I am currently assessing the options available to my Filipina partner and, I and trying to get things clear in my head. We can't make any definite plans yet as she is awaiting a marriage annulment. In theory it should be straightforward as her American husband went back to the USA the day after the wedding 18 months ago and broke off all contact with her (We have found out he is alive and well and still dating Filipinas), but we are realistic and we know that it could still take time. My question is about finances. I would struggle to meet the income requirement now, as I had to miss two of the last three years work to care for my previous partner before her death, and although I am now earning decent money, it is from agency work, which probably counts as self-employment.I have two properties without mortgage, one that I live in and the other which is let out at £500 per month. I have money in the bank, but only about half of the £62500 which I see mentioned on various sites. What I need to know is, assuming my income is not acceptable, does my second property count towards the figure of £62500, or would I have to sell it and actually have the money in the bank rather than in bricks and mortar. I would rather not sell the property if I can avoid it, as I don't want to lose the income from it. I am almost 64 now, so even if I got a full time job, it would be hard to convince the embassy that it would be a long term thing! I could always go and live in Cebu and live off the rental from both properties, but she is looking forward to getting away from her family, as she has given them more than her fair share of help before I came along and she feels it is now time to focus on our relationship get away from all their squabbles. Any help would be appreciated.
The £62,500 you are talking about is the actual savings in your account needed to meet the financial requirement so you would have to actually sell the property and put it in your savings account for at least 6 months to get £62,500 figure. You can combine the income from your employment and the savings you have to meet the financial requirement if that helps.
In regards to the annulment just be aware it will take time to process even if it is straightforward. We have others on the forum who have been/are going through the process. You're looking at around 2 years for completion.
you cannot combine income from self emplyment with savings. i sold my house to raise the cash savings--need to be held for 6 months. i rented a place for a while. now bought another house now shes here. she works full time so her earnings will count at the next FLR.
Agency work is normally classed as employment - do the agency give you a pay slip and deduct tax and ni etc? Can you change it so they do if they don't? I think you can combine your gross rental income (£6,000 pa @ £500 month) with your employment earnings (assuming it is employment) and savings so it doesn't sound like the Financial Requirement will be a problem for you. You could also look into selling a share of one of your properties to raise the additional £30,000 - normally done using some sort of deed of trust... if you have a well off family member or friend... willing to accommodate you... buy it back off them at a later date perhaps? Regarding, "does my second property count towards the figure of £62500, or would I have to sell it and actually have the money in the bank rather than in bricks and mortar." Yes they want cash in the bank - but in the case of the cash coming from the sale of property they waive the 6 month rule providing you've owned the property in your name for those six months. i.e. you won't need to collect six months bank statements showing the cash in your account before applying for the visa - you can do it as soon as the money's hit the account. Lastly, if he's from the US - isn't he able to divorce her there? And following that aren't you then able to marry her in the UK or some other country (Hong Kong?) where she'd be regarded as a divorcee? Save you poncing around will all that annulment stuff - I'm sure someone here will correct me if you cannot do that!
yes--the american husband could get a "foreign" divorce--which means she would be free to marry in another country--and she could also apply to have the foreign divorce recognised in the philippines--if it means that much to her.
Yep... my first thought. Why does she need an annulment ? Something needs investigating further. I won't go into all the ins and out of it, because I'm sure it is properly explained on a Philippines Government website.
