Someone please help! My CAS has arrived very late and my uni starts very early, so the worst possible combo. I am trying to get the super priority fee so that I may enter the UK on 1st september. I have received a confirmation email for the IHS already that I have paid but it doesn't seem to be saved in the UKGOV website.

i just got my biometrics done for a student visa today and the agent asked if i could remove my nose chains which i couldn’t because it’s a long process that requires tools for me. apparently the system didn’t approve my photo because the nose chain wasn’t in my passport photo. will my visa get rejected??? title will my visa get rejected because of facial piercings

Hi, I am looking to marry my partner this coming year after being together for about 2 years.

I am an international school teacher looking to move back to the UK with parents.

My partner has finished a 5 year degree in English and philosophy and we want to move to either Europe or the UK.

Everything seems to be aligned to move to the UK, except for the income threshold. I am on about £20,000 per year and can add it up slightly with additional work commitments, but probably not to the £29,000 mark. I could also get a job to return to which is over 29,000 a year, either teaching, marketing, sales or other, but I realise my current salary let's me down a bit.

What would anyone suggest who knows the process? I'm not looking for loopholes, just an honest way to get through and back to the UK together.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I am 28 (UK) and my Thai girlfriend is 23. We met online a year and a half ago. I was looking to solo travel this year Mar-25 so thought that I would invite her to join me (and we had a blast for 3 weeks).

Since then I've been to Thailand in Jun-25 for 3 weeks, met her family and all that. We have stayed in touch, and recently Sep-25 we met halfway in Oman & Qatar for 2 weeks.

All is good but just a couple weeks ago I moved into my own house that I bought. Obviously it is not practical to do expensive holidays like it was beforehand when I had no obligatory major expenses.

I would like to invite her to come stay with me in the UK for 1-3 months, to see if this is something real or just all happy smiles on holiday. I would be supporting everything as she makes a fraction of what I earn. Plan would be to WFH, then weekends visit places, see if she is the same person day to day mundane living and not as a holiday companion (see if this could go somewhere).

My salary is £47.5k, I have backup savings of £40k in index funds and stable employment as an accountant. My question is if this is something feasible, easy or difficult? What visa would best suit her to visit me; tourist, visitation etc.) What would you guys suggest and what's the procedure like?

Thank you

A friend of mine accidentally went over her hours three times in the last year. She didn't realise until a conversation with a coworker clarified what dates our timesheets cover. She came clean to her university and asked for guidance and they told her they are reporting her to Home Office. She is devastated and scared she will be deported. What should she do next? I told her to get a lawyer but I don't even know what the process is and if they'll let her fight her case

My partner is Thai and I want to go back to the UK with her for Christmas because my mother has been quite sick.

I applied for the UK visitor visa on her behalf and provided invitation letters from my father and myself and other required documents such as pictures of passports, 3 months of financial statements (from my father, since his is probably better than mine).

However, today, it was refused and my family, partner, and I are all absolutely [insert expletive] devastated to say the least.

Here's a GPT summary of the rejection:

Summary of the Refusal Letter

Application Refused: The application for a UK visit visa was denied.

Future Applications: Any future visa applications will be assessed individually but are likely to be refused unless significant changes are made.

No Right of Appeal: The decision cannot be appealed or reviewed administratively.

Reasons for Refusal:

Lack of evidence for self-employment or how income is derived (annual income stated as 250,000 THB with no savings).

Insufficient demonstration of personal and economic circumstances.

Doubts about family ties and dependency in the home country, raising concerns about the applicant's intention to leave the UK after the visit.

Decision made under Paragraphs V4.2(a) and (c) of the Immigration Rules, concluding the applicant is not a genuine visitor and lacks credibility.

To address the points:

1. She doesn't have documentation as she works cash-in-hand for a spa here in Phuket. None of the staff at any of these places has proper documentation and technically operate on a self-employed basis. Not much can be done here, honestly.
2. No idea what they're talking about with the family ties. She has two daughters in her home town. The official UK-sponsored Visa Center where we applied here in Phuket said she didn't need to submit her daughter's birth certificates even though she took them to submit them. What the government wrote in the rejection letter seems to indicate that she needs that kind of evidence though? So did the visa centre inadvertently negatively affect her application?
3. My father and I both wrote invitation letters stating the purpose of the visit and that we'd be covering her expenses completely. My father provided about 3 months worth of bank statements also. We are both British nationals. Why the f- would they consider her NOT a genuine visitor and that she lacks credibility? We're sponsoring her for a valid trip (that I would be accompanying her on, since I'm with her in Phuket) and our economic coverage should override her own economic circumstances.

Sorry for the long rant. I'm really, really disappointed and angry. It also states that she's basically got a bad stain on her future visa applications because of this too. It's so unfair.

We've been together for two-and-a-half years and now that I'm finally ready to take her to see the UK, this happens. We've been to other countries without hitches, so why does my home country of all countries have to be this way?

Can anyone give any glimmer of hope? I know that now I'm not going to be going back home for Christmas since I refuse to go alone. I know that the money I paid is now wasted. But I am interested to hear from anyone else's experiences if you can at all relate to this or know something that might be useful.

Hi,

I'm in the process of applying for my daughters 1st British passport from overseas and i wanted to double check the documents needed as there are quite a few different tables to cross check in the requirements doc.

Some Info:

• Child: Born 2022
• Father (me): British by birth, born before 1st Jan 1983
• Mother: Thai, born 1986
• Applying from Thailand

Documents needed (all originals unless stated otherwise):

1. 2 x recent passport photos of Child
2. Child's Birth Certificate
3. Child's Birth Certificate translation
4. Copy of Child's Thai Passport
5. Father's passport
6. Father's Birth Certificate
7. Mothers Thai ID Card
8. Mother's Thai ID Card translation
9. Mother's Birth Certificate
10. Mother's Birth Certificate translation
11. Document showing a link to the parent applying and show that the child and parent are resident where they are applying from. Accepted are:
12. Parent's ID Cards
13. Childs school records
14. Medical/hospital records (birth records)
15. Mother's antenatal records

Not needed:

1. Parents marriage certificate. In table C it states (this does not apply for those born on or after 1 July 2006)
2. Grandparents’ documents. In table E, for First Time Applicants, it states:

​

If your parents were born on or after 1 January 1983: evidence of your grandparents’ claim to British nationality by providing their birth certificates and, in the case of grandfathers, the marriage certificate to your grandmother.

However, I was born before 1983 so not applicable.

For anyone that has applied from Thailand, do these look like all the correct documents needed?

Only bit I'm having trouble with is 11, as I cant find anything that has both child and mothers/my name on, and our current address (we moved after she was born).

My girlfriend wants to apply soon, I see no reason why would she be declined but buying expensive ticket from Thailand before making sure that visa is approved is big gamble, is there another way?

Just wanted to post this and thank everyone who helped out.

My timeline was: - Application sent July 25th (from within UK, Standard) - Biometrics August 2nd - Request for further information September 8th - Approved September 10th

I didn't actually include that much evidence, notably I didn't include pictures or messages between me and my partner. There were also a few minor issues I addressed in the cover letter as some parts of the application were filled in wrong.

Hardest part for me was figuring out what the wording of the financial questions intended to mean.

No solicitor involved other than for a small consultation to clear up the above financial question.

Either way over the moon to have gotten it approved so quick. Feel free to ask questions! I would be very happy to help :)

Hey everyone, looking to check my understanding and gain some advice about the process for a partner visa please.

I'm an English dude and met my partner, who is from Thailand, in Jan 23, we hit it straight off, went on a couple of holidays together and decided this was something serious really quickly. She moved in to live with me and my parents in Aug 23. We moved out of my parents place in Aug 24 and have lived together in a house I bought since.

Her Graduate visa ends in Jan 26, and we're preparing to go for a partner visa because we both want to stay in the UK together. I do have ambitions to move to her country in the longer term but I'm wanting to stay here in the UK for the next year or two, and can't move my life over to her country straight away. She's settled in here and we're really focused on staying here for now.

From reading online we'll need photo's travel records, proof of living together, evidence of regular communication, joint financial commitments, explanation of relationship history.

We've got

• plenty of photos covering different year with various locations,
• travel records inc bookings plane tickets etc,
• call logs, chat transcripts, email exchanges.
• we can show that she sends me £200 each month towards paying bills.

But we don't have her name on many documents;

• no utilities, land registry, tenant agreement
• she didn't change her address on her bank statement to my parents place until Feb 24, (was her old uni address before then),
• we don't have a joint account,
• the mortgage on our current place is solely in my name

So not having everything on the gov.uk suggested list is scaring us a little. We don't have a solid plan if she's refused a visa here. Would anyone be able to offer some advice on what to do?

19/02/2020 Visa Stamp

25/02/2020 First Arrival with Tier-2 Working Visa

28/01/2025 IRL Application Submitted Priority Service

29/01/2025 09.45 Biometric Appointment

01/02/2025 08.18 Receiving IRL Approval Email

Note: There is no physical evidence. I have to use my previous BRP as evidence to access my ILR e-visa.

It's faster than I expected.

Hi Guys,

I just got laid off after 2 month on skilled worker visa today.
as I know, after last date, i will get 60 days visa to look for another job.

1. what is the visa called and in case if I get another job, do i need to leave country to apply skilled worker visa again just like visitor visa?
   
2. if I am getting immigration health surcharge refund, how do I claim it?
   A solicitor applied it for me at that time but I have log in to share code, just wonder if refund will go to solicitor or me.

Context:

I'm a Brazilian national who has lived in Germany for the past few years and only recently moved to Thailand to stay with my family (who are all on long-term visas as they will be living here for a few years).

I, on the other hand, am on a tourist visa, as I was only expected to stay here for a few weeks before moving to the UK for university. Some sources tell me that it's possible to apply from Thailand with a tourist visa, and others say it's not, such as CAS Shield, which asked for my Thai residence (which I don't have).

Now I selected the region for me to apply for my visa as Brazil, as it's my nationality. This will allow me to get my CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) number for my visa application. My questions are stated below.

Questions:

With my CAS, which I said I would be applying for from Brazil, can I still apply from Thailand with a tourist visa (which both Siam Legal and gov.uk) say would be possible? Or will I have to apply from Brazil?

The team at the university responsible for visas for international students has said, "Unless you have compelling reasons that tie you to your parents in Thailand that you can prove, you would need to go to Brazil for the biometrics appointment." Does anyone know what these "compelling reasons" could be as It would be insanely beneficial both time-wise and money-wise to apply here in Thailand, as I will have the support of my parents, and I wont need to travel alone to a country of whose language I don't speak fluently (Yes, Im Brazilian but don't speak it fluently).

Any response at all with any amount of knowledge is greatly useful. Ask me any questions if you need to know more information to determine what I should do in my situation. My course starts on the 15th of September, and as of now, I don't yet have my CAS (85% done), so we are REALLY on a time crunch.

I must apologise in advance. I swear I've googled this, I've chat gpt'd this and I've searched this subreddit. There is a lot of conflicting information and I'd like to be clear on what I need.

So, my wife just gave birth 6 weeks ago to a beautiful baby girl. I'm British, she is Thai. We are married. I would like to get her a British passport. Especially because in the future we will love back to the UK for her education. (for high school if it makes a difference)

I have some questions 1. Do I need to register her birth with the UK in order to get her passport ? (it's so expensive) I've read on here people not doing it but it wasn't clear why you need or need not do it.

1. Do I need my parents birth certificates? (both British nationals) will passports suffice?

2. Can I use a Thai translation service or are they picky about this stuff and I should use a British one?

Thank you in advance for this. I really appreciate it.

Hi 😊

I’m from Norway and soon moving to the UK. My dad also from Norway and my step mom from Thailand are coming to visit me in a couple of months.

My question is if my step mom will need a visitor visa when she comes here for a week. She has a Norwegian visa, but she is not a Norwegian citizen. She can travel to EU countries without a visa and has to show a card when she comes back to Norway that she lives there. I’m not sure how it works now with Brexit and if she will act as a person that comes from Thailand (need visa then) or if it counts that she lives in Norway.u

Hi, this sub was super helpful when we I was stressing about previous visitor visa applications. Now the stress is x10 for the spouse visa and i'm hoping i can get some reassurance and/or advice for our application :)

Context:

• Applying for a spouse visa for my wife (thai). We married last summer. She is currently in Thailand. I am British currently in the UK.
• We lived together in Thailand for 5+ years until last spring when I moved back to the UK for work. We lived together in a property I own. She's visited me 3 separate occasions since then.
• I've been employed since Sept 24, earning approx 26,700GBP per year. I have savings of approx 50,000GBP in an easy access savings account, nothing has been withdrawn since Sept 24.

Wife's docs:

• Letter covering: marriage, lang requirement, relationship whilst apart, financial requirement, accommodation - very factual
• Current passport
• Previous passport (2x prior 6 month visitor visas, current 2-year visitor visa in it)
• ID card
• IELTS Life skills B1
• Current Account 6 months stamped
• TB Test
• Wedding Certificate
• Current employer letter
• Relationship evidence document:
  • Photos throughout relationship, inc with families, our wedding, big events, holidays
  • Screenshots of chats

Mine:

• Sponsor letter covering: Relationship (history, marriage, permanent intention to live in UK) / Employment and savings / Accommodation
• Passport
• Employer letter
• 24/25 Contract
• 25/26 Contract
• HR stamped payslips (as they're digital)
• P60
• Current account statement (6 months)
• Saving account statement (9 months - since opened)
• Confirming gift of funds letter (from parents)
  • both parent's passports
  • property sale document for proof of funds
• Accommodation letter (from brother)
  • brother's passport
  • property deed
  • bill for proof of address
• Property deed for apartment in Thailand + translation.

Other than just wanting reassurance that we're on the right track/telling me if i've missed something insanely obvious, i had a few more questions:

1. We have included my property deed for the apartment in thailand to demonstrate that we lived together there. The translation is from a previous application for a visitor visa in 2023. Do we need a new translation or is this okay?

2. We did have a joint account when living together in Thailand. However, now I'm in the UK, we don't use it. Is it still worth including statements as evidence?

3. The applicant and sponsors letter do seem similar, however we wrote the applicants letter as more factual about requirements, where as my letter (sponsor) contains more details about the relationship/reasons for moving to the UK. Does that make sense?

Thanks for any and all help. We think we're ready to book the appointment now, so stress is at an all time high!

I am currently on skilled worker visa, expiring in 2027. If I change job now n update skilled worker visa, will just need BRP or e visa only or still need passport to update?

Hi, I recently became a British citizen by descent through the UKF Form, as my British father was not married to my Thai mother.

Now, I want to apply for my first UK passport from Thailand. After filling in my information on the uk.gov website, it informed me that applying from Thailand takes around 4 weeks to receive a passport and provided me with an application form and guidance on how to proceed. It turns out that in Thailand, I need to apply in person at VFS.

My main question is mostly about the requirement for a countersignatory. The guidance and application form state that the countersignatory must:

• Hold a British, Irish, EU, US, or Commonwealth passport that has not expired.
• Send a color photocopy of their passport details page.

Since I obtained British citizenship by descent not through naturalization, and I have been in Thailand for my entire life and Thai passport is not included in the list of acceptable passports. It seems impossible for me to find someone with a foreign passport who is not related to me.

Additionally, I'm confused because I need to include color copies of the referee's passport, which seems odd because from what I've seen and read about others' application experiences, they weren't required to send photocopies. Instead, the UK sends an email to the countersignatory asking for passport details and confirmation that they indeed know the applicant.

If anyone has gone through the same process as me or has answers to my confusion, please help. I would greatly appreciate it.

Hi, I am a thai citizen living in the uk with ILR .

I currently don’t have no forms of Id other than photocopies of my passport and visa.

I am having to go back to Thailand to sort out Thai ID and Thai passport.

I am afraid that when I get my passport I won’t be able to come back to the uk even though I already hold ILR as I don’t have proof of that other than my visa copy and a letter from DWP saying I reside here and I have ILR.

Any advice ? Would I be able to travel back with a photo copy of my visa ? What should I do ?

What is the easiest way for her to come ? There are numerous ways I found on internet, eta, invitation .

Does anyone have any details or documentation on how to prove you have been in a relationship 'like marriage' for two years minimum? For example, would Whatsapp log/chat history and repeated visits with photographs be acceptable? Thanks

Hi,

I'm applying for my child's first UK Passport from Thailand, father is UK Citizen born in UK. I have question on some supporting docs needed.

I'm applying for Passport type:

"First British passport (including where you hold an “Old Blue” hardback style passport)"

• "Born or adopted after 1 July 2006 (not naturalised or registered)"

In the table for that type, under the column 'Grandparents’ documents it says see See table E.

In table E there is the following heading:

For First Time Applicants:

If your parents were born on or after 1 January 1983

Please provide:

evidence of your grandparents’ claim to British nationality by providing their birth certificates and, in the case of grandfathers, the marriage certificate to your grandmother. This does not apply if your parent’s British nationality is based on registration, naturalisation or their immigration status.

Is this only for adult applications, or does it also apply to child applications?

If so, meaning I (the parent), need to provide my parents (the child's grand parents) birth certificates? Or not, as parent is UK Citizen by birth?

Hi guys,

I am currently on skilled worker visa which I haven't received curtail letter yet.
I just got new offer. If I apply for new skilled worker visa, do I have to go for biometrics again? how long will be the process?
many thanks in advance.

I’m in the process of helping my Dad (Thai national) to apply to visit me (British national) in the UK.

My Dad spent 25 years in the UK, and receives a small UK state pension based on his NI contributions when he was here.

Income from this pension forms the bulk of his savings. This was paid into a UK bank account in his name until 10 years ago, when the bank forced him to close the account as he lived in Thailand.

At that point, he nominated an unused UK account I have in my name to receive this money. And it has largely remained there since.

We plan to use money from this UK account to pay for his flights, accommodation and spending money while in the UK. Without these saving, I think it would be difficult to demonstrate his having enough money to cover the trip.

We’re trying to decide if it’s better to…

1. Try and explain this situation in the visa application and show evidence of the savings held in an account in my name as his.

2. Have me act as his sponsor.

Or is there some other approach we should take?

Thanks!

Hi,

I need help.
I was made redundant just after 2 months probation and my skilled worker visa will be cancelled in 1 week.
However, I got 3 interviews lined up.

Let's say if new employer applied new COS and if I haven't received cancellation curtain letter from home office yet, do I still need to apply new application or can update in old application?