Hi fellow members, It would be greatly appreciated if I can get some advice on a few things; as quite frankly find myself at a loss on the best way to move forward with the mine field that is inter nations marriage and visas, I cannot find a specific post which relates to our circumstances so apologies if this has been discussed previously. My fiancé have been been together for 3 years, both as expats working and living in the UAE however we have recently decided that marriage is the next step forward. With today's modern technology I would have thought getting married is a relatively easy process, boy was I wrong; we looked into a marriage in the UAE which appears to be painful procedure, then looked at the Philippines but I couldn't afford the amount of time off work, we have subsequently settled with getting married in the Seychelles. As its a visa free destination for Philipine nationals (yes there are still places) and recognised in the UAE which is A plus. My first question would be to anyone who has experience in marrying abroad how easy was it to then register their marriage both back in Phils and in the UK as that would be important to both of us in case of any future complications? My next question is what visa do I get the wife in order to be able to visit the UK for vacations; I tried taking her on holiday to the uk a couple of years ago and her application for a tourist visa was rejected on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence in their eyes she would vacate the UK at the end of the stay; this infuriated myself at the time as a friend of mine provided the same documentation and was approved. We had included the following; Her passports with residency visa for the UAE Her work contract ŵith her employer A letter from her employer stating she had been given permission of leave of absence for the trip and is expected back in work on a specified date 6 months payslips Corresponding 6 months bank statements (salary was not that high and was withdrawn immediately after being paid each month which is why I added the following) A letter from me stating that I would be covering the cost of the entire trip 6 months payslips for me My corresponding bank statements A copy of my savings account statement with around £75,000 in it An itinerary for the trip including hotel bookings An invitation letter from my mother stating that accommodation would be provided when we were staying with her. Pictures of us attending parties and friends gatherings in the UAE Her title deeds to the house in Philipines including mortgage papers Correct forms completed with an immigration specialist in the UAE Paid for the express service The rejection letter came back less than a week later stating that there appeared not to be sufficient evidence that she had due cause to leave the country at the end of the stay. The immigration specialist could not understand why she was rejected and we were at a loss and I ended up returning to the uk by myself. If anyone has any advice they can offer as to why we were rejected in the first place, it would be highly welcomed as I am still at a loss. My next question to you guys is that once married with a joint bank account I am still worried of being rejected to get her a visit visa for the uk. As I am an expat, I don't believe I can apply for the spouse visa as I am non resident in the UK and we have no intention to stay for longer than 6 months and settle as we both have jobs and a life outside of the U.K. To return to. I am desperate to get this visa for her as my brother is getting married next year and i think it's important for us to be there as a couple, as I would be bloody miserable if not and A further rejection for visit visa would be soul destroying. Does anyone know which visa we should apply for being an expat and whether there is anything further we should submit in order to avoid the humiliation by some jobs worth in the immigration office who is having a bad day. I have further heard that once you have been rejected the first time, you have a less of a chance to be successful on your next application. Anyway guys, awesome site very informative and seems like a bunch of honest folk, any advice on any of the above wour be highly appreciated. Myles
Welcome to the forum Myles. After marriage your wife can report the marriage at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai, see the link below; http://dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph/ Regarding the UK visit visa, they are difficult for a Filipino to obtain as they have a record of overstaying in the UK, this is why you received a negative decision. Above all you must submit as much evidence as possible that your loved one will return to the UAE after her visit. The evidence you submitted all looks good to me and if I was in your shoes I would be hoping that once you are married this might just give you the edge on your next application. Hopefully other members here will post and give you some pointers on the documentation you can submit to strengthen your application, @steven may be able to help. There are quite a few people on the forum who have been successful but a lot more that have had the visa declined I met my now wife in Dubai when we were working there and had two visit visas turned down 10 years ago, we blindly went through the process thinking that it was just a formality and the visas were turned down because of lack of financial clarity between her monthly salary and the monthly allowance she received for her apartment there. Note that she had been granted a UK visit visa only two years before to attend a friends wedding in the UK. Each application should be taken on merit and I do not believe it will go against you when you re-apply. Good luck.
Thanks for the detailed response Timmers; let's hope the marriage is the final requirement, it would be interesting to find out if it still as challenging after she adopts the surname, you would hope that immigration would realise that it is unlikely she would wish to stay in the UK when her husband has to return to the UAE. I am happy that there appears to be some guidance on the website for registering a marriage. Are you aware if it is a simple process to change her surname after the marriage certificate has been recorded in Philipines, you would have thought it would be as simple as submitting a new passport request with the marriage certificates? Thanks again for the response. Myles
Regarding the visit visa application after you are married, I was thinking maybe it could bolster your application if you submitted evidence that you will be returning to the UAE too, maybe a letter from your employer stating you have leave for x number of weeks to holiday in the UK and anything else which will show you will be definitely returning. Note that when you are married and report the marriage to the Philippine Consulate in Dubai you will have to change the passport as they no longer just change the name in the passport. My wife spent 12 years in Dubai and changed her passport a couple of times in Dubai, she said it takes around two months so bear that in mind, I'm guessing they just send the passport application to Manila for processing. You have one more problem, when your future wife does get the UK visit visa and visits the UK, she will want to live in the UK
Just curious, in your previous visit visa application, what did you state in the length of stay in the UK? Welcome to the forum by the way.
I would think that IF you want to get married in the UK, you would easily get a Marriage Visit Visa. Your fiancée's visit visa application looks good to me and it may have been turned down just to meet a quota. I would certainly try again.
Hi Myles My wife and I were married in Seychelles earlier this year. It was a wonderful experience and I certainly recommend it. The process for registering the marriage with UAE authorities is pretty straightforward. If you decide to go down that route pm me and I will send you the full procedure. The certified copy of the marriage certificate is sent from Seychelles by courier to the Philippines Embassy covering that area which is Nairobi. Once the marriage is notarised there it is considered registered into Philippines register. This is all taken care of by the Wedding organisers, I can recommend the one we used. Our documents from Nairobi are being delivered to us in Dubai as we speak by DHL. Once we have them we will apply for a new passport for my wife in her (my) married name at the Philippines Consulates in Al Ghusais. We have already processed my wife UAE visa on my sponsorship plus the EID card. I don't have any experience of applying for UK visa for her yet, that will be our next step, so I will be very interested to follow your progress. Best wishes David
I must admit, I had to look him up, no idea who he is Now if you'd have said Elvis I would have known
Timmers - I have heard once they visit the old country pubs it becomes increasingly difficult to get them to leave......I shall have to make sure we go during, the wind, rain and below 10 degrees temperatures which may promote the necessity to return abroad . I had previously included a letter from my previous employer as a character witness as they had been introduced at a work function and phillipina's are always willing to help out a fellow national. Unfortunately, that did not work, however let's hope that wedding certificate carries some weight. Dav3&Ai5a - we stated we were going for 14 days, with an itinerary, hotels booked and return plane tickets. Thanks for the welcome. Methersgate - I had heard some people say previously that there is some sort of quota they have to fill to tick the boxes in the home office. I think because I am no longer resident in the UK, the spouse visa I can no longer apply for, but would be interested if anyone new more about this as reading the official document can be interpreted in many ways. Joy1991 - is that a hint of British humor I detect and why wouldn't ed sheeran fancy Pinays? DavidAlma - thanks for the confidence boost that the Seychelles is the right place for us, we are staying in the Constance Ephelia and had planned to utilise them to perform the wedding planning etc, however I do not believe the process for registering the marriage with the UAE Authorities is included, so I had been tempted to engage with an outside wedding planner. Any recommendations you might have, we would highly appreciative to receive them. Out of curiosity, how many months did it take you from the actual marriage to be at the stage you are now, in waiting for the confirmation before applying for a new passport; it would be helpful to get an idea of timeframes as we will be making the visa application in May of next year, so you may well beat me to the application, but if not I shall keep you updated.
Hi Myles The wedding organisers that we used were very professional and not too expensive, approx $16,000 all in. They arranged everything for us, cars, chauffeurs, flowers, music, ceremony on the beach, cake, champagne, registrar, even witnesses if required. I can send you their details if you wish. We stayed at the Savoy Seychelles Resort and Spa, Beau Vallon. The registration of your marriage in Dubai is straightforward but has to be done personally by you. It can be done in 1 day if you start early. Again, I can let you know the complete procedure when required. Basically it is as follows:- You will leave Seychelles with 2 duly notarised marriage certificates and a Certificate of Authentication from Seychelles Ministry Foreign Affairs and Transport. The marriage certificate needs to translated into Arabic. Registered first with the UAE Dept of Foreign Affairs and then with the UAE Ministry of Justice. Once you have registered the marriage with them, you can apply for the wife UAE visa and EID under your sponsorship. This takes around 2 weeks or maybe less and involves the usual medical check etc. The delay is in receiving the Authentication Certificate from the Embassy of Republic of Philippines in Nairobi. Our wedding organiser arranged for that, but it did take approx 5 months for that to arrive in Dubai. Usually, 4 months I'm told. That makes your marriage legal in Philippines. Now we are in process of renewing wife Philippine passport with her married (my) name. Once that is done, we will tackle the issue of UK visa for her. From what I understand that will be the hardest part!! All the best David
The British don't register marriages carried out abroad. Ask the FCO about the availability of a Recognition of Foreign Marriage certificate, which may help you.
Yes that is correct for the British Gov. They state on the gov.uk website that they recognise any marriage so long as it was conducted legally according to the laws of the country that the marriage takes place. Another twist for you Myles, is when you apply for UAE visa for your new wife. GDRFA will ask for a letter of no objection for you to marry a foreign national, from British Embassy. British Embassy used to do this until earlier this year, doesn't provide that letter on an individual basis anymore. Instead there is a generic letter in pdf format on their website which you can download and print. That worked OK.
Hi DavidAlma, Thanks for the advice so far, we are slightly confused by the requested documents for the Seychelles, namely my birth certificate, did you have to get your British one legalized (approx 30 pound on Gov.UK website)? She has already in the process of the completing the red stamping thing in Manila and has taken nearly 4 weeks and 4 return trips to Manila but I don't want to be the one holding up proceedings, the Seychelles have just stated that it needs to be an original birth certificate without the need for attestation / legalized. The other query was that we have been advised to book the wedding 2 months in advanced, however we were supposed to go on the 13 November which has now been postponed to an unknown date due to the red stamping and me working away for a brief time. I just want to be sure that we have all the correct documents before confirming another date. Did you manage to renew the passport in your name without too many complications? Many thanks for your continued advice. Myles
Hi Myles My wife's birth certificate was just a copy ( a really bad copy at that), not notarised/attested at all. My birth certificate was one that I requested from UK Gov as I didn't have a copy. Again no notarisation or attestation at all. The registering of the marriage with UAE authorities and arranging her visa under my sponsorship was straightforward. As for the my wife's passport in her married name, we have an appointment at Philippines Consulate in Dubai on Nov 2nd. That was the first available slot as they are really busy. I have received conformation email from them that all they require is her old passport and the DFA authenticated Nso-Marriage contract, which we have from the Philippines Embassy in Nairobi. We confirmed our marriage date approx 3 months in advance and send copies of all documents before we arrived. They need copies of the documents 1 month before the wedding, but you can submit them as late as 3 days prior if you accept a $45 late submission penalty. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any other questions, happy to help. David
