Your Thai girlfriend will be able to travel to the UK on either one of two visas.

• UK Tourist Visa
• UK Fiancee Visa

Each visa will allow your Thai girlfriend to remain in the UK as a tourist for a period of upto 6 months. The application has to be made in Bangkok. You as the British boyfriend do not have to be in Thailand when the visa application is made. If you girlfriend is called for an interview, you will not be able to attend the interview.

Applying for a UK Tourist visa can be broken down into different sections.

Applying for a UK Tourist visa can be broken down into different sections.

• Firstly you need to prove a real long term relationship
• Your girlfriend has to demonstrate intention of returning to Thailand
• You have to prove your girlfriend will be safe while in the UK
• Your girlfriend will have to prove that she will not become a burden to the state will in the UK
• Your girlfriend has to give her biometric information

Up until May 2010, we always advised to arrange for a UK tourist visa for your thai girlfriend first. Then after she has spent time with you in the UK, on returning to Thailand apply for a UK Fiance visa.

The UK government have made changes to the amount people entering the UK. This makes it all the more difficult to obtain a UK tourist visa. Thai citizens in new relationships with British men will be affected by the recent changes.

As of May 2010 your Thai girlfriend should apply for a UK Fiancee visa instead of a UK tourist visa.

As of May 2010 your Thai girlfriend should apply for a UK Fiancee visa. The benefits of applying for a UK finacee visa

• You do not have to prove your Thai girlfriend will return to Thailand at the end of the trip
• You can get married while in the UK
• The visa will allow your Thai girlfriend to stay in the UK for six months, though if you get married, your Thai wife will be able to stay in the UK for another 2 years and 3 months, within that time your Thai wife will be able to work.

A tourist visa is still an option and will be able to advise you on which visa is best suited for your relationship

UK Tourist visa before a UK Marriage Visa

The advice on many occasions sadly falls upon deaf ears and the results are extreme disappointment and then the inevitable five steps of acceptance of being separated from their Thai partner.

But why should your Thai girlfriend apply for a UK Tourist visa.

Most relationships between a Thai girlfriend and UK boyfriend happen as a result of a holiday romance. The British man finds a Thai companion while on a two week holiday in Thailand.

After he has had three two week holidays in Thailand and within that time visited the Thai village, Thai family and Thai grandparent the British boyfriend feels he is ready to move forward and get married to his Thai girlfriend.

The British embassy looks at this situation very differently. From an outsider looking in what they can see is, the couple has known each other in person for less than six weeks in real terms, and the rest of the relationship was a series of long distance telephone calls.

The embassy will have no doubt that the Thai girlfriend (wife) has great intention of going to the UK. But is it for love or financial reasons. After all, how can the Thai girlfriend be certain after 6 weeks that she really intends to spend the rest of her life with a man she hardly knows? Even what she does know about him is slightly tangled truth. A man on holiday is a different animal to a man that has to get up for work 5 days a week in grey old blighty.

Get your Thai girlfriend a UK tourist visa first and when you are finally ready to apply for a UK Fiancee visa or UK marriage visa the message to the UK border clearing officer will be

“I met my thai girlfriend many months ago, in that time I visited Thailand and got to know her and her family. We fell in love and my girlfriend decided she wanted to visit me in the UK. While she was in the UK our relationship grew, my Thai girlfriend got to meet my friends and family. She enjoyed her time in England and loved the culture. When she returned to Thailand I realized that I couldn’t live without her so we have decided to get married and she would like to live with me in the UK”

Obviously the above is a very quick description of what the embassy would be reading, but I am sure you understand the point that I am making, now lets give another message to the embassy, this time we are applying for a marriage visa first

“I met my thai girlfriend many months ago, in that time I visited Thailand and got to know her and her family. We fell in love and my girlfriend decided she wants to live with me in the UK. Really we don’t know each other that well and she has no knowledge about life in the UK.”

UK Tourist visa before a UK Marriage Visa

Getting your Thai girlfriend a UK visa is not about putting pen to an application form, but about good preparation and understanding what the embassy are happy granting.

How long can my Thai girlfriend come to the UK for the first time? On her first time to the UK, we want to find out if she likes the UK. She does plan on going back to Thailand.

How long can my Thai girlfriend come to the UK for the first time Answer

Do not presume that your Thai wife will have an automatic right to come to the UK because that is not the case. Even when you are married you will have to prove how long you have known each other and provide ways in which you keep in contact, like telephone bill, emails, skype, money transfers.

Your Thai wife or Thai girlfriend can come to the UK for the first time for up to six months

Your Thai wife or Thai girlfriend can come to the UK for the first time for up to six months. The UK visitors visa is issued with a six month deadline. When the visa is granted the six months starts from the date. If your wife travels to the UK 2 months after getting the visa she will only be able to stay for 4 months.

Make sure your wife returns within the time given on the visa because if she over stays she may be refused any more UK visas. The worse case she could be banned from the UK for 10 years and trust me this does happen.

Firstly you cannot apply for a visa for your Thai girlfriend. It is your Thai girlfriend that is applying for the visa and not you the sponsor. Secondly the visa has to be applied for and issued in Bangkok, so it cannot be applied for in the UK.

You or your Thai girlfriend do not have to attend the British embassy, she may be called for an interview, but you will not be asked to attend the embassy at any time of the visa application.

Not understanding what the British embassy will expect will leave the British boyfriend confused and believing that getting a visa is complicated and difficult.

There are 5 main areas to look at to understand what the British embassy expect to see before even considering issuing a visa

• The British Sponsor and Thai girlfriend are in a real relationship
• The British sponsor is in good standing and has the provable finance to assist his girlfriend while in she is in the UK
• The Thai girlfriend will be safe from any danger while in the UK
• The Thai girlfriend will not become a burden on the British State
• The Thai girlfriend will return to Thailand at the end of the visa application

The embassy will be looking through the application and all of the evidence that you have provided. If they feel that you meet the 5 criteria above then they will issue a UK visa for your Thai girlfriend.

How we are able to guarantee your Thai girlfriend a UK Visa

We give you a list of documents that will be needed at the time of the application. We also instruct your Thai girlfriend what will be needed. As you get the documents back to us, we begin to build a visa file and application that the visa officer will find easy to follow and understand. Done correctly a visa will be issued every time.

The financial crisis of 2009 has effect the world over. The effects have rippled through to every part of the world. This can be well demonstrated by the visa application to the UK from Thailand. People in the UK are concerned about their job, not knowing if the job that they have worked in for 10 years is safe. Many people are too concerned about maintaining their income that holidays are now on permanent hold.

Between the world’s financial crisis and Thailand’s political situation British tourist numbers to Thailand are way down on previous years. Men that would visit Pattaya 2 or 3 times a year are no longer visiting, or visiting less.

The result on visa application at the British embassy is outstanding. Tourist – Visitor visa applications are down while UK settlement visas have increased.

We have concluded that as the UK men are finding money tight, they are no longer in a position to fly in their Thai girlfriend for a month’s holiday. The men that are married to Thai ladies, not having the money to travel to Thailand as of 2009 are now applying for the Thai wife to come and settle in the UK. As there are less British single men tourists visiting Pattaya there will be decline in the amount of new relationships and therefore a decline in the amount of tourist – visitor visas required.

UK Tourist Visa requirements

The exact requirements change throughout the year, though the main requirements for a Thai citizen to obtain a tourist visa are, the vis officer must feel that the Thai citizen has reasons to return to Thailand. This can be demonstrated by the Thai owning a home or land in Thailand, or money in a Thai bank account, a full time job with. Without any of the above, the visa officer will be concerned that the Thai citizen will not return from the UK when the visa expires and then become a burden on the state.

Reasons for applying for a Uk Tourist Visa

The visa officer has to be certain that the Thai citizen is solely entering the UK for tourism and not any other reasons. The visa officer will be concerned that the Thai citizen is looking for work on the British black market.

Funds to cover the UK Tourist Visa Visit

The visa officer will need to ensure that the Thai citizen will have enough funds to cover the complete tourist trip to the UK, including return flight and spending money.

UK Tourist Visa for Thai Citizens

There are more requirements than those stated above, but these give a basic idea of what is required by the British embassy Bangkok before a UK Tourist visa is issued for a Thai citizen