What is the Procedure to obain a:
1. Fiancee Visa for a Filipina who wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of marrying a UK Resident within 6 months.
2. A Visa for a Filipina who has married a UK National in the Philippines and wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of settlement with her new Husband.
The following Advice has been taken in some areas from a website designed by Eddie Basson who married a Filipina in Davao City 4 years ago, his website is informative and helpful, however some information has been provided by myself following a Visit to the British Embassy in July of this year 2004 after speaking to an ECO (Entry Clerance Officer).
You may wish to go to Eddie's website called "British Marrying Filipinos" which is at http://www.marrying-filipinos.fsnet.co.uk/ (paste this link into you browser and connect)
You may wish to use some of the information Eddie offers, and use some of the information we offer here, the process is slightly different but the bare bones are essentially the same.
So: what do you have to do ??
Firstly as I am in the process of doing now, you have to be single !
Why do i say that: Some Brits including myself at one stage..thought that you can apply for a fiancee visa whilst waiting for a Divorce Decree Absolute !
This is incorrect...you must be in possession of a Divorce Decree Absolute if you are divorced n UK..before applying at the British Embassy in Manila for a visa on forms VAF2 (2003)
The information given about Forms I2B Etc on Eddies website is no longer valid...so you may wish to use this information to help you as up to date as to the best of our ability, I think last month is pretty up to date..unless one of you comes back in Setpember and tells me something different...apart from that I am back in Manila on 17th September so you will have to be pretty slick to beat me. hahaha
Well here goes
Can A Filipina join her husband, Fiance?
Yes provided he qualifes as the following :
1. He currently lives and is settled in the UK.
2. He is returning to live in the UK Permanently after a foreign posting etc.
How does a Filipina qualify to join her husband in the UK ?
1. She must prove that she is legally married to her husband.
2. Her Husband is legally settled in the UK.
3. You must prove to the ECO and satisfy the ECO that you intend to live togther permanently as husband and wife in the UK.
4. You have Met each other.
5. Together you are able to support yourselves that is the husband can support his filipina wife without recourse to public funds.
6. That you have adequate accomodation owned or occupied exclusively by you, where you are able to live wihout recourse to public funds.
7. The UK Resident is not under the age of 18 years.
8. The Filipina wife is not under the age of 16 years.
For A Filipina wife who wishes to enter the Untied Kingdom to settle with her UK Resident husband, she will be allowed to work for a period of two years, if you can show that you are still togdther near the end of this period and intend to live together as a married couple she can apply for permanent residency.
What are the UK Immigration Rules for a Filipina who wishes to join her Fiance in the United Kingdom with a view to Marriage ?
The Filipina prospective wife must prove to the ECO the following :-
1. She is planning to marry a UK Resident within 6 months.
2. She plans to live with her UK Resident husband permanently after the marriage.
3. You have met each other.
4. Thee is somewhere for her to live without recourse to public funds.
5. She can be supported without recourse again to public funds.
If successful for a fiancee visa..she will be granted a visa for six months, during this period, she will not have permission to work, but this can be varied after the marriage has taken place, and an application to the IND (Immigration and Nationality Directorate) can be made for a 2 year extension.
What are the requirements for an application to be lodged at the British Mission overseas in this case your application must be filed at:
THe British Embassy
15th Floor
LV Locsin Building
6752 Ayala Avenue
1226 Makati City
Philippines (PO Box 2927 MCPO)
Telephone : 00 632 816 7271
Fax: 00 632 810 2745
E Mail: ManilaVisaEnquries.manila@fco.gov.uk
www. britishembassy.gov.uk/philippines www.ukvisas.gov.uk
The Following steps must be taken and the following documentation must be provided to obtain a visa for either financee or spouse.
1. A completed visa application form which is
(a) Settlement Form (VAF2 2003)
Nakumpletong visa application form:
(a) Settlement Form (VAF2 2003)
2. Two Recent Passport size photos.
Dalawang pinakabagong passport size na litrato.
3. Visa fee in pesos. CASH is only form of payment.
Managers checks, or bankers drafts, made payable to British Embassy -Manila.
Bayad para sa visa. Tumatangap lamang ng cash, Managers, checks o bankers drafts, sa pesos na nakapangalan sa Britsh Embassy - Manila.
4. Current passport valid for at least 6 months and any old passports. A Clear Copy of the personal detail page should also be submitted.
Pinakabagong pasaporte (Valid at leat 6 na buwan) at lahat ng lumang pasaporte. Isang klarong kpya ng pahina na may personal na detalye ay dapat din isumite.
5. A fully copy of Sponsors passport, including the personal details page, and all the stamped pages.
Buong Kopya ng pasaportte ng sponsor, kalakip ang pahina ng personal na detalye at ang lahat ng pahinanag may tatak.
6. If the applicant has children, birth certiificates of each child on the National Statistics office (NSO) Security paper.
Kung may mga anak ang aplikante, sertipikasyon ng kanilang kapanganakan na nakalayay sa security paper ng National Statistics office (NSO)
7. Evidence that the sponsor can support the Filipina wife or Fiancee financially, Recommended submissions should be the last 6 months bank statements showing income and savings and evidence of employment.
Katibayan na kaya kang suportahan ng sponsor sa mga financial na pangangailangan.
Itinatagubilin namin na magbigay ng up-to-date at detalyadong transaksiyon mula sa bangko sa nakalipas na 6 na buwan bago sa petsa ng aplikasyon at Katibayan ng trabaho.
8. Annulment or divorce papers of applicant and sponsor if necessary. Divorce Decree Absolute for British Husband or Legal Annulment for Filipina wife. if not single.
Papeles ng pagpapawalang bisa ng kasal ng aplikante o papeles ng diborsyo ng sponsor kung kinakailangan o katibayan na inuumpisahan na ang pagpapawalang bisa ng kasal.
9. Evidence that your sponsor has adequate Accomodation. Mortgage Documents or rent books are acceptable along with the description of the property.
Katibayan na ang sponsor any may tamang laking tirahan. Dokumento galing sa pag-upa ng lugar any maaring tanggapin kasama ang paglalarawan dito.
Fees.
From 28th April 2004 the following fee is valid for this application.
PHP 27300.00 OR £260.00 this fee is based on a the prevailing exchange rate fixed by the British Embassy which is rather tilted in their favour as it bares not resemblance to the current bank rate...its 105 pesos to the UK 1 Pound, whereas the current rate is around 95 pesos to the Pound, naturally they make a little extra money out of the deal.
HOW TO LODGE THE APPLICATION.
An application can be lodged using the Visa call centre using the following numbers.
PLDT Tone Users : 1-909-UKVISAS(8584727)H
GLOBE: 1-900-UKVISAS(8584727)
Bayantel 1-903-UKVISAS(8584727)
STOP PRESS !!!!
A new service being offered by the British Embassy to cut down on travelling from the lower Islands is the (CAVA) service as follows:
You will be able to lodge your application by telephone at the Visa call centre of your choice and a roundtrip courier will be instructed to call to the home of your filipina fiancee - wife and collect your completed application, photographs documentation and fee to be transported by the said courier to the visa section, and to return the said documents back to her home, their is an additional fee of PHP 280, which is not refundable.
If you meet the CAVA Criteria, this service will be used, you need to call the Visa Call Centre with your passports ready, then a customer servie representative will confirm which service you qualify for, you need to have your passports ready when calling.
If you do not qualify for this service, and inteview appointment will be made for you to attend in person at the Embassy to lodge your application.
The following Advice is issued by the British Embassy - Manila and should be considered very carefully !!!!
BEWARE OF TOUTS OF FIXERS.
These people will take your money and promise to deliver, they cannot guarantee you a visa, all cases where the applications are suspected of being handle by touts or fixers will be passed to the Philippine Authorities for whatever action they consider to be appropriate.
MAG-INGAT SA MANLOLOKO AT MANGUNGUARTA
Maniningil sila ng pera sa inyo ngunit ano man ang kanilang ipangako ay hindi garantiya na kayo'y mabibigyan ng bisa. Lahat ng kaso tungkil sa mga ganitong illegal na gawain at organisasyon any isasangguni namin sa mga awtoridad para sa nararapat na parusang kanilang igagawad.
The Brtish Embassy may request an interview with the Filipina wife-fiancee, interview appointments are usually about 2 months after application has been lodged, Eddie Basson has osme useful help on the interview process and its good reading use it.
Further advice on extending the stay of a Filipina who is settled in the UK on a fiancee visa or spouse visa can be obtained from:
IND Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Croydon Public Caller unit
Lunar House, 40 Wellesley road,
Croydon CR9 2BY
General enquries: 00 44 (0) 870 606 7766
Application forms 00 44 (0) 870 241 0645
E-mail public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
This section is moderated by Forum Admin
Filiipino translation by Pete Forum Moderator
Any questions or unusual situations should be left as questions for the Forum moderators on this thread.
We will endeavour to answer them as quickly as possible... please state the following:
Your name
The circumstances of your relationship with a UK National
Expected Date of Travel to United Kingdom
Anything you think will help us in answering your question.
