UK visa for my Chinese wife

mikeystipey

hi folks

Just wondering if anyone is married to a non-EU citizen and has been to the UK with them recently. There's plenty of info on their website
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/visiting/general/apply/#
but I can't find anything specifically on spouses of Irish/EU citizens. We went to the UK last year on a visit visa but paid for her visa when it turned out we don't need to. We applied for the wrong option it seems. Most grateful for any info

Mikey

SoulTrader

I am. We've gone through that process a few times. You will need to either show that you / she has sufficient funds to support her for the duration of her trip, or have relatives who can provide accommodation (we've actually always done both in our applications). Do you live in the UK yourself, or do you know anyone who lives there? I've gotten UK visas for my wife and we've used the address and phone number of relatives in Northern Ireland for the application.

I assume it is a short stay visa right (less than 6 months)? Any longer would be a different visa with different requirements.

mikeystipey

SoulTrader wrote: »

I am. We've gone through that process a few times. You will need to either show that you / she has sufficient funds to support her for the duration of her trip, or have relatives who can provide accommodation (we've actually always done both in our applications). Do you live in the UK yourself, or do you know anyone who lives there? I've gotten UK visas for my wife and we've used the address and phone number of relatives in Northern Ireland for the application.

I assume it is a short stay visa right (less than 6 months)? Any longer would be a different visa with different requirements.

hi SoulTrader, thanks for replying. Last time we applied we had both items you mentioned, i.e. evidence of sufficient funds and details of a friend we would be staying with. We both live in Dublin. My friend lives in Edinburgh so thats where we go. Re the visa duration, it would be handier if we could get a 1-year visa as we're planning 2 different trips in February and August, but if needs be we could apply on 2 seperate occasions.

I guess my confusion was when we applied last time, during the online application process I was never given the option of her 'being a spouse of an EU citizen so no need to pay'. It seems to just direct you towards the general paid visit visa automatically. If you could remember how you select this option that would be great. The online form is fairly lengthy so if you don't remember that's most understandable

SoulTrader

No problem.

I think your circumstances are a little different to mine - we lived in the UK earlier this year for a short time and as my wife was the spouse of an EU citizen (as opposed to the spouse of a UK citizen), the rules about travelling were less stringent. Ironically, they seem to be more stringent for spouses of citizens in their home countries - so your wife, as the spouse of an Irish person living in Ireland, would have more stringent visa requirements than if you were a UK citizen, married to your wife, living in Ireland. A very confusing topic!

I'm sorry, I don't remember the application. I'm pretty sure that both times we applied we weren't married yet and had to pay.

I assume your wife has a multiple entry visa to return to Ireland right?

mikeystipey

SoulTrader wrote: »

No problem.

I think your circumstances are a little different to mine - we lived in the UK earlier this year for a short time and as my wife was the spouse of an EU citizen (as opposed to the spouse of a UK citizen), the rules about travelling were less stringent. Ironically, they seem to be more stringent for spouses of citizens in their home countries - so your wife, as the spouse of an Irish person living in Ireland, would have more stringent visa requirements than if you were a UK citizen, married to your wife, living in Ireland. A very confusing topic!

I'm sorry, I don't remember the application. I'm pretty sure that both times we applied we weren't married yet and had to pay.

I assume your wife has a multiple entry visa to return to Ireland right?

You're bang on there, there's this totally ironic situation where non-EU citizens married to other EU citizens in Ireland end up with more rights than non-EU citizens married to Irish folk. For example, my wife's friend (also Chinese) is married to a Finnish guy and has a visa (stamp 4E I think it is) which allows her to travel anywhere in Europe. The good wife with her stamp 4 has to apply for a visa every time. What a country! Stamp 4 does give her multiple entry rights to enter Ireland to answer your question above. In fairness its my fault for being Irish instead of Finnish

Thanks for your help anyway, my wife is asking around with fellow Sino-Irish couples we're friendly with, we'll eventually get some info I'm sure. Worst case is we'll just have to pay for the visa.

brockvale

during the online application, you can select the option to pay at embassy rather online with credit card. once you are in the embassy, you can mention that she is your wife, that way they will let you know if you still need to pay

bittihuduga

there is an option on the beginning of the visa application - spouses of EU citizen (last option in drop down i believe). please use this. only restriction is - you both have to travel together. this is the only free visa

mikeystipey

brockvale wrote: »

during the online application, you can select the option to pay at embassy rather online with credit card. once you are in the embassy, you can mention that she is your wife, that way they will let you know if you still need to pay

bittihuduga wrote: »

there is an option on the beginning of the visa application - spouses of EU citizen (last option in drop down i believe). please use this. only restriction is - you both have to travel together. this is the only free visa

Hi brockvale / bittihuduga, many thanks for your replies, haven't been on boards for a few weeks. If either of those options was available it would be great. Perhaps the last time we applied we just didn't notice the 'spouse of EU citizen' option. Or the explain at Embassy option would be grand too. Cheers guys!