hi there and congrats on your upcoming wedding.

One if the local guys here is away to Sweden/Norway for Christmas and New Year. The easiest way for him to get a visa was to claim it was a business trip and the company supported him on this. So why not see if your fiance's boss can justify an oversees visit and sign a letter to that effect.

You might want to tell your fiance that this message came from a CSS supporter (I'm sure he'll know what that's about ).

Best of luck

Willie G

I have "family" in Khniss, near Monastir. One of the sons is married to a French girl. they signed the contracts last year but currently live apart in their separate countries. He applied for a visa for France about six months ago and is still waiting. I know , it's France not England but they are both EEC countries and France does have a history as a ruling power in Tunisia.

I have been advised that just to apply for a visa is very expensive and with no guarantee of success.

Good luck Lucy Locket. Inchallah your fiance will be successful.

Best wishes Dorra.

Thanks for your tips. I did ring the embassy in Tunis yesterday and they gave me a few pointers, such as my fiance needing an invitation letter and evidence that he will be supported whist in the UK. My mother has agreed to do this and will accompany him to the Embassy in Tunis at the end of January in case they need to speak to her. They told me that 7 out of 8 applicants get the visa they apply for so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him!! I think it's a little unfair that Tunsians have to apply to travel the world, all of the ones I speak to would love to experience other countries but it seems just so difficult for them!! Also if anyone knows what the best way to get from Monastir to Tunis is early in the morning I would be grateful to hear it. We have to be at the Embassy for about 8.30m!! Thanks everyone!!

The easiest and cheapest way to get from Monastir to Tunis would be a louage (shared taxi). If you find out where the nearest pick-up point is, they travel on average every hour from early hours of the morning

Hi Lucy

I would be interested to know how you got your fiance's visa application got on. I see you were going out at end of January. Any news?

Regards Dorra

Hi, yes my fiance did get his visa!! It was all very simple to do and only took about 15 minutes!! He filled his form out then they interviewed him for about five minutes then put the visa in his passport!! He got a 6 month tourist visa which is multi entry so he can come here as often as he likes up until it expires in September. He's really pleased and already has his air ticket to come here on 14th March for 2 weeks. I have to say that the British Embassy in Tunis were very efficient and there were no problems at all. We're both pleased that it's over and done with now and we can look forward to his visit in 3 weeks!!

Well, that is good news. I am so pleased it was all straighforward for you. Best wishes for the future.

Dorra

hiya i was hoping u could help me, i got 2 tunisian boys coming over hopefully in the summer. we are in the process of me sorting them out some forms 2 sign and everything we need. i am sending them to them in tunisia to complete and then take to the embassy in tunis. is this right 1st of all. also i am worried they cant afford the flights here and back, it is about 300, which is 600dinar to them which is alot ! what did u do lucy !? please give me some advice because i really want them to come but i dont know what to do, they will be staying here in my home with me and my family who also no them very well ! please please please reply 2 me. thank u, btw congrats on ur marriage ! x

Hi, what you need to do is this:

Firstly you need to write an invitation letter to the Embassy stating that you would like these people to visit you in the UK. You need to state the dates that they will be coming and you need to confirm that they will be staying with you whilst in the UK. You also need to confirm that you will support them financially if they so require it. You must also confirm that they will return to Tunisia at the end of their visit.

You also need to produce evidence of your financial standing in the UK in the form of bank statements for the last 6 months showing that you have funds to support them if necessary. Also they like to see payslips from your employment if you have them.

Your visitors also need to produce evidence of what they do in Tunisia, ie if they are students they need to provide evidence of this or if they are working they need a letter from their employer saying that they can have the time off to visit the UK and that they will have a job to return to when they get back to Tunisia.

Once you have all this together then your visitors need to go to the British Embassy in Tunis and fill out the visa form there. They hand all the documents in with this form and they are given a number. Within 10 minutes they are called in and interviewed, they will be asked questions such as how long they have known you, what is their purpose of visiting the UK etc. Then if all is ok they are given a decision immediately and a visa, usually a 6 month tourist one, is put in their passport. It is not necessary for you to go to the Embassy with them although my mother did accompany my fiance when he went in case of any problems. There were none. If they cannot give you a decision on the spot then they take a contact number to call you as soon as they have decided.

The Embassy is only open in the mornings during the week from 8am to 11am for visa applications but they are very efficient. You do not need to produce an air ticket at the Embassy. You can get this once they have a visa. Please remember that Tunisian nationals cannot fly on British charter airlines and can only fly to and from the UK on either British Airways or Tunisair from Tunis to the UK. My fiance's ticket cost 550 dinars return from Tunis to Gatwick.

I hope this helps you with what to do, if you need to know anything else please let me know, I will be happy to help you.

thank u so much for that lucy, i feel so much bette rnow i no wot im doing. i managed to get the visitors form from the internet, do u think i could fill in what i could for him and then send it 2 him to compete what i cant (just to help him out), would it help quicken the process up ?

550 dinar for flights.. thats not too bad actuali.

thank u so so much lucy, i was so happy when i saw ur reply and helpful uve been

thank again

Lisa please do not post in phone text style in future. Thanks.

Print more than one copy of the form, in case you make mistakes. Fill one in as far as you can in english. Then send it to your pal along with a couple of blanks and some notes on completing the rest.

thank you everyone so much for all your help, i will be starting the process today !

hi sorry to be a pain ! but i need more help
i've started writing a invitation letter to the embassy for my pal to take with him.. bit stuck because i want it to be perfect, anyway... the question is, do i have to pay a fee for the visa ??
i am sending him through the post a few application forms, invitation letter, bank statements and other supporting documents but im not sure whether thats all i need to send.
please help me
thank you so much, your help so far has been really appreciated.
u guys are great, im glad i found this forum !

Yes there is a fee for issuing the visa. It's all there on the British Embassy, Tunis website. Can't remember off the top of my head what it is.

Hi, the fee for a 6 month tourist visa is 87 tunisian dinars which has to be paid in cash at the visa desk in the Embassy when you hand the form in.

Please remember to put in your letter the following, confirmation of your address and that you are a UK citizen living permanently in the UK, also the dates your visitors will be coming to the UK and confirmation that they will stay with you and return to Tunisia after their visit.

You can fill in most of the form here and send it to them to finish off if you want. It's fairly straightforward.

All the best!!

Hiya all.what i great forum i have read all your messages and i have learnt so much.thank you.
im getting married in tunisia in september 05 (hopefully if our plans go ahead)
we too have come across so many problems and we still have more to come.
you see the thing is im a uk resident and my partner is algerian resident. up to now we think we have everything covered.but we are worried about his visa entrance into the uk once we are married, are they easy to get,what do i need to take out with me to show consulate,
if anyone can help with any info on marriages in tunisia we would be very grateful.also is it true that the marriage laws are changing on the 31 july 05,if so does anyone know if this would effect english marrying there?

Hi all living in ireland and its proving very difficult to get my tunisian boyfriend a visa to enter ireland....we are now applying to colleges for
him they seem to require alot of paper work...has anyone had any experience of this ..........any advise would be great.

Hi Curly,

I can't comment directly on the situation in Ireland but as someone who works in higher education in the UK I can sympathise with regard to the amount of required paperwork etc. This has happened here because of the numbers of people who were applying to come and study here but who never showed up and took up their place on a course but had tried to use it as simply a way of gaining entry to the UK. The universities and colleges clamped down because of the wasted time and effort and hence money that went into processing applications from these 'phantom' students and the immigration authorities because people who entered the UK on a student visa but never took up their place were, therefore, here illegally. Hence the emphasis on applicants proving that they really are bona fide students rather than backdoor illegal immigrants who would have been refused entry had they applied on other grounds.

Of course bona fide students now get caught up in what is a much more complicated application system which includes them having to provide a great deal of information and proof about whether they meet the entrance requirements for a course etc and how they are going to finance their studies and support themselves while here. If he was applying for a place this side of the Irish Sea and he was genuinely wanting to study here, I would advise you to persevere as once you have etablished that you are able to finance his studies etc and that he will take up any place offered then his application will be processed like any other student's application. However, if you are using it as a last resort as a way of gaining him entry to the country I would advise you to think very carefully about taking this course of action. In the UK at least the immigration authorities would follow-up his application and if never takes up the place the college or university would inform them of this when asked and you and he would then be investigated by them with all the hassle that entails.

Probably not the news you were wanting to hear I know and I do stress that I am writing about the UK situation but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Irish authorities don't take the same line.

SM