Fiance and baby settlement visas any benefit of being Wed?

[oakydoke]

Hi there

My partner will be applying for a UK settlement visa in the near future she is of Thai nationality but is staying in cambodia.

Will Our Baby need a separate passport/visa ?

If so does anyone have any idea of the extra cost?

Many thanks to anyone who can help me out!

[JAJ]

Is your baby British?

- Are you British?
- Where were you born?
- When was baby born?

[oakydoke]

I am British I was born in England .
My son will be born in Cambodia around november.

Thanks

[JAJ]

Baby will be a British citizen (by descent) and should have a British consular birth certificate + British passport, from the Embassy.

[oakydoke]

Thanks very much jaj thats good news.

I assume we'll just have to go and register him when he is born.

[John]

Following the birth of the baby in Cambodia in November you need to ensure that you are named as the father on the birth certificate to be produced by the Cambodian authorities.

Having got that Cambodian-issued birth certificate you need to make an application to the British Embassy in Bangkok. The embassy there deals not just with Thai matters but also those from Laos and Cambodia.

Lots more information on this webpage from the British Embassy in Bangkok. You will see that you can make both applications at the same time, for the British-style birth certificate and for the child's British passport.

Your fiancée will also want to get a Thai passport for her child. I don't know whether the child will also be Cambodian, if born in that country, but he/she will certainly inherit Thai nationality from the mother.

Both Thailand and the UK have no problem with dual nationality.

Whilst the applications for a British-style birth certificate and British passport are certainly not just a few baht, the combined cost of those two documents is less than the cost of applying for a Child Settlement visa, so obviously you want to go the BC/passport route.

Are the two of you going to get married? If so, why not do that in Thailand? That will enable her to apply for a spouse visa, rather than a fiancée visa. Getting married in Thailand is an easy matter. My wife (she is from Thailand) and I got married at the Amphur in Phitsanulok back in 2001, following which she got a spouse visa and moved to the UK.She has been a British Citizen since 2004.

[oakydoke]

We are intending to get married. I was going to do it here in England.
Are there any advantages to being married when applying for settlement? Are they more likely to grant a settlement if you are married?

[John]

Probably no difference in chance of getting the visa but do appreciate this. If she applies for a fiancée visa in Bangkok, then she comes to the UK, then the two of you get married in the UK, it is then a question of making another visa application (in the UK) ... for a spouse visa.

However if the two of you get married in Thailand she would apply there for the spouse visa. That is, getting married there cuts out one visa application, and that application currently costs £395 by post or £595 in person at a PEO.

Not only that, from personal experience, I can say that it is distinctly cheaper to get married in Thailand than in the UK.

By the way, following the birth of the baby in Cambodia, and the issue of the birth certificate, you will need to get that birth certificate translated into English. You might possibly find it easier to get that done in Cambodia, rather than waiting to get to Bangkok. Also your fiancée might also want to get a translation done from Cambodian into Thai.

Can I ask, why is she living in Cambodia, and planning to have the baby there?

[oakydoke]

She is staying with her Mother and other family her father was Thai and her mother is of chinese descent but raised in cambodia.

[oakydoke]

Hi there

I have a fiancee in Cambodia who is pregnant.

Can anyone tell me of my chances if I was to apply for two visas One for my Fiancee and one for my son, due to be born in november.

I don't Know whether being married is an issue?

I thought about getting married and having Him registered British and getting a passport for him so only one visa is needed; This is a problem because Cambodia has banned marriage to foreigners for the forseeable future.

Thankyou for any help anyone can supply!

Ben.

[John]

Ben, why are you posting that as if you were starting a new topic? I suggest you read the replies above in order to understand what you are facing.

[oakydoke]

I am posting again as i was hoping for a more definitive answer on the marriage issue.

I was hoping someone might be able to say how long marriage to foreigners is likely to be banned in Cambodia.


I am only going over for 2 weeks due to work commitments and this is causing me problems as I am desperate for my family to join me in the uk.

I understand what I am facing John I am just looking for some help.

[JAJ]

I am posting again as i was hoping for a more definitive answer on the marriage issue.

I was hoping someone might be able to say how long marriage to foreigners is likely to be banned in Cambodia.

Unclear how you expect anyone on this forum to know the answer to that question.

Why not take John's advice and plan to get married in either Thailand or Britain.

You have already been advised about your child's claim to British citizenship, so that should be completely clear.

[John]

As previously said, why not get married in Thailand? Your fiancee can clearly do that with no problem, and for you, a non-Thai? Have a look at this webpage from the British Embassy, Bangkok.

You will see that it contains links to affirmation document. So :-

• Prepare your affirmation document
• Go to the Consular Section at the embassy and sign it.
• Take a copy of your affirmation document to one of the numerous translation bureaux near to the British Embassy. Ask them to do as much of the translation into Thai as they can.
• Go back to the Embassy the next day and pick up your affirmation document, which will now have been countersigned by an official in the embassy.
• Go back to the translation bureau and hand them the affirmation document. Wait while they finish off the translation.
• Get a taxi to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pay for the same-day service. I think that will cost you 800 baht. A couple of hours later you will be handed the affirmation, in English and Thai, now bearing the stamp of the Ministry.
• You are now free to marry at any Amphur (Register Office) in Thailand, on production of the affirmation documents, and your British passport (details of which will be in your affirmation document).

So all in all it is just a couple of days to do all of that. So :-

I am only going over for 2 weeks due to work commitments

-: is no problem at all, given when going to the Amphur there is no pre-notice needed as in the UK. The two of you just go along, without appointment, with the required documents, hand them over, fill in a simple form (well it will be simple for your fiancée!), pay a small fee (back in 2001 it was about 200 baht .... a little over £3), and then get handed two copies of the marriage certificate! You are married!

Of course your fiancee would need to travel to Thailand, but as long as she can produce her Thai ID card, and Tabien Bahn (house document) she can marry at any Amphur in Thailand. She does not need to travel to Bangkok, if for example going somewhere nearer such as Sisaket would be more convenient.

oakydoke, is that helpful enough?

A final thought ..... that doesn't sound like a Thai weeding to you? Well it is the legal marriage, but if the two of you want a religious ceremony as well, that is something entirely different. Under the laws of Thailand a religious ceremony has no legal significance at all ... you can only get legally married at the Amphur.

[carlabeach]

john
one question my case is the same i am having my baby in my country i am legaly married to a british citizen, i ask about the birth cirtificate and everything in embassy and i know the baby gonna have there own british passport, but i dont understand what gonna happen with my application, do i need to ask only for me for settlement visa? because the baby get his own british passport...

[John]

do i need to ask only for me for settlement visa?

Exactly so, for the reasons you describe your child will be British, and will have their own British passport, so obviously does not need a visa to enter the UK. So only you needs to apply for a visa.