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

Again, thanks guys.

My bride to be lives between Iligan City and CDO, so unfortunately she'll have to take a two hour bus ride to CDO before flying from CDO to Manila to attend this TB clinic.

Ridiculous that the UK are only willing to recognise one clinic in the whole of the Philippines - anyone would think they're making it as hard as possible for Filipinas who want to settle in the UK!

At least the language test centre is in CDO, so after the honeymoon we have to organize the TB test and the language test before she applies for her visa.

Ridiculous that the UK are only willing to recognise one clinic in the whole of the Philippines - anyone would think they're making it as hard as possible for Filipinas who want to settle in the UK!

you cant mean it ????

Hi to all! I'm newbie on this page.. i have gone through reading some posts and very informative advise. However, I still need more enlightenment on here as most of couples marrying came from a complicated relationship before planning of getting married. I hope you could help me to decide as this is my first time to marry and hopefully my last too. My fiance ( British) and I are really keen to reunite soon. I have lived in the UK for 4 years and just came home in the Philippines last year. We are now planning for our wedding this year, however we're quite confused and worried at the same time because some of our friends are skeptical that if we'll going to get married here in the PH would be more complicated to process my visa (as a spouse visa) or just follow the route of fiance visa - then have the wedding in the UK. my friends said that the consuls here at the british embassy are more strict than in the UK. We both dream to have a beach wedding ceremony with the presence of our big families and friends and we are really keen to have the wedding here. We're just concern about which one would be best/practical to choose with less hassle for us to be reunited soon, to be married here in the Philippines or in the UK?

Hello One World! Thank you so much for that very useful information! Me and my fiance are preparing for our wedding next year and we have been collecting as much information as we can. Most of the information we have so far are acquired from the timeline you've provided and we are really grateful for you have made it a lot easier for us!

As I was reviewing the documents we have so far, I realised that there's this one question we have that's really confusing us. In connection to the quoted statement above, which of the consular services did you pay for? Or to make my question less confusing, where does the Certificate of Legal Capacity fall into? If I could just take a little bit of your time, please refer to this link to see the list of consular services and fees; https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...ilippines_Consular_Fees_as_of_6_July_2015.pdf

We are confused whether it falls into any of the following:
a. PART II NOTARIAL AND RELATED MATTERS
- 4 Administering an oath, marking of exhibits, declaration or affirmation)

b. PART IV : BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS AND DEATHS
- 10 Receiving notice of an intended marriage, civil partnership or overseas relationship;
- 11 Issuing a certificate that no impediment to an intended marriage or civil partnership has been shown to exist, or issuing any local equivalent document for an intended marriage or overseas relationship in accordance with local law (i) in English (ii) in any other language

c. ALL THAT'S MENTIONED

I hope my question isn't that confusing. We just need to clear this out so we know how much we'll have to pay by the time we get to the embassy. Thank you in advance!

I was married in the Phils and my visa was approved with no problems. To be honest I have no idea what your friends are talking about. In order to get married in the Phils you will need (from memory you need to check this):

Foreign partner:
Afidavit of marital status (see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marriage-in-the-philippines)
To get this, he makes an appointment at the british embassy and takes passport, proof of address, divorce documents (if applicable), printed out and filled in affidavit, birth certifcate (I think) and the fee. The requirements are on this page. Its very easy and takes about an hour.

Birth certificate.
Divorce docs (if applicable)
passport.
Photo

Philippine partner
birth certificate
passport
CENOMAR
There might be something else I can't remember. City hall in the phils will tell you.
Photo

You then get all this and register intent to marry. Then when you get the license you get married. You get a temporary marriage certificate on the day, and the certified one about 3 weeks later or so.

Advantages to marrying in the phils.

1. You will have to apply for a 6 month visa for your fiancee to marry in the UK. Once married in the UK, you will then have to apply for a further 'family of settled person' person visa. You will therefore pay twice the fees and have to prepare two applications with twice the hassle.

2. Weddings in the UK are more expensive than those in the Phils (unless you want to have lots of UK guests who can't afford to pay their own airfare). You can get married in the phils very cheaply.

3. It is easier to prove a valid relationship when you are married. The marriage certificate and wedding photos prove beyond doubt that your relationship has legal standing. The onus on the immigration officer would therefore be to prove that this was a sham marriage, rather than you having to prove that your relationship was a bona fide one. Whilst it is true in both 'fiancee' and 'spouse' applications that you have to prove that you have a genuine subsisting relationship, the existence of an executed marriage is a big plus point in proving that leaving less room for doubt.

4. If there are children involved in the application, it makes it easier to be married first.

5. The family of the philippine party will be able to attend. They would not be able to easily attend a UK event.

Disadvantages of marrying in in the phils.
1. The British partner will have to go to the british embassy to obtain a stamped affidavit which certifies the capacity to marry. Then you register intent to marry with the local town hall in the phils. Then you have to wait for a minumum of ten working days (which in my case wound up being about 15 days) before you get the marriage license. That usually means you have to take two trips to the Phils unless you have the ability to stay there for about a month or longer. In my case I took two trips about 4 weeks apart.

2. Because you marry in the phils, that means that whilst either party has the ability to initiate divorce abroad, the divorce would only be recognised in the Philippines if it was initiated by the foreigner. This gives the two parties slightly different rights, which some people are uncomfortable with. You could bypass that by getting married in Hong Kong of course.

3. Your UK guest list will likely be limited because of funds and distance.

So to summarise. I feel that if you don't intend to have lots of UK family and are happy with a small ceremony in the Philippines, that marrying in the Phils would be a cheaper and simpler option and is not especially hard.

Another option is to marry in Hong Kong; the procedures are fairly simple and. importantly, quicker than the Philippines.

@ChoiAndJohn Alexandra has not been online since 1 March 2015

From the British Embassy Manila

MARRIAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Explanatory Notice to British Nationals Planning to Marry in the Philippines (checklist of supporting documents is on the next page)


https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...the_Philippines_leaflet_as_of_2_July_2015.pdf

Oops. Didn't notice the date. Oh well nevermind.

Hi katereuyan,
The fee payable is No.4 as stated in the checklist https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...Checklist_for_marriage_in_the_Philippines.pdf

Oh blimey! Didn't see that. Thank you @one world

@katereuyan A lot of people are almost falling into that trap, thinking they have to get a CNI legalised. At least you realised the possible alternatives, many do not. There is a similar pitfall when it comes to applying for a UK visa as @Methersgate will testify.

Hi everyone,

Just a quickie (Oooooo Matron!).

We've filled in the visa application online are are ready for submitting it and booking the appointment in Makita, Manila, to sort out the biometrics and hand over the documents.

My wife has sent me a link to a form which she believes needs to be filled in though, which is Form VAF4A
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

However, it was/is my belief that this only needs to be filled in if it's not possible to fill in the online application, and I've just checked again.
On this page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-uk-visa-for-family-settlement-form-vaf4a which gives links to the form, it states:


"Use this form to apply for a visa to join a partner, child or other family member who is settled in the UK. You must also complete Appendix 2, the financial requirements form.

Use this form if you are outside the UK and cannot apply online. It is to apply to come to the UK with a view to settlement."

Well, we can apply online and have done, so just need to confirm whether this form does need to be filled in or not.

Cheers Anyone.

You are correct in that the VAF4A has to be completed on-line for visa applications made in the Philippines. When you submit the application, you then have to print out the application form generated by the application, sign it and then copy it. You then have an original and copy to submit at VFS Global.

Appendix 2 can be downloaded and printed and filled in by hand. But the best way is to download it and then use a PDF editor to fill it in.
Appendix 2 is available here...

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

Yes it can be a bit confusing , the VAF4a is for countries where there is no online submission available.

Remember to fill out and submit the all important VAF4a2 financial form along with your printed online application.

I don't know why but I couldn't open either Howerds or Chris's pdf files maybe @oss can enlighten me as to the reason

the VAF4a is for countries where there is no online submission available.

dohhhhh---i never realised that--i thought she had to fill that out too.

Thanks oss, I'm on my own network at home, I can open my own pdf files on my machine but not in the above links, maybe it is my machine though, I'll reboot and give it another try.

I can access the links now I've rebooted, the good old reboot eh, solves all the problems

Good practice for you bigmac