Today I booked the flight for next week for the three of us to fly to Dublin, from Bangkok via Turkey. The flight was quite cheap compared to others, has a very short stop in Turkey, and arrives in Dublin at 10.30 in the morning. Perfect.
I chose to pay with my Bangkok Bank debit card, only to discover that the Bangkok Bank verified by visa thing was not working. Waited 1 hour, tried again and it was OK.
US$1850 for 3 return flights is a good deal, I chose return flights because its only slightly more expensive than single and avoids problems at the check-in desk in Thailand because I know from experience that they give Thai people a hard time if they try and travel on a one-way ticket. Also, if it really does not work for us at least we have the option to just return to Thailand.
We have been working hard to get our house ready for our tenant who is renting the house from us while we are away, we have a lot of preparation to do and only a week to do it all before we fly.. talk about leaving it all till the last minute.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Friday, November 25, 2016
Ireland Visa Approved, Time to Buy an Airline Ticket
Today, exactly 13 days after we handed in my wife's visa application, the embassy called to tell us the visa was ready for collection.
Kitty (my wife) was elated, she had been concerned that it may be denied because we declined to submit any documents except marriage certificate and translation (as the certificate is in Thai), but under EU rules we are not required to provide any other documents. We included a polite letter to explain why we were not providing stuff like proof of accommodation, bank statements, etc.
So now we have to book our flight and I am looking for airlines that fly direct from Bangkok to Dublin, but there are none. Next best option seems to be an airline that stops about half way, so I compared prices and now I find that the cheapest by far is Turkish Airlines.
Turkish airlines has another benefit, Thai's do not need a visa to fly to Turkey (since Feb 2016) so there can be no question over transit visas, we decide to book Turkish Airways.
Kitty (my wife) was elated, she had been concerned that it may be denied because we declined to submit any documents except marriage certificate and translation (as the certificate is in Thai), but under EU rules we are not required to provide any other documents. We included a polite letter to explain why we were not providing stuff like proof of accommodation, bank statements, etc.
So now we have to book our flight and I am looking for airlines that fly direct from Bangkok to Dublin, but there are none. Next best option seems to be an airline that stops about half way, so I compared prices and now I find that the cheapest by far is Turkish Airlines.
Turkish airlines has another benefit, Thai's do not need a visa to fly to Turkey (since Feb 2016) so there can be no question over transit visas, we decide to book Turkish Airways.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Applying for EU Spouse visa for Ireland
Ok, we decided to move to Ireland, so the next step is to obtain a visa for my Thai wife.
We are applying under EU Directive 2004/83/EU which means that the visa has to be issued without delay, and it must be free of charge. Luckily the Irish immigration website has lots of info about this kind of application and it confirms that its free and should be issued within 14 days.
We applied online, printed the completed application form and then called the Irish Embassy in Bangkok to make an appointment to hand in the documents, they were very nice on the phone and conformed that we do not need an appointment, we can just go in.
So we went to Bangkok, arrived at the embassy just before it opened and was pleased to see that we were second in line. That did not really matter as the embassy are very efficient and our application documents were accepted within 15 mins and we were told to expect a call in 14 days time, so now we are just waiting for the decision.
The only documents we proviced were the marriage certificate and a translation of the marriage certificate. Under directive 2004/38/EU there is nothing else that the can ask for.
My wife is concerned that they may decline the application, I am quietly confident that it'll be OK.
We are applying under EU Directive 2004/83/EU which means that the visa has to be issued without delay, and it must be free of charge. Luckily the Irish immigration website has lots of info about this kind of application and it confirms that its free and should be issued within 14 days.
We applied online, printed the completed application form and then called the Irish Embassy in Bangkok to make an appointment to hand in the documents, they were very nice on the phone and conformed that we do not need an appointment, we can just go in.
So we went to Bangkok, arrived at the embassy just before it opened and was pleased to see that we were second in line. That did not really matter as the embassy are very efficient and our application documents were accepted within 15 mins and we were told to expect a call in 14 days time, so now we are just waiting for the decision.
The only documents we proviced were the marriage certificate and a translation of the marriage certificate. Under directive 2004/38/EU there is nothing else that the can ask for.
My wife is concerned that they may decline the application, I am quietly confident that it'll be OK.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
The decision to move to Ireland
I have lived in Thailand for 15 years now, and I have really enjoyed my time here.
I met me wife about 2 years after I arrived in Thailand, and then 2 years later our son Luke was born. Ever since he was about 5 years old we have had this plan to move to the UK and put him into an English school for a year or two thinking it would do him a lot of good. Time passes quickly and before we know it he's 10 and we have to start to plan properly for this proposed move to the UK.
Trouble is that there is no visa that is suitable for my wife for us to spend a year or two in the UK, we can apply either for a tourist visa or a settlement visa and we don't find that either is suitable. The tourist visa is 6 months and then you cannot apply again for 6 months after that, and the settlement visa is a nightmare to apply for, hideously expensive and has complicated requirements that we cannot meet due to me having lived outside the Uk for so long.
In the end I found out that as I am a European citizen we could get a visa for my wife for Ireland for free, and that there are no requirements other then proof of our marriage. This is because of the European law on freedom of movement and how that applies to family of European citizens, its called derived freedom of movement.
So, we can now apply for the Ireland visa and start to plan our new life in Europe.
I met me wife about 2 years after I arrived in Thailand, and then 2 years later our son Luke was born. Ever since he was about 5 years old we have had this plan to move to the UK and put him into an English school for a year or two thinking it would do him a lot of good. Time passes quickly and before we know it he's 10 and we have to start to plan properly for this proposed move to the UK.
Trouble is that there is no visa that is suitable for my wife for us to spend a year or two in the UK, we can apply either for a tourist visa or a settlement visa and we don't find that either is suitable. The tourist visa is 6 months and then you cannot apply again for 6 months after that, and the settlement visa is a nightmare to apply for, hideously expensive and has complicated requirements that we cannot meet due to me having lived outside the Uk for so long.
In the end I found out that as I am a European citizen we could get a visa for my wife for Ireland for free, and that there are no requirements other then proof of our marriage. This is because of the European law on freedom of movement and how that applies to family of European citizens, its called derived freedom of movement.
So, we can now apply for the Ireland visa and start to plan our new life in Europe.
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