Do we have to be married/engaged to get a visa?

She just got the paperwork out, and it was one month from the last court hearing to when it was finalised. She went to the regional court (for copies) where it was finalised, from there they sent her to the Supreme Court to obtain a specimen signature of the person who certified the copy. She then took the documents to the DFA for authentication (red ribboned). The court where the decision is made will send a copy of the decision to the NSO (theoretically). Remember, you will need to produce and submit these documents around four times before you get the ILR, it was for this reason we opted to get everything authenticated, it is not a requirement of the UKVI to have authenticated annulment documents just the usual British Filipino belts and braces syndrome kicking in.

Note that the annulment was back in 2008 so things may have changed a little since then.

Sorry if it seems a little confusing, that's because it is

thanks for that mate----very helpful

Sorry the post was not very coherent, the wife talks faster than I can type

Yep, Stacksteads, in a 2 up/2 down terraced house I bought for £4,000 around 30 years ago; mortgage was £70 a month.

I'm a franchisee with a company called ChipsAway doing mobile repairs to car bodywork (scratches/scuffs...), and Bury is my territory so give PM me if you get a trolley scratch the next time you're at Asdas.

A relative of mine married a Filipina in 2011 and I was best man at his wedding in Bayambang. Had a great time, loved the people and the culture, and his wife Jacky is a great girl/wife/mother to their new child, all of which motivated me to find myself a special lady over in Philly too.

Jacky is now at the stage where she's taking the 'UK citizenship test' at £50 a pop. Over 50 took the test with her last month, only one passed - it's a money making scam which makes me ashamed to be British.

I see you got bitten by the Filipina bug whilst in the Philippines, that's good to know, my love of Filipinas came from when I worked there a couple of times although it was years later when I met my wife in Dubai.

Stacksteads is a good old place, my son lives in Bacup with his mum and my brother lives just outside Bacup and has done for about 30 years. Some down to earth folk in that neck of the woods, that's what I enjoyed when I lived there years back.

I hope I don't need your services anytime soon regarding the car, my car is only a few weeks old and I don't want it bashing when I go to Rawtenstall Tesco

I think a Filipina will be well received in Stacksteads, you know as well as me that some other Nationalities are not readily accepted in that neck of the woods. A pal of mine told me his wife used to work with a Filipina who lives in Bacup, maybe your relation.

Not yet, no. There's a few other reasons though why we haven't started the process yet, the first being my lovely lady's nearly-expired passport

Thanks for the translation link Timmers.
Because I can't get a definite answer (to what you would think was a yes/no question) I'm not sure I want to risk an unsuccessful application.
I used the UKVI beta email question service to ask about the need for an annulment. I managed to get all the info + my question within the restricted number of characters only to get the reply "As we do not have full visibility of your circumstances we are unable to advise you". Thanks for that.

My other concern about my other half not getting an annulment is would it cause her problems if she went back to the Philippines after marrying me. Would she technically be a bigamist? I guess at least they wouldn't allow her to use her married name on a new passport...

I was told that the marriage may not be recognised in the Philippines, an annulment does mean however that the previous marriage is null and void so I cant see the missus being locked up for being a bigamist. What I could see though is an unsuspecting British chap being locked up for courting a girl who has not had an annulment, especially if there are ex jealous family members still knocking around who would like a little cash to come their way.

my g/f is still waiting for the annulment. we didnt want any possible repercussions in the future should she need to return to the filis for any reason.

Thanks for all that, I have a question.
we already have the cfo certificate (my wife attended) s we could change passport name, do we have to book an appointment to get the sticker put in the passport? Or do we just show the certificate and they stick it in the passport?
Is it a quick thing or does it take a while?

I'm not sure where you get your CFO sticker but in Cebu where I got mine, no need to set an appointment. I just presented my passport and showed the attached certificate, waited for about 5 minutes and got the sticker.

Thanks Anne
I found this on the CFO

so it seems once u have attended the course u dont need the sticker !!!

Yes you do need the CFO sticker. If you read the guidance carefully, it clearly states that stickers are not required for holders of tourist visas. Your visa is not a tourist visa.

Their website is so unprofessional and vague Im not sure if I do need to attend for the sticker as they indicate that if u are a spouse or fiancee of a foreign national that u dont need to if you hold a "temporary" visa , the spouse visa is itself still a temporary visa!!!
The fact their isn't another question that matches my circumstances makes me think its not necessary to attend, in fact if we do need to attend its just a shambles to get that stupid sticker, the whole thing makes my blood boil.

The spouse visa is a "temporary visa" , is it not?

I interpret the term "temporary visa" to be one that does not include the right to remain in the country of issue. Your spouse visa is a settlement visa, not a temporary visa, and thus you need the CFO sticker.

Welcome to Philippines bureaucracy! Without that "stupid sticker" you will not be boarding any aircraft leaving the Philippines.

Yes I am aware of the different type of visas, but Im doubting them to use the correct usage of "temporary" because strictly speaking , a spouse visa is temporary and also they do not answer this question with regards to the settlement visa.
I have emailed but as usual I will have to call them on the phone until they decide to answer!!!

I really don't understand what your problem is. You say that you have attended the seminar and received a certificate and that you have also been granted a spouse visa to join your husband in the UK. In order for you to be able to do that, you do require the CFO sticker to be affixed in your Passport. If you do not obtain this sticker, you will be refused by the (Philippine) Immigration Officer and you will miss your flight.

I am an English male, the problem is I do not wish to be spending extra money going to and fro from davao to manilla.
Im still not convinced that we have to get the sticker affixed into the passport after we have the certificate already, show me a link.

I remember there was a lady here in the forum named lisa who went through immigration without attending CFO at all. I'm not sure how she did it but she went to Bangkok first prior to going to London. Here's the thread:
Take a look at post #164 to post #173

http://british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/decision.9634/page-9#post-67527

Interesting she got through. I wonder how Lisa would fair next time she flew from PI to UK direct, assuming she goes back. I always understood and was warned to get CFO. Why would you risk the cost and time of a flight to the UK. Immigration officers just like anyone else are sometimes blasé and sometimes pedantic. Lets hope you don't pick a pedantic one.