DRIFTER82

Hi there i've been reading the original post & sample sponsorship letter as i'm currently putting together a sponsorship letter for my girlfriends UK visitor visa application,ive got a few questions/concerns, this is my first post on the forum so sorry if things are not set out right...

Ive been living out in thailand & i'm currently back in the UK looking after my father.
I’ve been in a relationship with my Thai girlfriend for 6 years & we have a 1 ½ year old son together, she's never been to the UK before as I've been mostly living out in Thailand with her with a trip back to the UKonce a year ,we used to live& run a bar in Pai,Maehongson & and we currently stay in chonburi in a house I built on her land there, my girlfriend wants to come over with our son who I have recently got a UK passport for to visit me & my side of the family.

1. Sponsership
My father has been out to visit us on 3 separate occasions but hasn't been able to travel for the last couple of years so hasn't met our son yet, he has offered to write an invitation/sponsorship letter,pay for the trip and provide accommodation, will this be OK?

I would do the sponsorship part myself but the problem is I don't have any savings, I work as a self employed gardener for cash while i'm back in the UK & get money from renting a barn I converted to friends,which is my fathers name.
so in the UK I don't have don't have an employer,don't have regular accountable income as its variable and in cash,and don't have my property registered in my name so I can't show property papers for providing accommodation.

I've read the visa basics & i'm fairly confident we can cover most of the other things there,
my girlfriend has a house,land & business in her name so good reasons for return.
my father is a landlord of 5 properties and has offered to put up the money for the trip so money & accommodation shouldnt be a problem

2. Evidence of relationship

I have my old passport which shows the time i've spent in Thailand up to 9 months on type O visa's
some years.
unfortunately I had my laptop stolen a while back so I lost a lot of photo's ,so don't have any from 2010 or 2011 but I have about 20 photo's from 2007 - 2009 taken by friends on various visits of me and my gf together & with friends which i've gathered together & I can print out & write date's on & some recent ones from 2012 will that be adequate?
We've always talked on the phone everyday so don't have any emails,or chat records
I have phone records from january 2012 from Skype, before that I used a dial up service from a landline ,so it doesn’t show on the phone bill & the they only keep itemised details of the current year. So will the last 4 months from skype be fine?

3. Evidence of finacial support,
whilst living in Thailand we've lived off money from the bar before & now in chonburi money from the shop and renting out motorbikes,when ive left to come back to the UK i've left one of my bankcards & pin with my gf so she can use that if and when needed.so I’m not sure I can use that as evidence of finaciall support?
we've always used my gf's account for the business etc in Thailand as I don't have a Thai bank account,the old bar and house were rented in my gf's name & the land, our house,current business
and truck & motorbikes are all in my girlfriends name too as it's always worked out a lot less hassle & cheaper that way.so although we have property,business & vehicles etc together there’s not really any paperwork to link us financially here or in thailand.... will this be a problem?

4.My girlfriends financial situation
Currently my girlfriend uses the money from the shop to live on & hasn't been putting it into her bank just straight back into stock for the shop and to get things for the baby, she rarely gets time to go into town to pay money into the bank.she can show accounts for the shop will this be ok? She can borrow money off her family to put into her account if that will help?

Any info or advice would be really appreciated, thanks,seb