UK Visa and Passport (for a newborn baby) advice :)

Hello there, I am James from the UK. I have been in a relationship with a lovely lady from the Philippines for 4 years odd. At the start we we conversing online, videocalls every day, with my taking vacations to visit her every 6 months. About 12 months ago I paid for and she brought a house, out in Quezon, and I have been living with her since June. She is married, and has 4 children by her husband. She and her husband haven't been together for 5 years odd, although their kids live with us. Things were going very well for us, until my wife fell pregnant. Now that the news has got back to her husband, he is threatening us with filing a complaint of adultery against us, unless she goes back to him, with the kids.. My wife had mentioned something about this law when we first met, but she said it was unlikely that he would do such a thing. I was stupid enough to not look into this as a real possibility.

Now, I am looking for advice, firstly on getting my unborn child a UK passport.. He is to be born the end of July 2017, God willing. Does the fact that she is married to another guy make this process any more difficult? Any advice relating to steps I must take would be gratefully appreciated. Any ideas on how long this process takes would be appreciated too, as we need to do it as fast as possible.

Secondly, as neither of us fancy spending 6 odd years in a Philippines jail, we are planning on making a move to the UK.. AT first we felt that a 6 month visitor visa would be quickest and easiest option, just to get us both out the country, then make moves towards a residential visa after that. Obviously we can't go anywhere until our baby is born and the passport for him is received.. We are also planning on bringing her 5 year old son with us, leaving the older kids here in Quezon with her parents looking after them, until we are settled and sorted then we can look to bring them to the UK also.

SO basically a 'visa and UK passport' question.

Advanced thanks to all and any who can contribute.

https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports/y/philippines/applying/child/philippines

Overseas British passport applications
How long it takes
Your application will take at least 16 weeks from when it’s received by Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK.

You may have to attend an interview.

Applications will take longer if:

• HM Passport Office need to ask you for more information or documents, especially for applicants born in the Philippines or with parents who are married or divorced and have links to the Philippines
• the photographs you send are rejected

Don’t book any travel until you have a valid passport. If you need to travel more urgently, you may be able to apply for an Emergency Travel Document.

Cost
You’ll have to pay a fee for your passport and a courier fee of £19.86.

The courier fee pays for your passport and supporting documents to be sent back to you securely.

Passport type Passport fee Total to pay (including courier fee)
Child passport £53.00 £72.86
How to apply
You must apply and pay for your passport online.

Before you start you need:

• the passport numbers of both parents and their dates and place of birth, and in some cases the same details of grandparents
• 2 identical new photos of you (or your child, if it’s a child passport application)
• any other current passports issued by other countries
• a MasterCard, Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Debit or Maestro (UK Domestic) card - Maestro (International) cards aren’t accepted

Read the guidance notes to help you fill in your online application. Check which supporting documents you must send with your application. Any documents that aren’t in English (including documents showing an address) must be translated by a professional translator.

You will need to print, sign and post your declaration form at the end.

Start your application on Her Majesty’s Passport Office website

You must include all your supporting documents with your application. You’ll get 6 weeks to provide any that are missing. Your application will be cancelled and you won’t get a refund if you don’t provide them in time.

Getting your passport
Your passport and supporting documents will be delivered separately by courier.

To apply for a settlement visa she needs to be anulled first so you can proceed. You can't apply if she is still legally married to her husband.

You are in the poo poo

1) Passport
I got UK Passports for my children and it took about a year... Philippines is a high risk country (UK View - correct in my opinion) so they like to verify all the documents etc... so it's going to take a long time.

Having said that - you can, I believe, travel without getting him a passport... contact the consulate for some kind of travel document.

2)Annulment
Takes even longer than getting a UK Passport for your child! I think you're looking at 2 years minimum but I'm sure others will correct me.

3)Husband
He's going to want a pay off... ... maybe as much as the cost of the Annulment... ?

4)Stress
What if this - what if that etc... Can you handle it ?

When your partner applies for a visa, she will be asked about her criminal history. And if her husband is serious about filing a case against you, this might be a problem. Make sure that it does not come to that.

Did your partner not take any step towards marriage annulment in the 4 years that you've been together? Unfortunately, the annulment process may take a long time and your partner can only apply for a fiance/spouse visa after it's done.

Sorry to hear that Jayson, I known few ladies live here in Philipippines wth fiance brittish, bf british..with 4-3childrens from Filipinos, I just don't understand why her husband knew that she is pregnant, most specially if ur still married to a Filipino and ur with foreign relationship, u shd be very2 careful and make sure he(husband) won't know ur relationship, he can actually send u both into jail now, and u have to pay him a big amount..(husband)
Some of British man with gf/fiance( w/ kids on Filipino man) here in Phils they doesnt knew that their gf still actually live on their Filipino husband/bf or father of their kids, I known few ladies wth British fiance and husband few of them is in UK already.
the British man actually live in UK and just supporting his gf,the british man has no idea that the fiance filipina still live with the father of her kids... Just be very careful...every step u do..Im not saying ur on same path,I'm just only giving advice..

Actually thinking about it I think you have another problem as well: her husband may be entitled to half the house and lot... as it was acquired during "marriage".

Maybe Lawyer recommendations would be helpful

Yeah I think you need a legal advisor Jayson. Get a lawyer to help you with your case. Maybe that's the best thing to do.

Hi Brom, thanks for your time and effort in replying. I just wanted to check, was that a typo? I assume you meant that she can't apply IF she is still legally married to her husband?

The emergency travel document is my next port of call!!

Yes sorry about that yeah that's what I meant. The annulment process, as others have said, takes a long time so you may want to look into it now and see what you can do.

Thanks Khat, I will be sure to tread carefully. I don't think I am being scammed, I have been living here for getting on for 12months now, and I sent a large amount of money for the house, there was nothing stopping her from doing a runner then... Plus she is in as much danger of a jail sentence as me now...

hmmm... I hope you're not being scammed too but it could be the husband see's a way to get rid of you now by scaring you off with the jail threat... he'll probably be thinking he'll have his wife and children back, a nice house to live in and you providing support for the next 20 odd years...

British are very good at playing by the rules... doesn't always pay to do that here.

why do so many of us brits fall for married pinays ?

i know i read a piece of advice on another forum...5 years ago now--"never get involved with a married pinay" i didnt see the issue back then.

older--a little wiser--and a fair bit poorer now...

That may well have been me who wrote that.

What a mess the OP has created for himself.

There is certainly no quick or easy way out of it.

Whilst I cannot offer advice I can only sympathise with your situation - it does seem horrendously fraught and complex.

What it says to me is that the RC church holds too much influence on the body politic in the Phils. I don't wish to hijack this thread as the poster seeks practical assistance but if divorce existed the situation would be massively simplified.

The Philippines needs large injection of secularism but wiser heads here will probably confirm that's a million miles away from happening

Good luck with your quest to be secure with your partner and your - soon to be - extended family.

Gerry

My advice would be to sell the house now, even if it means taking a loss. Relocate to somewhere far enough like cebu, and start making preperations to leave as soon as new child is born. Keep a very low profile.

What makes you think that you will go to jail? I have never heard of any expat who is currently serving a jail sentence for adultery. Yes, i know the story of the guy from Wiltshire who spent a night in a police cell and then sold his story.
Are you near Lucena? If so i can introduce you to quite a few guys who are currently living with their partners who are still married and they can advice you a lot better than you will get online.

Hello there, I am James from the UK.
Hello James.

I have been in a relationship with a lovely lady from the Philippines for 4 years odd. At the start we we conversing online, videocalls every day, with my taking vacations to visit her every 6 months.
OK, so you saw her twice a year when you visited the Philippines for a "vacation".

About 12 months ago I paid for and she brought a house, out in Quezon, and I have been living with her since June. She is married, and has 4 children by her husband.
What were you doing, paying for a married Skype pal who you see twice a year to buy a house?

She and her husband haven't been together for 5 years odd, although their kids live with us.
Are you sure, are you really sure?

Things were going very well for us, until my wife fell pregnant. Now that the news has got back to her husband, he is threatening us with filing a complaint of adultery against us, unless she goes back to him, with the kids.. My wife had mentioned something about this law when we first met, but she said it was unlikely that he would do such a thing. I was stupid enough to not look into this as a real possibility.
>> <<

Now, I am looking for advice, firstly on getting my unborn child a UK passport..
## Is it your child??##

He is to be born the end of July 2017, God willing.
He or She?

Does the fact that she is married to another guy make this process any more difficult?
Is that a Serious question???

Any advice relating to steps I must take would be gratefully appreciated.
Run!

Any ideas on how long this process takes would be appreciated too, as we need to do it as fast as possible.

Secondly, as neither of us fancy spending 6 odd years in a Philippines jail, we are planning on making a move to the UK.. AT first we felt that a 6 month visitor visa would be quickest and easiest option, just to get us both out the country, then make moves towards a residential visa after that. Obviously we can't go anywhere until our baby is born and the passport for him is received.. We are also planning on bringing her 5 year old son with us, leaving the older kids here in Quezon with her parents looking after them, until we are settled and sorted then we can look to bring them to the UK also.

SO basically a 'visa and UK passport' question.
>> <<


Advanced thanks to all and any who can contribute.

You will also know that foreigners have been killed by jealous Filipino husbands/boyfriends.

I'm not sure whether the OP was seeking advice on how to break Philippines law.

First thing he needs is a DNA test result.