Hello to everyone at British Filipino

I'm new here to British Filipino although I have been perusing the site for many weeks gaining valuable information especially on immigration issues. I must say that I'm extremely impressed with the chaps and chappesses that give their time helping others on this super site . I will soon be starting the process of bringing my fiancée to the UK and between this site and the UKBA site I am hoping to make that process as painless as possible. I am looking to make new friends here and hopefully I will be able to help others in the near future. I am a Engineer and I have always worked on the basis of "if you are in doubt ask"

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Hello and thanks for the warm welcome, its a pleasure to be a member here.

Hi Timmers and welcome, hope it all goes well for you

Hi Timmers.

Hello and welcome Timmers.

Al.

Hello and welcome!

Hello everyone, I will tell you a little about myself, especially for The Don as he's nosy LOL. I presently live in a small village north of Manchester but am about to move to a small town nearby where my future wife will have more to do whilst I am away at work. Also it is right on the main bus route to Manchester where I am hoping she can eventually gain employment if she wishes too. I first met my fiancée in a place called the Hibiki music lounge (7 years ago), Hyatt Regency Dubai, a cosy little karaoke place when I was working over there for a little while. The funny thing was, only a few days before I was asked by a mate in the pub "which Nationalities would make the best wives" and my reply was Filipinas. Because I had worked in the Philippines a couple of times I was already very fond of the people and had the utmost respect for them and I always fought the Filipino corner so to speak when I heard them being bad mouthed in other Asian countries and beyond. Anyway the romance blossomed and like most of you here, began the long commutes to Dubai or Manila every three months or so.

My fiancée worked in Dubai for 12 years (recently redundant, back in the Phils) to fund her three daughters university education, the last of which will be graduating soon. One daughter now lives and works in Dubai and another is about to go to the US to live with her father The reason I never asked her to come to the UK before now is because I respected her wishes regarding her kids, no need to tell you about Filipinas and family here. I tried getting a job in Dubai to be with her but to no avail and in hindsight I'm glad I didn't, never really liked the place although I've worked there and visited my mahal there about 25 times. I'm pleased she is now back in the family home in Paranaque, I love going there, is there a better place in the world to people watch?? no is the answer to that. And where else can you get drunk and nearly eat balut by mistake thinking they are boiled eggs? nowhere LOL

So now I'm at the fiancée visa stage where many of you have been already, daunting yes, but every time I get bogged down in the UKBA pages I just think of her beautiful smiling face, the best thing about Filipinas is their wonderful welcoming smile.

I have found much welcomed information on this site and it has filled me with more confidence regarding my visa application. I really appreciate that. I feel that Filipinos get short changed when it comes to visit visas for the UK etc, my lady had been refused visit visas twice to the UK, having said that, I was more than a little naïve thinking it would be straight forward. I remember going to the British Consulate in Dubai for our second attempt for a UK visit visa, not a single British person there, all Indian staff for gods sake. Would have been okay for a chicken tikka masala, no visit visa to be had. I was naïve but not now.

Anyway, you all seem a great bunch of people with a good sense of humour.

More Filipinos in the UK please!!

Well, going on what you say, and since you have the all clear on any previous marriages, you should find the Fiancee visa process do able.

Visit visas are harder to come by. So dont be put off by those refusals.

The key to the Spouse or Fiancee visa is the documentary evidence. You just need to gather it up, comprehensively, to prove to the UKBA that your Fiancee qualifies. They have raised the bar over the course of time but for many people a Fiancee visa is achievable.

I think you've hit the nail on the head when you say you need to gather the evidence up comprehensively, At least now I have a little experience as to how pedantic the case workers can be. I'm trying to treat the fiancée visa as an assignment where you only pass the course if every question is answered sufficiently. I think like everyone, parts of my documentation are stronger than other parts, you wish you had kept this, you wish you had taken a photo there etc. I'm trying to back up all the information I submit, for example I will submit over 30 plane tickets to Dubai and Manila, 30 boarding passes, 30 entry exit stamps in my passport and photos of most of the trips. In addition I will have some hotel bills with ours names on, things like that, photos spanning 7 years where I have obviously aged and got fatter LOL. I have one very good picture, my fiancées kids at the side of me 7 years ago and one taken at Christmas where they have grown about 18 inches. I think I'm starting to get paranoid, I'll be having bad dreams of a UKBA fellow chasing me and pelting me with balut because I've submitted the wrong paperwork or will it be the missus if I mess up.

Seriously, I wish I could go along with my mahal to the British Embassy with my wheel barrow full of paperwork and have a face to face, I feel my case will be weaker without that, I don't like the idea of appearing as a case number on a strangers computer. I would like to be personally involved in the decision making process, after all its our future some faceless person is residing over and I really do not like that.

From what you say you may well have the luxury of being selective and simply cherry picking out the best evidence. 30 plane tickets is some 28 more (return) than we submitted, for example. Dont forget your fiancee will have to lug her submission paperwork to the UKBA. In my wife's case it was by a combination of several jeepneys and trycycles into Makati. 5kgs was enough for her at 4ft 10inches to be dragging around.

Whatever you submit, paranoia will kick in at some stage, once you have made the submission. We had a couple of weaker areas and they preyed on our minds during the waiting, but we got the visa. I told my wife that common sense and the weight of evidence suggested we would get it and she told me god would ensure we would get it and we got through like that.

From where I am standing now I would take the feeling of common sense and weight of evidence.

JohnAsh, I have a question for you regarding possible hernias for the lady and transportation in those lovely Philippine automobiles. I feel like a little lad again when I'm in the tricycles, its great!!

Does the fiancée visa have to be submitted online or can my mahal go in person to apply?

She has to submit the application in person. Not online. At the VFS centre in Makati. (Though there was an option to submit it in Cebu? Not sure....)

What do you consider to be your weaker areas, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for that JohnAsh, you're a gentleman

1. I don't have any phone records because I changed to pay as you go a while back and no longer have the bills as it was all done online. I do have however 595 pages of WLM chat logs and 200 pages of Skype chat logs, I will give them a selection of these to hopefully keep them happy. I've connected with her nearly every single day via WLM now Skype for the last 7 years, never had the need to phone really unless its been urgent. I have a few hundred messages on my phone but I'm unable to download them to my pc although my lady has a few hundred which she can download to her pc, I hope.

2. I don't have any Birthday cards from her because I always told her not to go to the expense etc. I do however have lots of email receipts from flowers I have sent her on Birthdays and our anniversary days with her name and office address on etc. With these I have pictures of her holding the flowers and emails thanking me etc. In addition I have receipts of presents she has sent me via John Lewis and chocolate companies (I have a sweet tooth).

The problem I have is that I have been in the relationship for 7 years and its difficult to account for it all if you get my drift. Maybe its me being over cautious, or can you be over cautious in this situation?

Thanks to this site I received a great letter back from the Registry Office today where I have inquired about marrying a Philippine National. I think the advice given on this site can mean the difference between admission and refusal. I was wondering for a while how I could prove the intent to marry, something you cant possibly do, but sending a email inquiring about dates, eligibility etc I think goes some way to proving your intent.

All the financial stuff and identification should be in order as I intend to submit the following;

1. Photocopies of passport and stamps, driving license, decree nisi, birth certificate and house paperwork all signed as authentic copies by a solicitor. (cant get the full copy of my Birth Certificate on one page, hope they don't mind two halves)

2. Bank statements for one year, P60 and proof of savings signed and authenticated by my bank.

3. Original copy of employment from my employment, length of service and pay etc

So, I think I'm getting there, in a month or so I'm hoping to have a warm glow, the glow of confidence for when I go to the Phils around April time to submit the docs.

Only time will tell.

Thanks for your help