British Embassy in Bangkok

[Ian]

Well said - these are the types of Thais we want.

[Ian]

I think you will find there are a lot of agencies in Bangkok providing this sort of advice - though, as far as I know, they usually don't front up at the embassy. Anyhow - they're not allowed to attend
interviews. These have to be one-on-one for a settlement visa. I.e. one applicant and an Embassy official. I.e. spouses are separated for separate interviews.

[Richard Applin]

Hi All,

I wanted to add my experience.

I have a Thai girlfriend and I am 26 years old. I submitted 22 pages of documentation 2 months ago , details of both our University Education, Jobs, Salaries, 12 months paycheques, Bank Statements, Passport Pictures, Photos, a 3 page sponsorship letter, signatures from my parents etc etc.

Taan also submitted details of her mothers businesses and documents proving she had to be back in Thailand and would not be of risk to UK immigration.

Anyway she went to teh embassy in BKK, she speaks fluent German and English, got a 5 month Visa in 1 hour even though she only wanted a 2 week stay, and we had a great time last month at my house in the UK.

It helps that we both have Master's Degrees, healthy salaries and impressive CV's.

I was worried about her being able to obtain a tourist visa prior to the visit, owing to many stories I had read and heard, but when I spent time collating all the relevant documentation, it all worked out fine.

I have seen many guys trying to have relationships with bar girls and it is often messy. I've witnessed friends sleeping with girls who get texts from the UK or US from their fiance's etc, usually saying something like '' hi honey I miss you , can't wait to be married/with you... etc'' , subsequently the girl replies and then roles over and falls back asleep next to her one night stand.

Generally If I worked for UK Immigration and was interviewing a guy who was 10 years + older than his Thai lady friend , I would be very dubious as to her intensions and also her integrity.

Lets be fair , no matter how cute they are and how great the body language and general loved up chit chat is, a Thai girl with an older guy is usually a relationship based on security and financial gain.

As for the Embassy in BKK, it's a damn tough job dealing with so many ridiculous visa apps, and I respect anyone who would take on such a task day in day out.

BR

Rich

[Ian]

There certainly are educated bar-girls. Indeed, as you most likely know Rooster, there are places in Bangkok and elsewhere, with very high-class working women. Indeed : all levels of the social scale.
But essentially it's all the same game - they're after money, by one scam or another.
AND there is a fundamental incompatiblity between Thai and Western ways of looking at marriage . I.e., in the Thai way the girl marries for money for her family. In the Western way, the girl is supposed to marry for love - since she, and her family, already have money and education.

[Ian]

I think you'll find that marriage to a Brit no longer means automatic right of entry - let alone residence - into the UK.
Sure some grils are simply trying to better themselves - and those who genuinely make the effort, deserve a chance. But so many are simply on a scam to an easy life, ripping-off their unsuspecting husband.

[jon]

just like to add my story......what do you have to do to get a visa for your wife???????????????????????
we have just been refused a visa for my wife.we supplied EVERYTHING the embassy required.Bank statements,pay slips,details of the house in uk,letter of recomendation from my employer,photos of everywhere we've been together in thailand,the marriage certificate,everything translated into english,even my p45 and p60's.we first met in 2003 for a fornight in november,i returned in sept 2004 and apart from two months in 2005 we have been together every hour of every day.we got married on april 6th this year(traditional thai wedding) in my wifes home.on the 21st we returned to Bangkok to register the wedding at the amphur.we did it in Bangkok because i had to go to the embassy to get an afformation signed,for the amphur.At the same time we made our visa application.why return to Bangkok when you can do it all in one go? i thought.Three long months later we're at the embassy with all the documents,nerves shredded because of all the stories we've heard.........and i can say there all true.my wife was interviewed by a very ignorant and abusive english woman,who after initially looking my wife up and down like a piece of dirt refused to look at her again while conducting the interview.didnt look at any of the photos or docs we provided......well only flicked thruogh the photos.....too quikley to see what any of them were,and mixed up all the carefully prepared origional paperwork with the copies before stuffing them back in the envelope we sent them in.long story short......my wife was refused her visa on the grounds we hadnt kept text messages etc from 2003! we had two letters my wife had sent me in 2003 the dates on the stamps proved this,but the eco refused to look at them and said that wasnt enough.who keeps phone bills for two years????the reason we couldnt provide more phone bills etc as proof is because weve been living together!!!!!!!!!!! the eco said she didnt believe my wife and me had met in 2003,but had just met this tear and werent going to live together as man and wife in the uk....CRAP!!!!!!! i understand about all the non genuine applications there are......the amount of 60 year old men waiting outside for their 20 year old girlfriends proves that;One man i spoke to from england was nearing retirement age and had only ever seen his 25 year old girlfriend three times before. They were using an agency for their application....and were no doubt accepted,whereas our (in my eyes) more genuine application was flatly refused.we are now considering using an agancy too "i garantee she goes 100 %!! i garantee she goes 100%!!" as the lady at the agancy said.What do you have to do????????????????

[passion]

hi. i read all the messages here and felt a bit sad for those women who have tried to go to UK for love... i have done the same in the past... but yeah, it was unsuccesful... nevertheless... what can we do... i guess... its best to find a neutral country to live in... who wants to live in UK anyway, so expensive... i think you're right

[Rooster]

Have you and your husband ever try New Zealand?

[HaloJones]

My (Thai) wife and I have been in the UK now for seven years. She was initially refused a tourist visa when she was my girlfriend after an interview (1997) when the Thai female interviewer basically told her to bribe her to get a visa. The interviewer spoke rudely the entire time. When the visa application was subsequently refused, I demanded to be allowed to speak to the English official and he told me that I was being naïve and my girlfriend would leave me the moment we got out of the airport.

A year later, married with a son with a British passport, we got a visa without issues since as the mother of a British citizen, they have to give her a visa.

The Embassy no doubt deals with an enormous number of applications which should not be granted but they apply their rules without too much care.

We also heard the stories of visas being available for money. The Embassy became very upset with me when I suggested that to them.

[ruprext]

I've been reading through all this and I think the Embassy(british)does assume too much, but i live in Krabi, and return to London for 4 months during low season every year, and my GF now wife comes with me on a visit visa for the last 3 years with no problem, I don't even have to go to the Embassy to get the visa they send it all through the post to me in Krabi. My wife also comes from the area(south Thailand) this helps i think as she hasn't traveled 1000 K to work in a Bar like a lot of these applicants have done, also i think because i was already living in Thailand for over a year before even meeting my Wife and i could prove i was living there helps and the fact that we almost the same age,(i'm 30 she's 25)but not quite, helps also as there are a lot of applicants that are in there 20's and there BF's are in there late 40's to 60's and they only come to Thailand for a 2 week hoilday and meet a girl and really think that they can trust her and take her into the UK where they probably would Piss off with a younger bloke given half the chance, but there again not all of them would. So you can understand the way the Embassy is thinking and because of this theres a lot of discrimination, but a lot of applicants are older than the Gf's by quite a bit.