new member with a filipino girlfriend trying to get her a visa.

well this is what im confused about, at first it was just to visit and if she likes it here then get married and stay here. but im told most visit visa's get refused and i would be waisting my money. i would be happy for here to live here with me and get married now but the visa is very exspensive and there is still no gaurantee. also even if we get married and have a permant visa she would still have to return after a stay to be with here daughter, and then i have to do it all again for the daughter, what do i do ?

There is the option of a Fiancee visa to the UK. This a bit like the Spouse Visa except marriage takes place here in the UK. You have up to 6 months (I think) to get married and then present an FLR application. However if you were uncertain about your future together, a Fiancee visa would at least give your gf time to see if she likes the UK before a final marriage ceremony here.

On the other hand, a visit visa, although the odds can be stacked against you, is a whole lot cheaper and no real financial harm done if it fails. With a visit visa the onus is on the applicant to prove intent to return to her home country before expiry of the visa. Difficult to demonstrate but still do-able.

John there is a secondary issue potentialy here you mention your girlfriends daughter if her father is on the birth certificate she would be unable to leave the Philipines without her fathers full agreement and that can be a costly process.

I dont know how well you know your g/f but an nso search for a cenomar (certificate of no marriage ) might also be a good idea since there is no devorce in the Fils and an annulment can take years and lots of £ just saying now is the time to be aware of all the circumstances

Thanks for that i didnt realise that, with us i dont think that will be a problem because they were never married and i think he is not on the Birth certificate because she was his mistress at the time, so Im told.

John I dont know how long you spent in the Fils meeting your g/f or "what you were told" but what I can say is enjoy the experience and dont assume anything.

ask your g/f to get a cenomar and birth certs from the nso under 400 peso for the 3 and scan them along with the nso receipt and send to you as attachments along with her passport those 4 docs will give a good picture of any issues on her side befor you start to spend money on visas

That is good advice. With the best will in the world, many people in the Philippines will try to put the best appearance on things and may gloss over any difficulties, not realising how these may "come back to bite them" later on.

thank you for all your advice and help.

Alternatively, John1969 can request for those documents himself so that he won't be defrauded.

If you really want her to visit and spend time with you in the UK, a visit visa would be good. If you are not confident that she is financially capable of paying for the trip or not have much ties in the Philippines, you ca hire a travel agency to process the papers for her. They will take care of the itinerary, hotel, airfare, etc etc and you will just need to provide financial support documents. It isn't impossible.

Its true that he could get a cenomar on line but its much more costly for a forign desti
nation

Thank you so much for all your help, I have changed my plans a little so I will ned some new help please, I am going to go back myself in April and sort out a visiting visa with her when Im their if I can.
But I also plan to get married in a simple civil marriage when Im their as well, can anyone help me with what i need to do from here, I know I need to get a CNI here and exchange it their as well as us both getting the Cenomer but can anyone help with how I get this and what else I will need. and can it all be done in the 2 weeks Im their, thanks John

John. Apply for your UK CNI at your local registry office. It takes 3 weeks I recall. Book an appointment at the UK Embassy in Manila to exchange that for a local CNI.

Once I touched down in Manila we exchanged CNI a couple of days later and got married all in a 2 week time frame which was cutting it fine but it worked. I understand a church wedding takes longer.

The CENOMAR can be ordered online and posted to your gf home address.

I was lucky to be under no time pressure but personaly I wouldnt try a 14 day version I didnt do the CNI from the UK but from within the Phils but read the rest from the bottom up

CFO http://www.british-filipino.com/sho...aving-the-Phils-as-a-married-woman&highlight=

Wedding planner
http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?2504-Our-Wedding-Planner-in-Cebu&highlight=

Marriage Seminar
http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?2221-The-Marriage-Seminar&highlight=

marriage licence
http://www.british-filipino.com/showthread.php?2284-The-Marriage-Liscence&highlight=marriage+licence

Its vital that your partner has all the docs mentioned befor you arrive dont assume anything because if you both dont have it may be impossible to get it done in a short timescale