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I'm looking to get a UK visa for my cambodian gf to move to the UK but struggling to find the requirements online. Has anyone here applied recently? We have a newborn child together and also the visa would be to move to England or maybe a tourist one for 3-6 months. Any information will be helpful. Thank you in advance.

From somewhere else on the internet service a few years back, now covered in batshit, but still holds true:

Spigzy wrote:key points are:
1. Financial support (if she has a job/financial independence, this is easy - if not, you need reliable sponsors or a fat bank balance of your own)
2. Reason for her to return to Cambodia - maybe she owns land, a house, a car, - or has a contracted job, etc - things she would come back for.
3. Proof of your relationship history - a bunch of photos together/stamped passports, particularly if she's traveled locally to ASEAN nations with you previously - it demonstrates she left Cambodia, but went back.
4. Your own reasons for going to the UK, and why you also would return to Cambodia (and take her back with you) - again, job, etc.
(5. If you were married, or have sprogs, you should include all those official docs too)

Good starting point here:
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigra ... stay-visas

I'm in the process of doing it now, it's long, expensive and complicated. We ended up hiring a UK immigration lawyer to walk us through it and I strongly suggest doing the same.

For a two and a half year visa (which you can then extend by another two and a half years to meet the five year requirement for permanent settlement) the cost is about £1600 application fee (non refundable), £600 NHS fee (which you only pay if/when the visa is approved), plus misc expenses like English test, blood test, and translation of docs. There are two visas in that category; Spouse/partner and Humanitarian. The humanitarian visa is easiest as you just have to prove it's in your child's best interests to grow up in the UK with both parents, but you will need a lawyer to present your case. If you aren't on the birth certificate and haven't got your kid's uk passport yet then get those sorted first before attempting the visa.

The downside of the humanitarian route is that it then takes 10 years for permanent settlement as opposed to 5 years for the regular spouse/partner visa. Speak to a professional to work out what's best for your situation, do not base such an important decision on shit you read online from people like me.

Also just to point out: Spigzy's thing about proving you'll return home isn't relevant for the 2.5 year visas, that stuff is just for tourist/short term visas.

Yep correctumundo - but tourist visa can be as long as 6 months I thought, which might just be enough for the Op circumstance. Absolutely agree on your 'move to UK' advice though, don't mess around with the big one.

cheers great advice yea just looking for the tourist first to see if the misses will like it but the move advice will come in handy at a later date

My friend applied on behalf of his girlfriend on two occasions. Both failed. He is an upstanding bloke, owns a mortgage brokerage, earns well in excess off £100k. Pays all his taxes. No criminal record. He is 56.

She has no real estate property here, and no children. She is an artist (pictures, portraits etc) and has no demonstrable income stream. Her family supports her in terms on accommodation. She is 23

He applied twice for a visitor visa only and answered all their questions. They knocked him back with excuses that were easy to make, i.e. insufficient proof of income (for her), insufficient proof of intention to return. There is no appeal or review of their decisions, you just have to make a new application and pay the fee over and over again. The first refusal took a while, the second as much quicker. It was like the application had a black mark on it from the get-go. He applied himself and not through a solicitor.

I agree absolutely that you should seek professional UK based legal advice before making an application and get all your ducks lined up. They say all applications are treated on their merits but I can't help feeling that once you are knocked back any further information or clarifications are looked at as a changing of the 'story' and this means that the first 'story' was inaccurate.

I wish you luck, please update us with the outcome.

I know of two recent cases similar to OP's (i.e. child recently born) and both were successful at first application. No adviser or lawyer was used in either case.
It is best to get a UK passport for the child first as then no visa is needed for the child and it helps with the mother's visa application. The passport application takes a while, however, and in one of the cases, the UK father had to get a visa for mother and daughter.
In both cases, the family was staying in a grandparent's house with adequate accommodation. This needs to be verified by Land Registry documents to prove ownership and utility bills to prove occupation. OP needs to submit colour copies of all pages of his passport and documents to show his employment/wealth.
UK tourist visas are always 6 months duration. But in both of these cases, the application stated one month intended visit. Stating 6 months may be a problem and whilst she can state one month and is fully entitled to stay for 6, it may be a red flag for subsequent applications if she does so.
If you need an adviser, IMHO, the best advisers are in Pattaya. You need to research who is a good one but the good ones really know their stuff and will offer a guarantee. They will be cheaper than a UK-based lawyer.
All applications in Cambodia go through VFS in PP Tower (who can be a bit difficult). They will try to get you to pay extra for expedited process etc, just say no.

Doc67 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2019 10:40 am My friend applied on behalf of his girlfriend on two occasions. Both failed. He is an upstanding bloke, owns a mortgage brokerage, earns well in excess off £100k. Pays all his taxes. No criminal record. He is 56.

She has no real estate property here, and no children. She is an artist (pictures, portraits etc) and has no demonstrable income stream. Her family supports her in terms on accommodation. She is 23

He applied twice for a visitor visa only and answered all their questions. They knocked him back with excuses that were easy to make, i.e. insufficient proof of income (for her), insufficient proof of intention to return. There is no appeal or review of their decisions, you just have to make a new application and pay the fee over and over again. The first refusal took a while, the second as much quicker. It was like the application had a black mark on it from the get-go. He applied himself and not through a solicitor.

I agree absolutely that you should seek professional UK based legal advice before making an application and get all your ducks lined up. They say all applications are treated on their merits but I can't help feeling that once you are knocked back any further information or clarifications are looked at as a changing of the 'story' and this means that the first 'story' was inaccurate.

I wish you luck, please update us with the outcome.

This case was probably different as there was no child.
I got a UK tourist visa for my Khmer gf but it involved a lot of documents to prove her intention to return.
Sometimes the lady is already on a blacklist from a previous application (she often forgets to mention this!) and that is of course a big problem. A good agent may be able to deal with that (best to go to Pattaya for a good agent).
Otherwise, put in as much documents as you can and see what they say in the rejection letter. They are usually helpful and will say exactly what you need to do for next time (unless it is a blacklist situation of course).
Another method is to take the lady somewhere else that has slightly easier visa rules (e.g. some Schengen countries or Japan). Once that trip is in her passport, the UK will be much easier to get (absent blacklist).

I seriously doubt a Schengen visa in your passport will remove a blacklist for the UK.

Two independent systems.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:30 pm I seriously doubt a Schengen visa in your passport will remove a blacklist for the UK.

Two independent systems.

When I said absent blacklist, I meant assuming she is not on a blacklist.