affirmation Of Freedom to Marry document can be obtained from the Honorary British Consulates in Thailand as well as the Embassy in BKK, however also worth pointing out is that if you were to obtain your Affirmation Document from the Consulate Office in Chiang Mai so you can also get it MFA legalized there to at City Hall. This seems to be a fairly recent change and something still little known as even the MFA official website does not detail this. However the MFA do indeed have an office there at City Hall Chiang Mai - go through main entrance, turn left and it is the 1st office on your left, the fees and conditions are exactly the same as in BKK ( 400 or 800 express service ). This may also be available in other locations and i believe Khon Kaen will soon have such an office available for this service if not already, i believe this has come about due to the large demand of people getting documents legalized in BKK. Myself and my wife got my Affirmation, had it translated ( translation shop next door to British Honorary Consulate Chiang Mai ) and got this MFA certified - stamped there in Chaing Mai and we obtained the settlement visa in less than a week without hitch so this can be done. In fact the good lady is as we speak ready to leave BKK on her way to the delights of Blighty !.

[Frogster1953]

Good advice Alan, thanks for adding it.... It was one I had no knowledge of !

[the_link]

I think this also applies to an office in Jomtien, Alan / Frogster.

[ddwjg]

the_link. You can obtain the Affirmation at Jomtien, but I don't think there is any MFA connection there. Would still have to go to Bangkok.

Also, it seems the Jomtien consulate has changed considerably, since the last Consul resigned (Howard). The consul is only open 1 day a week, to my knowledge. Thursday. A Bangkok embassy employee is travelling down to cover any queries. There are now massive queues every Thursday. Hopefully this will change for the better in the future.

Dave.

[Millsey]

The wife to be and I went to the UK embasssy today, and then on to the MFA to sort out all our wedding stuff. We thought we'd use the book shop translation service located inside the MFA building, based upon positive comments posted by other board members.

This is our experience.......

We got there nice and early, 09:30, armed with my affirmation for freedom to marry and a plan to submit the translated document before 1200 so that we could then nip upstairs and make use of the same day, express service to get it legalized.

The wife to be spoke to the thai man in the book shop who said the translation would take about 2 hours because he was very busy. But I took that to mean thai time, so thought, no chance will the translation be completed in time for us to get the same day service upstairs.

The wife to be then explained we wanted to get the affirmation translated quickly because we wanted to submit it before 1200.

The translator then pretty much lied to her and told her it was not possible for the MFA to legalize the affirmation in one day, and that it was basically common practice for people to deposit their affirmation and come back to collect it at a later date......

He wanted 400 baht to translate the document and was keen to point out that if we wanted to use another translation service they would charge us more than him.

We said thanks, but no thanks, walked outside and was immediatly approached by a woman offering her translation services. She took a photocopy of the affirmation, we waited in the restaurant downstairs and within 20 minutes she was back and only wanted 300 baht for the translation. Job done.

On a side note, you need to take a photocopy of your passport, and sign it, when you submit the translation and other docs upsatirs in the legalisation department.

I'm not sure if this was mentioned in Frogster's original post, if it was I didn't remember because I forgot to take take a photocopy of it with me today. It was only by chance that I thought to get a photocopy of it done at the same time we were photocopying my affirmation for the woman translator.

[bifftastic]

I forgot to get a photocopy of my passport as well when I got my affirmation stamped at the MFA. There are photocopy services in the building, they charged me 3 baht

Naughty man at the bookshop ay? I had a problem with the translation service that I used (In Ploenchit) they translated one sentence incorrectly, so it was rejected.

There was a man floating around outside the supervisors office (not literally floating around, that would be weird!) and he took a look at it for me, quoted me 200 baht to do it again, took it away and came back 20 minutes later and accepted 180 baht as that was all I had unless he wanted to change a thousand note (he didn't)

I also managed to get a refund from the Ploenchit people.

[Tribal Fusion]

Hi Frogster1953

I've been reading a few posts on settlement visa's on several different sites to get an overview of what will be required when submitting mine (ours).

I'll give a brief introduction on my situation...

I met my girlfriend on the 8th February 2011 in Bangkok, I was working in telesales and later on teaching English, she was working in a restaurant as a cook. She has lived me with since 28/02/2011 in Bangkok and now in the UK, she currently is in the UK on a general visit visa since 25/08/2011, we are going back to Thailand on 07/02/2012. We got engaged at the end of June 2011, visited her parents in Sakon Nakhon for a weekend and will be getting married in Bangkok when we get back, no fancy traditional Thai wedding, as I said that I cannot afford that at present.

All was going well, I secured employment within 2 weeks of getting back and was building up my bank balance, but just before Christmas I was laid off with 14 other people. Job hunting around Christmas/new year time is not the best of times to look and now I only 3 weeks left until we go back to Thailand, no job and not really worth looking now, not many companies are going to employ someone who is going away on holiday so soon after joining!

My parents are retired and took out a equity release mortgage on the property for £22,000 in December, they have given me £8,500 to get married, pay the visa fees, book return flights for me and flight for my girlfriend to come back to the UK (if visa is granted).

I will have to state on the application that I'm unemployed, receiving no benefit, account balance of £8,500 and my parents will act as 3rd party support with an account balance of £13,500. I have done a monthly expenditure to show how much has been spent to maintain my girlfriend in the UK, this is £235 per month, this includes, food, drink, clothes, mobile phone top up, visits to the pub. We have lot's of supporting evidence like photo's, letter's from friends, boarding passes, but no emails, texts, phone records.

My question is will the ECO grant a settlement visa if I have no job, but enough money to support her for 2 years from all parties?

[Millsey]

All good in the end

[Frogster1953]

My question is will the ECO grant a settlement visa if I have no job, but enough money to support her for 2 years from all parties?

Hi Tribal Fusion,

Well I am no expert on the subject and as I have stated there are more knowledgeable and qualified people on here than me, who may come along and answer you shortly....

I think you would get more response starting a thread with the question title, rather than buried in here.

That said, I will answer here... this is only my view...I would somehow include all the following information to the ECO in your letter of support keep everything positive.
(a) You have already shown that you can find employment in the UK, there is no reason that you should fail to when you try again.
(b) Your £8500 means you may well have sufficient funds to support your wife whilst looking for employment (but the way I read your post the £8500 will be used in marriage / Visa / flights - So what other funds can you show).
(c) Third party support from your parents will need to be clarified with statements from them etc.
(d) Your wife will be eligible from day 1 to also seek employment and help contribute to the financial pot.

Kev

[Tribal Fusion]

Hi Kev

I've already booked my return flight, an internal flight, the English test has been paid for. I will need to pay for the TB test in BKK, affirmation at the British Embassy, translation of documents, settlement visa fee, I don't expect the wedding to cost much, we will use a district office in BKK. I will be printing out all of the online accounts on 06/02/2012 and getting them stamped at my local bank branch, so the figure of roughly £8500 will not be correct by the time the application is submitted.

My parents will be supplying a letter confirming the funds are available if needed and 6 month statements as of 06/02/2012.

A friend of mine who lives in Bangkok, said I should not mention that my girfriend wants to work in the UK, but I know she is capable of getting a cooking job, even if it's part time, it will still give her £500 a month for 20 hours work.

I have kept a record of all the costs so far and the average per month has been £235 to maintain my girlfriend in the UK. She is writing a supporting letter in English, it might not have the best grammar, but it show's at least she is trying.

How much did the translation costs and getting married at a district office cost you? We also have to go to Sakon Nakhon before we get married, she needs a new ID card, her's run out in November and a copy of the house registration certificate, do I need a copy of both of our birth certificates?

Graham

[Tobias]

... A friend of mine who lives in Bangkok, said I should not mention that my girfriend wants to work in the UK, but I know she is capable of getting a cooking job, even if it's part time, it will still give her £500 a month for 20 hours work...

... but this is vital evidence of your ability as a married couple to provide for yourselves without being a burden on the public purse. Obviously ensure you do not give the impression employment is the principal reason for her to come to the UK, but certainly indicate skills/qualifications and employment prospects ... for both of you.

[Tribal Fusion]

... but this is vital evidence of your ability as a married couple to provide for yourselves without being a burden on the public purse. Obviously ensure you do not give the impression employment is the principal reason for her to come to the UK, but certainly indicate skills/qualifications and employment prospects ... for both of you.

That's what I was thinking, it's show's that we are not going to be relying on the state. I won't be mentioning Thai restaurants as that could be seen as just coming to the UK to work, but her last job in Bangkok was cooking farang food, she is an excellent Thai cook too. I can certainly show that she is employable and that I'm employable too...

[Frogster1953]

How much did the translation costs and getting married at a district office cost you?

.
It's all in my original post....

I can certainly show that she is employable and that I'm employable too...

A good strong statement, but remember promises alone will not give the ECO what they are looking for, they want hard evidential proof. So think how you are going to show it! Maybe, for example, there have been some recently advertised jobs that are seeking people with the same skill set your wife has.