Hi Everyone, I'm pretty new to this so please bare with me. I have been in contact with a lovely person, she is originally from philliphines but now works in china as a carer. So after months of chatting on Skype and exchanging emails and texts we have decided to meet in person. We originally planned for me to go to China but due to my work commitments I have to remain in the UK so now the plan is for her to come to the UK for a few weeks. She as been to the UK before about 1.5 years ago with her employer which means her visa as run out. I have said I would help financially with her travelling costs so she got a price from a travel agency in china. The price she got was £500 for the flight and £600 for her visa and travel insurance. My question is, is the £600 for the visa the going rate or is she being ripped off ? Thank you for your time and patient. Gary
Hello Gary and welcome to British Filipino, yes she may have been ripped off but it could be the going rate from China. But the good news is that visit visas to the UK are very difficult to obtain for Filipinos so I wouldn't worry about it too much I think my wife paid £250 - £300 from Dubai for the application and was turned down twice. Good luck in your relationship.
Hi Timmers, Thank you for your fast response. Sorry I may have misread your comment. Why is it good news if it's very difficult to obtain a visa ?
I regard it as good news because the vast majority of visit visas for Filipinos visiting the UK are turned down.
Hi Gary, I think it would be better for her not to apply for a visit visa. Better for you to fly to Asia to meet her.
Ah, this is a different situation, I was assuming she had got the visa. Visit visas are difficult to get especially for single Filipinos wanting to visit their loved ones in the UK as Filipinos have a reputation for overstaying or not returning at all. They have to show that they have compelling reasons to return to the Philippines or in your case China. The £600 now becomes very expensive.
Who ever she uses doesn't matter, the application will still end up on the UKVI desk. Better, and by the sounds of it cheaper to go and visit her in China, or better still Hong Kong as its better in HK than China especially for a westerner. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, my wife was refused twice although her sister, friend and mother visited us here in the UK a couple of weeks back. The visa is not impossible to get but I wouldn't take the risk of losing £600, that is your flight money to China.
According to the Home Office web site, the cost of a General Visit Visa is currently £83. They are, however on a par with hens' teeth in rarity.
For me, an application for a tourist visa through a travel agent sounds a good idea if they are doing the whole thing for you. 600 quid may be more expensive but I'd think you'd be pretty much guaranteed a visa. I went to China once with a travel agent and did nothing to get a visa. They did the whole thing. Doesn't sound such a bad deal to me.
No, its sounds has if her visa was tied to her employment which would be a different ball game as her employer was probably responsible. My wife had attended her friends wedding in the UK only one year before having her visa turned down.
The only issue I have travelling to China is the timing, she only gets 1 month a year off which is in may and as I mentioned earlier I have work commitments in may. We might need to postpone the meeting until next year.
