BF gets 3rd Irish visa

[colmx]

Hi All
Happy to report that by Thai FB of the last 4.5 years got his 3rd Irish Visa today!

Most old timers on the board will remember the saga of getting his first visa - which took 1.5 years to secure.

There is no Irish Embassy in Bkk - just a consulate, so the applications get forwarded to the Embassy in KL

His second visa application last year went far easier than the first application. And took just 1 week

This 3rd application took a little longer (1.5 weeks) and was nearly scuppered by the girl in BKK who was processing the application and insisted on originals of all paperwork (despite being told on 2 previous occasions that teh only orignals required was his passport)

But thankfully in the end it all worked out!
So this time 10 weeks he'll be back for another month or 2...

Thanks as always to a certain unnamed board member for his help with some of the paperwork!

[greenteaman]

Is it possible after obtaining a Irish visitors visa for a BF to take him on a visit to England on a car ferry for a holiday ? with out needing a UK visa ,

because I think its very difficult to obtain a UK visa , although I live in UK I have an Irish home and passport status , i was thinking get my lad into Ireland bring him to Uk for a few weeks and then back to Ireland to fly him home

Is it possible after obtaining a Irish visitors visa for a BF to take him on a visit to England on a car ferry for a holiday ? with out needing a UK visa

I dont think it is possible - as a matter of fact I'm sure it's not as I tried the same thing in looking at bringing a guy into Southern Ireland and then simply driving him up over into Northern ireland, so to keep myself right I rang the consulate in Dublin and was told absolutely not and that he would need a UK visa to enter the UK (understandably I guess) - although I STILL have a notion in my head that once you're in a European country that there's a rule that allows you to travel in other European countries......but again on asking about this I seem to recall that whilst that may apply to "some"s countries it didn't apply to Asian Countries :-(

In reality it wouldn't have mattered much to me as there is no physically border checks anymore from South to North here so I wouldn't have had a problem perhaps ( apart from breaking the law of course !), as you know you couldn't fly him into England as that could pose a problem for you as they "may" well check his passport and certainly his I.D. at the airport, either here at departure or even randomly on arrival at the English side etc. If you "were" going to risk taking him on cross to England ( and not that I'm condoning that of course :-) I would suggest you bring him from Southern Ireland and then drive up to the North perhaps, getting the car ferry from here to either Liverpool or Scotland depending on where you are going and try go over that way as the crossing here is a lot less strict as it's not "between countries" - but it still carries "some" risk - and one that I personally am not sure I would want to take unless you were 100% sure that you knew your friend was DEFINITELY going to go home again and not do a bunk at the end of his trip perhaps, so all in all it may be just better to try and gain the correct necessary visa to avoid any possible problems / criminal charges if you were caught perhaps as I believe it's a ┬г3000 or ┬г4000 fine if caught plus a record etc.

I think if you were caught bringing a boy with no Visa into the UK via Eire (or anywhere else) there would be very serious repercussions for both parties.

I have posted on UK Visa regulations before and would repeat that it is an absolute nightmare - in my case it has proved to be completely impossible to get my bf (who is not Thai but is Asian) into the UK. Trust me - I have explored every avenue - visitor, student, student visitor, even looked into a marriage visa!!! (technically possible for 2 guys - but not if you can't prove having lived together for 2 years)

Of course - like everything else in the UK - if you are fabulously wealthy, it's no problem!

:occasion9:

[stevehadders]

In answer to bringing your bf from Eire into Uk - no its not possible - he would need to obtain a UK Visa. It is only possible to move from Eu Country to another one if both countries are in the "Shengen" Agreement - which the Uk is not. So, if you get your bf into UK on a UK visa, he would have to obtain a Shengen visa if he wished to visit paris for example.

It used to be v complex to obtain a visa for bf in UK , but now not so difficult - and the regulations for Eire and Uk are very comparable I believe. For holiday visit, you just have to show return flight, be able to provide financial guarantees etc. The first visa is the hardest one obviously.

.... For holiday visit, you just have to show return flight, be able to provide financial guarantees etc.....

Have you tried it?

The "financial guarantees" include producing 6 months of HIS bank statements showing regular income from more than one source, and 6 months of YOURS.

The basic premise is that the UK Border Agency assume that he will not return to this own Country at the end of his holiday unless he has very good reason to do so.
They see his being totally financially reliant on his sponsor as an hindrance to him going home rather than an encouragement to do so. Therefore they want to see evidence of his job or school/college placement and regular income sources in his own country.

If you managed to get somebody in without providing that detail, I would have to ask who you know or whose palm your greased!

:evil4:

It is only possible to move from Eu Country to another one if both countries are in the "Shengen" Agreement.

Thanks Steve, that's what I was trying to remember and couldn't !


For holiday visit, you just have to show return flight, be able to provide financial guarantees etc

On checking about this a while back it did appear that there was a bit" more too it than that, as they required other various things such as a solid work record, in preferably a good job with a good salary - and wage slips to prove it, plus money in the bank for a period of time and statements to back that up ( and not one showing a one off large farang deposit just before the application), plus preferably ownership of property etc etc all to swing their decision that the guy would actually return home again ( although why he would ever dream of staying here in the first place amazes me! ). Also does anyone perhaps know what that actual "financial guarantees" actually is these days in real money terms as I met a guy from Holland when last in Bkk who told me he'd had to sign up to a ┬г50,000 guarantee which is a hell of a lot of money to lose if your boy decides to do a runner ! and I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or bullshitting me, anyone any idea about that ?

[stevehadders]

I have tried, and was successful bringing a Thai friend for a 2 week holiday. I had to provide bank statements, to prove income and a letter from my accountant (secondary income area). My friend had to provide proof of his university course (he was in 2nd year), as well as some bank statements. Apart from that it was quite straightforward. I dont know whether him being a student made any difference, and I do know he had a healthy balance in his account (not from me I hasten to add!, well not entirely). This was last July (2011)

[RonanTheBarbarian]

I know a Chinese guy who lives in Dublin. He has a student visa to be in the Republic of Ireland.

He went on a day trip to Belfast, despite not having a UK visa. When I pointed out to him that he was breaking the law, his reply was that "they don't check for passports on the buses".

I said "Well, maybe they dont usually, but what if they had, what would you have done? "

His answer basically was was that loads of Chinese in the Republic do it, and if it was supposed to be illegal, why were there no checks?

Hard to answer that one, although you should not assume that it is as simple and risk free as my Chinese friend made out.

And if you are tryring to get a friend to London, remember that they will have to brave the Larne to Stranraer ferry too, that would seem to be a more logical point to have spot checks.

[Brad the Impala]

I have posted on UK Visa regulations before and would repeat that it is an absolute nightmare - in my case it has proved to be completely impossible to get my bf (who is not Thai but is Asian) into the UK. Trust me - I have explored every avenue - visitor, student, student visitor, even looked into a marriage visa!!! (technically possible for 2 guys - but not if you can't prove having lived together for 2 years)

Of course - like everything else in the UK - if you are fabulously wealthy, it's no problem!

:occasion9:

Sorry that it didn't work for you, where is your partner from? I have sponsored two thai guys and a malaysian, one as a visitor, one as a student, both under UK law, and one as a civil partner under european law, and while the procedure can be time consuming and bureacratic, it is certainly possible with perseverance.

I know of three english/thai couples who are now resident in the UK without having first lived together abroad, and neither I nor the couples are fabulously wealthy, nor did their asean partners have particularly good employment records.

I refer you to an excellent website regarding UK immigration law as it pertains to gay couples.

http://www.uklgig.org.uk/

When I pointed out to him that he was breaking the law, his reply was that "they don't check for passports on the buses".

You can tell your friend that you were in correct in that he was "lucky" as they DO check the buses and I know this from being on the bus when they did - in my case this was on the Belfast to Dublin "airport" bus but they had set up a check point and the Garda ( Southern Police force) were pulling in random buses and walking up and down the aisle and asking for ID in theory from everyone but in practice it turned out they ignored the local pale faced pasty white irish looking people and went for the Eastern Europeans and Asians that were aboard, when they came to me I asked what was up as it was SO unusual to see this sort of checkpoint and the Guard just said they were looking for illegal immigrants. To be fair neither I nor any of my friends traveling with me on the bus had EVER seen this sort of check before, either North or South and never have again, however it shows that it does go on.


remember that they will have to brave the Larne to Stranraer ferry too, that would seem to be a more logical point to have spot checks.

Again even though I mentioned the same crossing earlier people should be aware that they DO have check points there as well and whilst they are random I'm guessing the chances of a car being stopped with an Asian guy in it just might be higher than one without and likewise sometimes there is also a second checkpoint as you leave the ferry at the other end which actually is in my experience actually somewhat stricter than the one on the way out of N.Ireland, so it's very much a matter of random luck and with the heavy fines involved in "people smuggling" ( as that's is most certainly how it would be viewed by the authorities) I'm really not sure that it's worth taking the risk.

Speaking personally if it was a short trip whilst on holiday or something just between the North and the South or Ireland and you were in your own private car etc, then I probably would risk it as the chances of getting stopped / caught are very low, but likewise that's all fine until you're involved in a car accident or something crazy and then it all goes to shit when the police man asks for the ID of everyone in the car perhaps and the whole thing starts to unravel :-(

[colmx]

Wow this original thread is 5 years old!
BF has been to Ireland loads of times since...

@greenteaman:
Irish tourist visa is pretty much as difficult to obtain as the UK visa... So i don't really think it is an easier option for you.
There is a common travel area between UK-NI-Irish Republic (for citizens of those countries) so they are pretty strict on whom they let into Ireland (unless they are "refugees" from Africa)

I recall reading a recent press report about a brazilian couple that came to Ireland (Republic) and crossed into NI hoping to fly from Belfast to Heathrow

They were stopped in Belfast and could not fly to mainland UK

In the meantime they were illegal aliens In NI
And the Republic would not let them back down south as they did npt have re-entry visas

In the end their govt had to fly they back to Brazil...

Suggest you follow some of teh advice above and get a visa the right way...
From my experience owning land (and having the Shanoot to prove you own it) seems to be a good way to help encourage the Embassy staff to believe that the thai guy will return home at the end of their visa...

... the Larne to Stranraer ferry ...

Not trying to be pedantic and it doesn't affect the meaning of your post, but for anybody who happens to have an interest, the Larne - Stranraer ferry has been defunct for a few months now - a new P&O terminal has been built a few miles away @ Cairnryan (ie the Scottish end).

:occasion9:

[colmx]

Sorry to resurrect a zombie thread...

Happy to report that my Bf has now been granted his 7th visa and will hopefully arrive back to Dubin in the next 10 days.

To those that say the 2nd and subsequent visa etc is easier to get than the 1st... well i dispute that... each visa gets progressively more difficult... with more paperwork and longer wait required (most recent application took alost 6 weeks to process)

In fact the most recent application required more papework and translations (and calls t Kuala Lumpur embassy) than ever before

To the 2 board members that offered to help with the visa application - thanks for you offer - but we decided to "go it alone" this trip... but your offer is most appreciated...

Now all we gotta do is make sure he has a good time when he is here!

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Congrats colmx

Hope he has a good time.

[martin911]

I was chatting to Tam yesterday on FB ---he sounds all excited about going over to you :):):)-- And i forgot to ask him --what about the Mutt ???
I presume you didnt get a Visa for him also ^^ 55555--
-AND -- (he might do a sausie run for me on the way back ?? )

Dont kill each other !!!!