UK Visa for my Thai wife

Post by **Ground Engineer** » November 12, 2005, 4:04 pm

My friend Richie has just come over to Thailand on holiday with me and married an Issan girl.

Problem is my friend is disabled and cannot work and is therefore on Disability benifits. Does this mean his thai wife will not be granted a visa for the UK? as is says on the British embassy website that the UK spouse must be able to support his wife without it being a burden on the state.

Any advice would be much appreciated as we are desparate to know?

Cheers.

Post by **Paul** » November 12, 2005, 5:46 pm

I really don't mean to sound harsh here - but, shouldn't your friend have found this information out BEFORE marrying this girl who is probrably now full of expectations?

I think the question is too serious to ask on an internet forum and I suggest you contact the embassy for information straight from the horse's mouth - so to speak - rather than (well intentioned) forum chat.

Please dont take this the wrong way and I sincerely hope that - as I read it , it simply means that they will not spend any state money on her - however as your friend is already on benefits its not a strong case for being able to support her as he is already being supported himself.

Like I said ask the embassy soonest.

Good Luck

Paul

Post by **Ground Engineer** » November 12, 2005, 7:22 pm

Cheers Paul,

It was all spur of the moment. But hopefully there is a way around it. I think the clause is intended for people on the dole who are capable of finding work. As Richie is not capable of finding work then it would be a predujice against his human rights if he was not allowed the same rights as non disabled people.

Post by **Galee** » November 12, 2005, 10:39 pm

I have a secure job and reasonable salaryand I am having problems sponsoring my girlfriend to visit England on a Tourist Visa.

I sincerely hope that you friend can bring his wife over here, but I would warn him that it's probably going to be a long drawn out process.

Good Luck,

Gary

Post by **Paul** » November 12, 2005, 10:47 pm

I agree and I am sure the state will take care of HIS needs forever more. What they will not do is give his wife any financial help whatsoever. No benefits, no unemployment payments, no income support and part of the visa process is to prove that you have sufficient means to support your wife in the UK.
For someone who is reliant on the state already (for whatever reason), its gonna be difficult to prove how he can support another person.

I know it sounds negative - but not everything is not always as we hope for. Again I wish you (well your friend) the very best of luck >

Post by **motorhomes4sale** » November 29, 2005, 6:04 pm

Hi Ground Engineer

Just because your friend is on disability benifits does not mean that he will not be able to get a UK settlement visa for her ( I assume its a settlement visa he wants )

If he can show he has accomodation for her and some savings that would help. Also it doesnt cost twice as much money for 2 people to live in a house as it would for 1 person. The bills for gas and electric would probably be the same.

Also a settlement visa would allow her to work so she could say at her interview that she fully intends to work in the UK. His benfits might be affected slightly if she does work, but alot of disability benifits are not means tested and are not affected by a partners income.

Post by **Ground Engineer** » November 30, 2005, 1:13 am

This will give Ritchie renewed hope.

valentine · Post by **valentine** » November 30, 2005, 7:38 am

A word of caution.If he is soley on state benefit the authorities may wonder how HE got to Thailand in the first place.

Post by **motorhomes4sale** » November 30, 2005, 8:50 pm

Claiming disability benefits does not stop you having savings.
He could have savings from before he was disabled or he could have inherited some money it really doesnt matter. If he does have savings it would be better if he could show how he accumulated them.
If he has house of flat where he can accomadate his Thai wife then thats the 1st hurdle over, he doesnt need to own this he can be renting.
He then needs to show he has sufficent funds to support her, the embassy will take into account his savings and income, it should not matter that his income is from the state, its a disability benefit ! not an unemployment benefit ! He just needs to show them that its enough, also his wife could say that she wants to work in the UK as the settlements visa would allow her to do this. His benefits would probably not be effected as some disability are not means tested.
If he gets everything prepared right to show the embassy and has all his answers ready he should sail through it.
The embassy has to be really careful that they do not prejudice against a disabled person.
His main problem is going to be convincing them that the relationship is genuine if he has only known the lady a short time. Simply getting married does not prove this as thats very easy to do in Thailand. Was his marriage a proper registered one involving all the right papers or was it just a village wedding ?

Post by **BangkokButcher** » December 1, 2005, 12:53 am

Thats very true motorhomes, even if Richie was still fairly able bodied and working in a job paying à¸ƒ100k p/a, but was still provably disabled, then he would still be entitled to his benefits.

Good luck to him

UK Visa for my Thai wife

UK Visa for my Thai wife

THanks Motorhomes for sale