First time visitors visa for my filipina gf to visit London help please

She told me I should write a letter to support her visit to the UK. What should I say?

What is the best course of action to get her a visa to visit me?

I met her on a 2 months trip to SE asia in January and February 2013. Neither of us are super wealthy. By London standards I have a pretty small amount of money (Most of my trip budget went on flights, I had been saving all of 2012 to go on this trip). She works as an online PA.

Any information on this or previous experiences would be greatly appreciated. I am all too much of a worrier!

Securing a tourist visit visa is notoriously problematic for many reasons.
Not least because approval or refusal of a visitor (tourist) visa applications is principally based on the discretion of the ECO.
Basically there is no appeal process.

The major complication is the need by the applicant to prove a non-immigrant intent. Means that applicants wishing to come to the UK under a tourist visit must clearly demonstrate that they do not intend to remain in the UK on a permanent basis. Immigration law places this burden of proof on the applicant.

In order to grant a temporary visa, the ECO must be satisfied that the applicant has strong social, economic and family ties abroad that would compel them to leave the UK at the end of the temporary stay.

Unfortunately, in many cases it can be difficult to overcome this presumption.

The UKBA page specifically for UK Visit Visa's can be found here with additional detailed information which can be found here and also explains what you are allowed to do while you are in the UK as a visitor.
It's well worth taking a look around and checking out all of the links provided.
Anyone coming to the UK as a visitor, will usually be granted a visa with a validity for up to 6 months stay.

Anyone 'sponsoring' a visitor to UK should also review the UKBA webpage Sponsoring a General Visitor

In principle, an applicant for a visit visa must be able to show that:-

- they are 18 or over
- they intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months
- they intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit
- they have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working or help from public funds, OR that they (and any dependants) will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends
- they can meet the cost of the return or onward journey
- they are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).
- they do not intend to take paid or unpaid employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public
- they do not intend to do a course of study
- they do not intend to marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
- they do not intend to carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor
- they do not intend to receive private medical treatment


Downdload the application form and guidance notes from this page

Understand how to apply by reviewing the page Applying for a UK visa in the Philippines

Concerning the actual documents needed to submit in evidence, it really does come down to individual personal circumstance but generally must contain:-

- information about the applicant
- information about the applicants finances and employment
- information about the accommodation and travel details
- information about the visit to the UK

As examples of the type of documents that could be supplied Here is the UKBA Guide to Supporting Documents for visiting the UK

For the General Visitor the application should be supported with some of the following documents for a sucessful application:-

- if employed, a letter from the employer granting leave of absence from the job for a specified period - the letter should also say how long they have been employed by that employer, in what job(s), and when they are expected back at work
- if self-employed, evidence of the business activities and financial standing
- evidence of any property owned in their home country
- if a student, a letter from the school or college stating the course, its start and finish dates, and the dates of the holiday period when it's intended to visit the United Kingdom
- evidence of any family or social ties and responsibilities to return home to
- evidence of any firm travel plans already made
- bank statements going back over a period of several months
- evidence of savings/funds available during the stay
- evidence that the applicant can financially maintain and accommodate themselves in the UK with or without assistance from family/friends living in the UK but anyway without resource to public funding or employment.

You, as a sponsor can help greatly by providing an invitation/supporting letter to confirm the support they will be providing in terms of financial assistance and/or accommodation.

If your intention as the sponsor is to totally support the visit this is a listing of fairly typical supporting documents that you should be considering to provide:-

- 6 months Bank statements
- 6 months pay slips
- Proff of address (eg utility bill, Council Tax etc)
- Accommodation details (including owner's agreement / rental agreement)
- Sponsors passport copy (Photo page, any relevant stamp pages)
- P60 (if available)
- The main reasons for wanting the applicant to travel at the specific time

The first and foremost thing that's needed to keep in mind when applying for a visa for UK, is that there MUST be an intention to return to to the home country.
Have a well thought out travel plan. Date of Travel, duration of stay and reasons for travelling.

The absolute keys are going to be:-

- Reasons to return home that outweigh reasons to stay
- Financials

Reasons to return home and strong/complelling ties differ from country to country, city to city, individual to individual.
Some examples of ties can be a job, a house, social and family relationships, a bank account, possessions etc
The ECO will be looking to see that the aspects of life that bind folks to their home country will outweigh those aspects that may cause them to be unwilling to return to their home country, or to attempt to change or extend the visa status.

The positive aspect of visit visa application is that of it's very low cost.
So nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Good luck

Whew! lots of documents to produce and lots of things to do!

'Immigration law places this burden of proof on the applicant. ' You are right that this is difficult to prove - my girlfriend has a small property in Phil., 2 children and a sick mother and still she has been refused a tourist visa twice.

Just what do you have to do to prove that she has no immigration intent? I'm going to my MP (for what good that will do)