Which authority issues the Apostille on each side
UK side: the FCDO Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes issues Apostilles for UK public documents. Standard service is £30/document with 2-day postal turnaround; premium same-day service in London (Hays Galleria) is £75/document. Solicitor-certified copies of private documents (e.g., bank statements, employment contracts) are eligible after solicitor notarisation.
Thai side: the MFA Department of Consular Affairs in Chaeng Wattana issues Apostilles for Thai public documents and notarial acts. Standard ฿200 + ฿400 Apostille (2 business days); express same-day ฿800. Translations must be completed BEFORE the MFA visit and bundled with the original document under a single notarial cover.
- UK → TH direction: FCDO Apostille → Thai translation in Bangkok → use at Thai district office / Land Office / court
- TH → UK direction: Thai sworn translation → notarial bundle → MFA Apostille → upload to Visa4UK / submit to UK university or employer
- Private documents (bank letters, payslips, employer letters) must be solicitor-certified (UK) or notarial-attorney certified (TH) before the Apostille can attach
Spouse Visa (Appendix FM) — the £29,000 threshold
From 11 April 2024 the minimum income requirement for a Spouse / Partner visa under Appendix FM rose from £18,600 to £29,000 gross annual income, with no additional uplift for children (children are now included in the headline figure). The phased rise to £38,700 announced in 2024 was paused by the Migration Advisory Committee review of June 2025; £29,000 remains the operative figure for all applications lodged in 2026 until further notice.
Acceptable evidence categories under Appendix FM-SE: (Category A) salaried employment with the same employer for 6+ months; (Category B) salaried under 6 months or variable income — needs current annual rate AND 12-month gross from any employment; (Category D) cash savings ≥ £88,500 held for 6+ months (the 2.5× multiplier of £29k + £16k buffer); (Category F/G) self-employment with 1 or 2 full tax years of HMRC self-assessment returns.
- Required Thai-side documents: Birth Certificate (Sui Bat / สูติบัตร), Single Status Certificate (หนังสือรับรองโสด) issued by district office within 3 months, prior divorce decree if applicable, Thai ID and Tabien Baan
- All Thai documents: sworn EN translation → notarial attorney certification → MFA Apostille → upload to Visa4UK
- TB test: mandatory for all Thai applicants (Thailand on UKVI TB list) — book at IOM Bangkok (Soi Sap, Silom) or Bumrungrad Hospital, £65 fee, certificate valid 6 months
- English language: IELTS for UKVI Life Skills A1 (Spouse), A2 (extension after 30 months), B1 (ILR after 5 years) — booked at British Council Bangkok, valid 2 years
Skilled Worker route — Certificate of Sponsorship, £38,700 + going rate
Skilled Worker visa (since 4 April 2024) requires £38,700/year general threshold OR the going rate for the SOC 2020 occupation code, whichever is higher. Health & Care worker route retains £29,000 minimum (or £23,200 if going rate is lower, for hard-to-fill care roles). Sponsor must hold a valid Sponsor Licence and issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) via the Sponsor Management System — CoS number is the key field in the Visa4UK application.
Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) paid by sponsor: £1,000/year for medium-large employer, £364/year for small/charity. Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) paid by applicant: £1,035/year (£776 for under-18s and Students). For a 3-year Skilled Worker visa the applicant pays £3,105 IHS at submission — non-refundable.
- Thai degree → Ecctis (formerly NARIC) Statement of Comparability (£199.20) MANDATORY for RQF Level 6/7 verification — UKVI rejects degree without it for almost all SOC codes
- Police Clearance from Royal Thai Police HQ (Soi Yawararj) — required ONLY for specific SOC codes (teachers, healthcare, social workers) under SET 22 of Appendix Skilled Worker
- Employer reference letter on letterhead with start date, salary, job title, hours, signed by HR Director — sworn EN translation if originally in Thai
Civil Partnership and Same-Sex Marriage routes
UK Civil Partnerships (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2004 and Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 give full legal recognition to same-sex Thai marriages registered after 23 January 2026 under Thailand's Equal Marriage Act. A Thai same-sex Marriage Certificate, properly apostilled and translated, is accepted by the UK Home Office on identical terms to opposite-sex certificates for Spouse Visa applications.
Civil Partnership remains available as an alternative legal status for couples who prefer it over marriage; immigration consequences (Appendix FM rights, settlement timeline) are identical. The application uses the same FLR(M) / SET(M) forms.
End-to-end process — Thailand to UK landing
Day 0-3: collect Thai-side originals (Birth, Single Status, prior divorce if applicable, employer letter, Thai bank statements). Day 4-6: sworn EN translation + notarial attorney bundle. Day 7-9: MFA Apostille (Chaeng Wattana). Day 10: TB test at IOM Bangkok (results 24h). Day 11-15: Visa4UK online application + IHS payment + biometric appointment booked at VFS Trendy Building Sukhumvit Soi 13. Day 16: VFS biometric appointment with passport surrender — passport returned with vignette in 3 weeks (priority +£500 = 5 working days, super-priority +£1,000 = next working day).
On UK arrival: 30-day vignette in passport allows entry. Within 10 days of landing, collect Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) at the designated UK Post Office named in your decision letter (cannot be changed). From January 2025 onward, BRPs are being phased out in favour of the digital eVisa — applicants who landed after 31 Dec 2024 receive an eVisa account via UKVI ID Check app, no physical card. NYC schedules the entire workflow in 18-25 calendar days end-to-end.