Hi, I’m Rob from Somerset UK. I have been getting to know a girl in Phil for sometime and plan to meet in new year. What I’m confused about is is it easier for me to fly to Manila and what will happen when I get there from a regulation point of view, or is it more straight forward for her to come to the uk.
Hi Rob welcome to the forum. Unless she is very rich by Philippine standards she will have little chance of getting a visa to come to the UK, tourist visas are not easy to get. Right now you can't fly out there because of the quarantine restrictions in place, only westerners with existing visas or who have family in the country are allowed in and they have to quarantine on arrival for up to 14 days although in practice if you test negative they will let you leave your quarantine hotel fairly quickly. For now it will be a waiting game for you.
You are wrong about the need for her to be super rich! Rob can be the sponsor and he will have to show he is legally entitled to be in the UK, and that he is paying for her trip and financing her stay along with day to day living costs. They will have to demonstrate good reason that she will return home at the end of the visa.
HI Rob and welcome I used to live in Somerset( outskirts of Yeovil) it's a great county and you live in a very nice part. As stated at present you cannot fly into the Philippines, but hopefully in the new year, the time you mention for your or hers travel arrangements things will of improved. For you to visit it's straightforward, you will on arrival get your passport stamped with a 30 day visa at immigration, may or may not get asked a couple of basic questions and your in! For your lady friend to visit the UK, is a little more difficult in procedures. she will need to apply for a visit visa this is valid for 6 months. For the application to be successful she will need to 1.demonstrate good reason to return home at the end of the trip, 2.financial ability to pay for and fully fund the trip either herself or YOU as her sponsor ( sets of supporting documents to be presented with the application) You say you are looking at travel in the new year so you have time to consider your preference and proceed. Processing times for UK visit visa is about 3 weeks on average outside the Covid restrictions.
On the other forum there was a lady I used to know as a friend in the real world, her boyfriend was british, unusual bloke unusual job, he was minted, she had a couple of tourist visas for the UK, eventually married and settled here
Yeah and without that compelling reason, independent wealth being a good reason, it won't be easy, I said by Philippine standards as people with a western level of income in the Philippines would probably find travel fairly straightforward, people with lower end incomes are likely to be more heavily scrutinised. I accept that there have always been exceptions, Majah who is a moderator on here successfully visited Scotland many years ago on a tourist visa, but she has a professional level job over there and I know others have been successful but I am reading Rob's situation as a 'haven't met yet' case, I could of course be wrong in that assumption.
Hi and thanks a lot for the information, I never expected it to be easy is the fiancé visa easier for her to get?
Its a bit easier in some areas but more difficult in others. If you go the spouse route in a nutshell with lots of detail You /she will Have to marry abroad and she will apply ouside the UK You will have to demonstrate you can accommodate and provide for her financially this is done by demonstrating you earn over £18600 (previous payslips and bank statements to support) or you have £62000 in the bank or a mixture of both (there is a calculation for the mix) She will have to pass a very basic(a1 or above) English test (approved centre) She will be screened for TB an all clear certificate is required and will be provided (approved centre) You will have to pay the NHS surcharge You both will have to demonstrate you are in a stable relationship When she departs for the UK there is a pre departure seminar(CFO) she will have to attend Thats it in a nutshell but clearly you will have to provide detail, the good thing is as soon as she arrives and has her BRP card she can look for work Fiancee visa as above but does not have to pay the NHS surcharge (payable when you marry and change to a spouse visa) She cannot work on a fiancee visa You need to demonstrate your intention to marry as part of the application, this is then firmed up and happens within 6 months of her arriving then you apply for a spouse visa Going the fiancee visa route it puts another level of costs in. Basic outline but we are all here to help
Hi again I meant to ask, she has a 4 year old daugh hi and thanks for all of that. The other issue was this, does her 4yo daughter need a passport and visa also, This is all much appreciated as it’s a red tape nightmare! Thanks, Rob
yes she will need a passport and a dependants visa. one area that will have to be well taken care of is the girls mother is able to show sole responsibility for the child . not always easy!
sad but agreed. Your first hurdle is to meet in person and sadly at the present you are going to have to wait, not great and frustrating.
Have you any idea what 2 lots of settlement visa fees, IHS surcharges, flights etc are going to cost you ?
