Tourist Visa For UK

[Skmly]

Hello all

Not 100% sure of the tourist visa restrictions to the UK, but agree that the system and process of applying for settlement is easier than everyone thinks.

When we decided to get married and live in UK. The whole process once submitted to the UK embassy in BKK took 5 days. Passport returned with a settlement visa attached.

There are many agencies out there especially on the other side of the coast who will guarentee you a visa. I am sure that some are genuine and will endever to work on your behalf dilligently and professionally.

The other half I suspect are simply putting customers money (up to 100K) into their banks and doing very nicely on the interest. Friends of mine have gone through this process and have been mugged off with feable excuses. 100's of punters will generate lots of interest

If your relationship is genuine with, telephone records, emails, photos in various parts of the Kingdom, proof of funding etc there is no excuse for the Embassy not to issue

On a very serious note. My wife had in the past tried to pass the Life In The UK test prior to her visa being extended. As she failed for the 3rd time we had to go through the extension for around 1200 pounds. Told by the Border Officer in Cardiff that under no circumstances will the visa be extended again. In other words pass the test do an ESOL or loose the right of domain

The following week she passed and another 800 pounds was duducted for indefinate leave to remain. The latest is another 836 pounds for citizenship which does not include a passport. (Applied for seperately) I suspect that the UK government are doing very well out of the whole process!!!!

In essence

Apply for your own visas and be truthfull about the application.

Make sure you have the current forms as they change with the fee every year????

The life in UK TEST IS a pain in the ass for us to pass I challenge anyone to take a test on line and pass first time. ESOL (English speaking for other languages) may be a better option if your partner does not have a decent grasp of English.

Expect to pay through your nose eyes and ears to the UK GOV for the privilage of your marital status.

All that said my Mrs is the hardest working Thai ive ever met and makes up for all of the above S==ite

If any one would like to PM me for any advise. FREE OF CHARGE. Please do. I also have books for the LiFE IN uk TEST if any one would like them. Im in Hua Hin November time.

Hope this helps at all if anyone is in or thinking about the process

[caller]

I don't pretend to be an expert in UK visa rules and shy away from giving advice as a consequence, other than where comments made are so blatently wrong. Another reason is that the rules are always changing and have certainly done so since my wife secured a settlement visa and subsequent ILR (having passed the LITUK test 1st time).

These days, settlement applications aren't made to the Embassy and as I posted earlier, the current settlement rules go out the window from 9th July.

For those that didn't read the link I provided in my earlier post, you might be interested to know that new settlement applicants from 9th July will have to wait 5 years to apply for ILR (and the subsequent benefits that provides). ESOL as an alternative to passing the LITUK test is now history as from October 2013, everyone applying for ILR (current and new applicants) has to pass LITUK and an English speaking and listening test at level B1. Anyone checked to see how tough that is?

Specific guidance is being given to the ECO's, thus removing discretion on their part and importantly financial limits are being imposed, which rise based on the number of kids you plan to import and so on.

For those that have met and lived with your wives or partners in LOS, this change is particularly telling:

abolishing immediate settlement for the migrant spouses and partner where a couple have been living together overseas for at least 4 years, and requiring them to complete a 5 year probationary period;

I'll double check what I think, that B1 level will need to be reached before a settlement visa is issued in the 1st place!

Good luck to new applicants!

[kendo]

Governor He paid £750 pounds, this gets better twice my friend had a serious motorcycle accident and was heavily dosed up on morphine and unwittingly signed up to an agent with card details then forgot what agent, not realizing they would take money signed up to another one, the first agent don't know what company deducted the fee anyway and my friend was to embarrassed to try and get the money back.

My Mrs came over here on a settlement fiancee visa within 5 and a half months of us being together done everything myself, not really difficult if you put your heart into it.

The life in the UK test is f*cking hard, we done the practice tests for weeks and my wife still failed the first time and she was a fluent English speaker when i met her.

The first edition txt book took 12, months to write and was out of date within 16, months as laws changed for example the smoking ban came into affect.

Caller,
I will pass on your comments to my friend thank you guys for your input on this topic, my friend is an expert fisherman that travels all over the world on fishing expeditions from Africa to South America he came to Thailand and ended up getting hooked himself.

Kendo.

[chopsticks]

If any one would like to PM me for any advise. FREE OF CHARGE. Please do. I also have books for the LiFE IN uk TEST if any one would like them. Im in Hua Hin November time.

Hope this helps at all if anyone is in or thinking about the process

Could you please make a few more posts, SKMLY, as to receive or send PM's you need to have made more than 10 posts,

The info above from Caller is correct about the changes being made to settlement visas which will impose additional language and financial requirements.

I think there may be possible further changes coming though once the Labour party have decided what there stance is or if someone takes it to an appeal court citing human rights etc.

[Governor]

Governor He paid £750 pounds:

Hells bells, I was in the wrong job

[kendo]

If any one would like to PM me for any advise. FREE OF CHARGE. Please do. I also have books for the LiFE IN uk TEST if any one would like them. Im in Hua Hin November time.

Hope this helps at all if anyone is in or thinking about the process

Could you please make a few more posts, SKMLY, as I and maybe others may want to PM you but you need to have made 10 posts to receive/send PM's.

The info above from Caller is correct about the changes being made to settlement visas which will impose additional language and financial requirements.

I think there may be possible further changes though once the Labour party have decided what there stance is or if someone takes it to an appeal court citing human rights etc.

I can also offer advise based on our experience.

You can buy the Life In The UK txt book and the Practice Tests book with free code to practice online off of Amazon well worth purchasing if you are thinking of bringing your tee rak to Blighty.

kendo.

[nanyang]

I teach a range of Cambridge English exams, albeit in China, including PET which is level B1.

Level B1 being the required level to meet the new regulations coming into effect on July 9.

Many of my students, whilst being able, lack exam skills.

Should anyone require any advice please feel free to get in touch - for free.

[kendo]

love the forum love the forum

Kendo.

[chopsticks]

I teach a range of Cambridge English exams, albeit in China, including PET which is level B1.

Level B1 being the required level to meet the new regulations coming into effect on July 9.

Many of my students, whilst being able, lack exam skills.

Should anyone require any advice please feel free to get in touch - for free.

What are the main differences between B1 and the previous A1 (or was it A2 ?) tests.

The old test was very basic taking about 10 minutes with just a few simple questions from the examiner to see if he was being understood.

[nanyang]

A1 and A2 are, essentially, for young learners.

They are at the very basic level with Starters, Movers, and Flyers.

The next stage, assessment level, is at KET.

However, whilst these tests are at a basic level they do provide information as to what's needed.

[caller]

Here's a defintion from the Cambridge website about level BI English test. It says learners at B1:

"Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans".

[chopsticks]

Here's a defintion from the Cambridge website about level BI English test. It says learners at B1:

"Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans".

Thanks for the explanation, here's another description of B1 level :

The ability to express oneself in a limited way in familiar situations and to deal in a general way with nonroutine information.
Example: CAN ask to open an account at a bank, provided that the procedure is straightforward.

It's the B2 level and C1 where it gets much more difficult. C2 approximates to a native speaker.

What a waste of time and effort in asking applicants to get an A1 pass certificate that was introduced last year only to move the goalposts yet again this year to B1.

[caller]

I think these changes have caught a lot out, especially those paying to study ESOL with citizenship content as an alternative to passing the LITUK test, which is now all but redundant, apart from the fact they are receiving English training.

[chopsticks]

I think these changes have caught a lot out, especially those paying to study ESOL with citizenship content as an alternative to passing the LITUK test, which is now all but redundant, apart from the fact they are receiving English training.

Colleges that were specifically set-up to certify ESOL with citizenship will need to reinvent themselves - maybe as Life in UK test preparation centres......

These new government requirements seem to not make any alternative provision for applicants who cannot achieve the language proficiency needed for the Life in UK test, as progressing up an ESOL grade level provided.
Maybe because it will now take 5 years instead of 2 to obtain ILR they think it's not needed anymore.
They should stop the constant tinkering with the immigration requirements and put their efforts into sorting out all the tax avoidance schemes instead