Hi. I am applying for a uk visa for the first time and im needing some advise

[jam07]

Hi everyone. This site is great. I have queries and I hope you guys can help me.

I am a filipina who has a british boyfriend for 6 months now. And we are so inlove with each other. We are planning to get married by January of 2010. And I cant wait to spent the rest of my life with him. He wanted me to apply for a uk visa now but i dont know how to start. I got an application form and all but still i am confused as there are complications.

I just came from Dubai. My sister sponsored my two month visit visa. I went there to find a job. I got one but unfortunately its too late. My visa is about to expire then so I have to return here in Manila. I am now waiting for my employment visa to arrive.

While here in Manila, I am planning on applying for a holiday visa. My boyfriend will be my sponsor. Here are my questions:

1. I am planning to go to UK by November, is it okay to apply now?
2. Processing a holiday visa usually takes how long?
3. What are the requirements my boyfriend will be needing for sponsorship?
4. Does it help if I told the interviewer that I am waiting for an employment
visa from uae as well?
5. Does it also help to tell the interviewer that we are planning to get
married by January of 2010?
6. Is it best that I submit Fiancee/Marriage visa instead?
7. I am thinking of applying for a Longer term multiple entry (1 to 2 years).
If I applied for a six month visa, it'll be valid till December only. We are
planning to wed on January. What to do? Is it hard to apply for a long
term visa? or should I apply for a marriage visa after my holiday visa is
expired? or can you apply for marriage visa even though your holiday
visa is not yet expired?

I'm sorry if I asked so much. Its so confusing. Your advise will be much appreciated.

Thank you so much.

[darren-b]

A bit more information about you would help to answer your questions...

Have you met your boyfriend in person yet? (you haven't mentioned if you have or not..).
Where are you planning to get married?

[mackydn]

It's better to get a fiancee visa and get married in UK..I've been through all this and it would be better to get to the point immediately..But if you apply for this visa you have to have some evidence that you are goin in UK without getting any benefits and your husband can support you..visit this site homeoffice.gov is a usuful site..
Be ready with all the papers you need..letters.e-mails etc..
good luck

[jam07]

hi darren-b :) sorry forgot to mention it... yes we already met in Dubai. Is there going to be a problem if we didnt meet here in manila or if we didnt meet at all?.... he like to wed in uk and i agreed... thanks for helping me out :)

[jam07]

hi mackydn :) thanks for helping me out. so its best to get a fiance visa then... letters and emails? what if we dont have that? we only communicate thru phone and chat... is chat record a valid proof? :(

[darren-b]

hi darren-b :) sorry forgot to mention it... yes we already met in Dubai. Is there going to be a problem if we didnt meet here in manila or if we didnt meet at all?.... he like to wed in uk and i agreed... thanks for helping me out :)

If you hadn't met at all it would have caused you problems as your boyfriend would not be able to sponsor you for any visa.

If you are planning to go to the UK in November and then get married in January there is no point in applying for a visitor visa. This is because it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get married in the UK with only a visitor visa and you cannot apply for a fiancee visa whilst in the UK

You are better to apply for a fiancee visa which will be valid for 6 months. A fiancee visa allows you to live and get married in the UK - you must though get married before it expires otherwise you should leave the UK. Once you get married you need to apply for a new visa. A fiancee visa though takes maybe 2-4 months to be issued, so if you definately want to come to the UK in November you need to apply in month or so time.

As for applying for a employment visa in UAE. That may confused the British Embassy to why you are applying to work in UAE if you say you want to come to the UK and get married to your boyfriend here.

[John Chingford]

Having gone through the whole process for my Fil wife I think I can give good advice here. First, you cannot satisfy British Embassy that you have a relationship unless you have proof that you have met. Do you have photos of the two of you together in Dubai? My wife got a visit visa first so that we could get photographic evidence that we had met. We wrote letters to each other as evidence that the relationship was ongoing. We kept a Word document of all our yahoo Messenger chats etc etc.

[John Chingford]

Please write to my personal account. I think I can talk you through all the things you need to do. If you have photographic evidence of having met I agree you do not need a visit visa to Britain. However, if you have met please ignore advice given about applying for fiancee visa now. Too early. As fiancee visas run out after 6 months, your visa should not start until less than 6 months before your wedding as you also need time to apply for a spouse visa afterwards. It is correct that fiancee visas can take up to 3 to 4 months (all depending on how well you present your case) but we received ours after just 4 days without being given opportunity to state what date we wanted visa to commence from.

Also bear in mind that you need to be in Britain at least 1 month before you are allowed to marry anyway. It would be best to wait until you get your visa before making plans for your wedding. You can always change the date later. British Embassy just need to see evidence that you plan to get married ie a form from registry office will suffice

[John Chingford]

I advise that you apply for fiancee visa interview in September and do not travel to Britain until you receive the visa. If it takes 4 months you should change your wedding date once you arrive in Britain. If you get it quickly then all your plans may fit together. Regarding work. Best you do not commit to working in another country until you are married and receive your spouse visa after getting married as your application will probably be rejected as they may assume a marriage of convenience

[John Chingford]

The reason I state September is just in case you get visa immediately. You do not want it to expire before you get married. Unless you can change all your plans and go to Britain in say October and get married before January. Do not make firm commitments until you receive the visa

[John Chingford]

When it comes to evidence that you have met: the BE will not accept Internet evidence. They want to see proof that you have met face to face in person. In other words they need proof that you met in Dubai. Regarding sponsorship from your boyfriend: He will need to prove that he can support you without you becoming a burden to public funds. He also needs to prove that he has long-term accommodation you can stay at. His financial evidence could be savings statements showing how much he has to suppport you with and/or payslips to show he has a secure job.

[darren-b]

However, if you have met please ignore advice given about applying for fiancee visa now. Too early. As fiancee visas run out after 6 months, your visa should not start until less than 6 months before your wedding as you also need time to apply for a spouse visa afterwards.


I advise that you apply for fiancee visa interview in September and to travelling to Britain until you receive the visa. If it takes 4 months you should change your wedding date once you arrive in Britain. If you get it quickly then all your plans may fit together. Regarding work. Best you do not commit to working in another country until you are married and receive your spouse visa after getting married as your application will probably be rejected as they may assume a marriage of convenience

If they want to get married in January then there is not a problem in applying mid July (ie a month or so time..) as even if the visa did get issued very quickly they could still get married in January.

[John Chingford]

They need 1 month before they can legally get married. Registry office will not book up wedding until fiancee has been at an address for at least 7 days and marriage cannot take place until a further 15 days has passed = total 22 days. Then they will need to apply for spouse visa afterwards so will need at least 2 months left of their 6 month visa when they arrive. Therefore should not receive visa earlier than September = 4 months.

[aryM]

Hi Jam,. John has points, i guess you should consider his suggestions. We have almost the same problems, my UK boyfriend wants me and my kids to visit him there. We also have marriage plans but I need to see first what awaits me and my kids there so I just want to be there for a visit. But having read some posts here, i made me confused on what i should really do. Will i apply for a visit visa or go for a fiancee visa...

Well i appreciate really what John has suggested you. i think I might also consider some of his suggestions, though i still have lots of questions.

Go Girl!

[Florge]

for the complete list of requirements/documents that you need to submit, just download the checklist from the vfs website: http://www.vfs-uk-ph.com

you can also search past threads here regarding the documents... that's what I did and I pretty much was able to gather so much info so i'm ready to lodge my application... errr... more or less... lol

[Florge]

easier for your bfs to come over here for a visit...

[John Chingford]

A visit visa is only necessary if they do not have photographic evidence that they have met. If they have proof that they have met they do not need to visit first. They can apply immediately for fiancee visa and so save the cost of an unneccessary extra air fare

[jam07]

Thank you guys for the great response and advise you gave me. It clears out some of the questions I had. I really appreciate the help. :)

About my employment to UAE, its definite that I will be going back there. I might be flying back to UAE first week of July. I'm sorry if my situation confuses you guys. I am, too. That's why I cant start on applying for a uk visa :( although I really wanted to be with him so much. I love him and I cant wait to be with him. Its just so confusing :(

Ok lets say, the marriage will be moved on another month, no more on january, is it best to apply for a holiday visa instead? I am planning to go there this November. I want to apply for a visa while I'm here in Manila but its definite that I'll be in Dubai when I travel for UK (if ever given a visa here in Manila). Is it best to apply for a uk visa in UAE instead?

I appreciate all the help you guys are giving me. Thank you so much.
I am just so inlove with a great man and I wanted to be with him so much.

[John Chingford]

Just a thought, Is it not possible for your fiancee to help you in the application? I mean if he is the right one for you should he not be doing everything he can to help you in the process. It is easier for him to understand the British Consulate (British Embassy) website if he speaks and understands English well?

Anyway, I believe you can apply for visit or fiancee visa from British embassy in Dubai if you have a work permit in UAE. Again, important question, do the two of you have photos proving that you have met face to face?

[jam07]

my visa for uae just came today... i might try my luck applying for a uk visa in dubai instead.. i am hoping that I'll be granted one... :)

[pennybarry]

my visa for uae just came today... i might try my luck applying for a uk visa in dubai instead.. i am hoping that I'll be granted one... :)

I think you need to think a hundred times before you accept your working visa in Dubai.

If you are working, your tourist visa will be limited. I don't think an employer in Dubai will give you long stay here. Tourist visa is hard to obtain as you need to show your evidence (savings,job etc.)

If you are ready to get married, there's no need to accept your working visa in Dubai. You can apply your fiance visa in Pinas as you have met personally already regardless of place.

If you are planning to marry in Pinas, that will be much better as you can apply SPOUSE visa and can apply here for a job straight away.:xxgrinning--00xx3: Fiance visa will not allow you to work until you settled your next visa and marriage here. It will be months to wait.

If I am in your shoes, I would prefer to marry in Pinas and apply for spouse visa as you can also apply a job straight away.

The choice is yours now.

Goodluck !

[John Chingford]

Hi JAM03. My wife worked in Israel with a working visa for almost 6 years. It may be different for you now because your working visa in UAE has only just started. We did advise you not to do this with very good reasons. You have now caused yourself a problem. The British Embassy may now be suspicious of your reasons for getting married in Britain (if you apply too soon) because you have only just applied for a working visa. There are many who seek marriages of convenience so Britain is stepping down hard on those they suspect.

I suggest that you now postpone your wedding plans until you have worked for at least 6 months and then give evidence that your husband proposed to you AFTER you started working in UAE. You will need photos of the 2 of you together, letters etc proving that you are in love etc. I suggest you replan your wedding for Apr 2010 instead. Ask your fiancee to get a provisional wedding date form from registry office in November and send it to you. British Embassy will need to see evidence of your intention to marry. Then start your application for fiancee visa in December. As explained above you will need to arrive in Britain at least 1 month before your wedding and have at least 2 months left of your 6 month visa when you arrive. Therefore your visa should not start until December 2009 if you decide to get married in April.

Anyway, you can change the provisional date for your wedding at any time, so best to wait until you get your fiancee visa before setting your wedding plans and dates of travel. Remember all the evidence you send to British Embassy is to get your fiancee visa. Once you get the visa you can change your plans - nothing set in stone, but make sure that everything is completed before the expiry date. Also it is best to travel no later than 1 month after you receive your fiancee visa because the BE website states that you should travel within 1 month of the date of your visa to avoid possible problems with immigration people. If you left it more than 1 month you would need a very good reason for doing so.

Please take very seriously what I am saying as I have assisted my wife very carefully through this exact situation you are in. Many may give advice on what they think. I give advice on what I know. My wife (a Filipina) was able to apply for a tourist visa (also known as visitor visa) to UK from the British Embassy in Israel (in order to meet me for the first time). She came to UK for purpose of getting photographic evidence that we had met. We took photos of both of us together on various days, in different clothing and at different locations to prove it wasn't a set up job but a real relationship. British Embassy are looking out for those who marry for convenience ie a sham relationship.

If we had met in Israel or Fil and already had photographic evidence she would have applied for a fiancee visa immediately because a tourist visa would no longer be required. She obtained her visit visa - no problem, then a year later (once we had given time to prove our relationship) she received the fiancee visa. She is now with me (married) in UK with spouse visa (FLR). Trust me, you do not need a tourist visa if you already have photographic evidence that the two of you have met. Only if you do not have photos of the two of you together will you need a tourist visa first. Why waste money travelling to UK twice when you can come once. Please recheck everything I have said so far on previous posts above. Also please check out this brilliant website below and especially the part I have pasted below.

I strongly urge you to look up this website page as well.

http://www.british-filipino.com/ and click on "Evidence of relationship". It says

How to Build Evidence of Relationship

Once you have got engaged you will be going down two roads: either (1) You will want to bring your Girl to the United Kingdom or (2) You will want to get married in the Philippines, whichever option you choose you will need to satisfy Entry Clearance Officers at the British Embassy in Manila, that you have a legitimate relationship and that your relatiionship is substing ! this means that the entry clearance officer has to make a decision that they are confident that your relationship is in their view genuine. So how can you do this ?


My advice is to start building a portfolio of evidence from Day 1, although you don't have to make one as elaborate as I did, (look to the left you will see my ring binder that I made) it would be good to start gathering the evidence you will need.

Sadly many British Nationals enter into relationships with Philippine Nationals without much thought given to making preparations for the "Evidence of Relationship" that the British Overseas Mission requires to validate an application for a Fiancee Visa or a visa to be issued for someone who is the spouse of a UK national. However they are more fortunate now, in that evidence is more in the form of e mails, chat transcripts and phone calls, however Evidence of relationship (Katibayan sa Relationship) is a vital part of the vetting process carried out by the Entry Clearance officers to establish that the application meets the criteria to allow an entry clearance to be granted. Many British guys do not think about this from day 1 and this is natural as at that time they do not consider this to be an important requirement, however this could not be more wrong, for one thing, if you start a freindship with a Filipina, evidence of this can be started straight away.
What is Required to Satisfy an Entry Clearance Officer that a Relationship exists ?


Letter Writing

Start writing letters, as many as possible, at least 2 a week, putting pen to paper is very important in a relationship of this kind, See Courtship Advice - Effective Communication Letter writing is the main source of proof that a relationship exists, and letters do show the serious of the relationship - why is this ? For one thing, anyone who takes the time to sit down and spend an hour or so writing a letter even if its a 2 page letter and then be prepared to go to a post office and mail it, is considered to be pretty serious about the recipient of such a letter especially in the context of your relationship, postmarks with stamps (not Royal Mail white labels) are good evidence of relationship, a six inch pile of letters from each of you, over say the course of 1 year, shows quite clearly that their is a active relationship between you. Write lots of letters and keep them, tell your Filipina loved one to do the same, keep them in a safe box of some kind as they will be required at the interview appointment.

Photographs

Very important for establishing that you have actually met, take lots of photos, keep a couple of big albums, make sure you are both in the photos, even if the photo shows public affection, (don't stage manage the photos - let them be natural don't be afraid to do a self timer, of the two of you embracing affectionately) do it, it shows that romantic attachment is in place. Good tip for you, take photos in all situations, not just of her freinds family and yourselves, but take them while you are travelling together, the reason for this, is that it has come to my attention that the ECO's are clever at deciding if the photos were the result of a "Quick photo shoot in a ladies village in the provinces" if you take lots of photos as many as you can when you are travelling together, it shows that you are actually together, and its not a "mail order bride routine".

Electronic Mail transcripts

E Mail - many Filipina's have access to E mail now, this is a popular medium for many British-Filipina relationships in the 1st year, use this method of contact as I showed in 10 Points for Sucessful Commucation with a Filipina but what you can do for now is make a print of all your e mail messages, keep them in a loose leaf binder, it takes time to do these things, but trust me they will enhance your loved ones application later on, big time, keep every e mail printed, with the footer and header showing the time of the message, the date etc, and this will go along way to establishing your relationship.

Yahoo Messaging and Chat Transcripts

Yahoo Chat instant messaging, this is almost certainly the favourite medium of British-Filipina relationships, its cheap, and you can chat for hours for relatively low cost, most chat rooms and Yahoo, now have enabled you to keep a copy or transcript of the chat session, many British Guys forget to do this, use it, print it off at the end, store it in another section of your binder, this is further evidence of a relationship.
Telephone Bills and Calling Cards

Most British-Filipina relationships end up on the telephone at some stage, you British Guys spend a fortune on calling, texting etc, if its your mobile phone, ask for an itemized bill, showing the numbers called, the ECO can easily spot that you regularly call your lady, by seeing that the same number is continuously called, keep copies of any calling cards you buy, this is another way of supporting your application later.

Aircraft Boarding Cards and Tickets

This is very important, this is evidence of your visits to the Philipipnes, dont get into the habit of throwing things away, if you are a "throw away person" break the habit now, and start saving everything, boarding cards, plane tickets, (incidentally plane tickets are ok. but boarding card stubs are better, dont throw that little stub away or leave it in the seat in front of you down the pocket. Keep everything, staple your boarding card stubs to the ticket, and keep it in your file.

Passport Entries

Photocopy your pasport pages, this is evidence of your arrival in the Philippines, the more stamps the better, but dont worry you will have to supply the photocopied pages of your stamped areas in your passport anyway.


Sending Financial Support

If you are now sending money to your fiancee or spouse, this is almost certainly going to be noticed, incidentally, if you are the fiance of a filipina or a spouse of a filipina and you are not financially supporting her from your income, that also could be a stumbling block, if you are saying "We are engaged" but no evidence of support is given, it in itself may not be a problem, but it does not help the application, much better if you are financially supporting your lady. Evidence of this is very important, keep copies of any bank transfers, Western union receipts, (Western union charges a fee for sending money, but it is the quickest way to get money to your lady) they also give you a copy of the money sent, these should be kept in your file, any other copies of money orders, etc should be kept.

[jam07]

thanks for the advise pennybarry and john clingford. I didnt know that its gonna be this difficult and complicated. I dont want the uk embassy to doubt me but i guess its part of their job. I will share this to my boyfriend. The advise you gave me will surely help me go through my visa application. I appreciate all the help. Thank you so much. :)

[John Chingford]

I suggest you copy and paste everything above to a WORD file and then email it all to your fiancee or at least show him how to get into this website and find this. If he doesn't know how to use it, I suggest the WORD in email option the best.

If you appreciate the help I have given, please boost my reputation points by giving marks against my posts. Thanks

[ymae]

hello mr chingford..
i think i need your advice about gettina a visit visa...
me and my Bf have plans to visit his place in Uk.
story starts here..
we meet febuary 2009 here in Philippines, every after two months he visited me like he get back here april and august and now this november.I am 20 yrs old.and he is 47old. I will continue my college course taking nursing this november after we will go in vietnam to spend holidays...
He want me to take in Uk to visit his family for reunion next year on may, and i wish i can start applying for visa now? what you think else i needed ? i would be grateful for your help :) and as im reading you posted messages...your very helpful to everybody...

kisses from me
ymae and dave