Waiting for fiancee Visa of Stuart&Donnlyn

[stuart_donnlyn]

Hello Everyone,

We recently applied for a fiancée Visa for my fiancée Donnlyn, who is a Filipino citizen, on August 8th 2006 and are awaiting now the result from the British Embassy. Me and my fiancée Donnlyn met each other May 31st 2004 ar NAiA I stayed for 2 months at there house. We wrote letters, chatted on MSN messenger and phoned each other everyday (which we have proof of) and kept in touch and My fiancée suggested me to stay at their home instead of hotels to keep my stay longer and to know each other more. By that time and Donnlyn is still studying at University of Santo Tomas and I fetch her always from her university and we haven’t thought of getting her yet as she is still studying. After my stay there, we again kept in touch and met again on September 29th 2005 where I stayed for 2 weeks that time Donnlyn already graduate from college we have more time spent together, and we finally decided for her to live with me. I love Donnlyn very much. Our first application for a fiancée visa was back on November 2005 which was after my second visit to my fiancée Donnlyn. After 8 or 9 days, we got our visa request denied. The ECO letter stated," You have applied for entry clearance to the UK as a fiancé: however I am not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities that you meet requirements of paragraph 290, and in particular: I am not satisfied there will be adequate maintenance for you and your fiancé, without recourse to public funds, until the date of your marriage and subsequent to your marriage: Because you have provided as evidence your fiancé’s finances his bank statements upto 4th November 2005, his account has a final balance of £38.01. Given that you are unable to work in the UK until after your marriage I am not satisfied this amount is sufficient to maintain both you and your sponsor prior to or subsequently after your marriage. We were both very hurt about this. We submitted all the requirements as per below and our only area of refusal was my savings on my bank statements. So it was clear to me when we applied again, my savings had to be a lot better! As the fiancé, I felt very stupid and naive to have supplied bank statement which showed little savings to the British Embassy. The good thing we can be proud of is we are still together and nothing has been changed on our relationship infact it becomes more stronger and we always keep positive spirit. So, after waiting 8 months more and learning from forums such as this, we have applied again showing better savings! This is what we have supplied in our second application...

Proof of relationship
1. Letters/emails/phone bills/visa stamps showing my visits to Philippines/pictures spanning our 3 year relationship/
2. My letter of intentions and date to marry my fiancée Donnlyn in Scotland/receipts of resorts we stayed at.
3. Accommodation/finances
4. Tenancy agreement/rent payments/council letter confirming the house has 3 bedrooms which is big enough to absorb my fiancée staying here/
5. Letter of support from me and letter of no objection from my parents welcoming Donnlyn to stay here.
6. Wage slips and bank statements
7. My passport copy signed by lawyer

Others:
1. Previous refusal letter from ECO/visa fee of course for ukvacs and British embassy.
2. birth certificate of donnlyn
3. Proof of singleness which my Donnlyn prepared so when we get married here she have everything complete on registration.
4. Donnlyn’s NBI clearance
We are now awaiting the result of our second application. I have supplied 6 months of new bank statements showing me putting away £200 to £400 every month and my final statement balance was £2500 which is a lot more than my previous final balance of £38.01 on our last application. As we were refused on having insufficient funds, my bank statements are our main area of concern for improvement. We are hoping in light of our new savings, the ECO will grant Donnlyn her visa.
Based on all of this, is there anything we could have done more to give us a better chance of being successful in our application? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Stuart & Donnlyn

[ginapeterb]

Hello Stuart welcome to Filipino UK forum,

you wrote

he ECO letter stated," You have applied for entry clearance to the UK as a fiancé: however I am not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities that you meet requirements of paragraph 290, and in particular: I am not satisfied there will be adequate maintenance for you and your fiancé, without recourse to public funds, until the date of your marriage and subsequent to your marriage: Because you have provided as evidence your fiancé’s finances his bank statements upto 4th November 2005, his account has a final balance of £38.01. Given that you are unable to work in the UK until after your marriage I am not satisfied this amount is sufficient to maintain both you and your sponsor prior to or subsequently after your marriage. We were both very hurt about this. We submitted all the requirements as per below and our only area of refusal was

Sadly, it is standard practice for the ECO to refuse your girl a visa based on the bank balance of your account, in paticular showing that your last statement issued showed only a balance of £38.01, does not surpise me that your girl was refused, its a bummer I know, but in the light of the story you have presented it all fits.

Have you submitted a 2nd application already ? if so, I wish you had contacted this forum sooner, however if you have there is little we can do to advise you now, other than give you encouragement to pesevere, which in fact you are doing quite well, your comments as follows:

The good thing we can be proud of is we are still together and nothing has been changed on our relationship infact it becomes more stronger and we always keep positive spirit.

This shows to the forum and to anyone else, including Entry Clearance officers that your relationship is subsisting, this of course has dispelled any concerns that the ECO would have about your relationship, however having said that, your subsisting relationship is not the issue for the visa refusal to issue as such.

As your fiancee has been refused on the grounds of financial support with recourse to public funds, what you have done is shown a different position now, in that your savings have increased, and your income will no doubt show that, provided that you are in full time employment or self employment, and your bank statements now look different, as you say, over the last 8 months, I would rather fancy that you will get a positive decision to issue, I am also impressed Stuart by your attitude in this matter, the fact that you have accepted that your fiancee's initital application on the face of what you presented, did not look good, you have accepted that, and moved foward, that is a good sign, and very responsible, I'm sure on this occasion, you will get the decision you are looking for, based on the information you have supplied, I'm sure you will be welcoming Donnlyn to Scotland very shortly, in the meantime, if this happens again, and I do not think it will, then I would have suggested the following in your case.


1. A complete budget statement of your Income and expenditure.

This should follow these lines,


Gross Income for the month xxxx

Less

Housing Cost xxxx
Council Tax xxxx
Utitilities xxxx
Phone Bill xxxx
Any other costs xxxx


Less Loans/credit cards/Car xxxx


Total expenses xxxx

Leaving xxxxx to support the applicant.


This is normally a good way of showing the ECO an overview of your financial position.

Perhaps also you might want to take a look at my website, which will be a good read for you.

Http://www.british-filipino.com

Take care Stuart, well done mate, youre doing everything the right way, let us know the good news will you when your lady love...lands at Glasgow International...know the area very well !

Pete

[stuart_donnlyn]

thanks for the information uve given us...i would like to give our support for this group as it helps people on their visas and for those who are waiting it somehow serve as a way of pastime instead of worrying all day bout results and stuff! Goodluck to everyone!

Stuart & Donnlyn

[andypaul]

Hi Stuart

Petes has given you loads of useful advice as he always does, and from what you write it seems the ECO was only concerned with the money you need to support your soon to be Wife.
With the Money you have saved and if you are putting aside 200 plus pounds a month the ECO should be able to see that you have adqeaute money to take care of your Wife. The 200 plus pounds a month spare from your income would also be a postive as that should be roughly the amount a indivual might need if just paying basic outgoings (food,something towards household bills, transport, social etc).

Best of Luck with the application

[russ01539]

Staurt,

I had exactly the same refusal reason as yourself and felt a real muppet.
Difference was I was 2 grand overdrawn. (The first bank statement showed 11 grand overdrawn, so thought i had done pretty well getting it to 2K in 6 months !)
But just like you and your lady, it made our relationship even stronger. We never spent time re-applying, we went to appeal and tested the embassy's mettle. They caved in eventually (after I re-submitted latest bank statements showing 2.5K in the black). So we saved ourselves about 3 months from being apart.

I know what your feeling right now, but as Pete intimated, you've got a really strong relationship and a healthy bank balance. It won't be long before your wearing an ear to ear smile when Donnelyn wraps her arms round you at airport. Its at that point where you will just forget your embassy experience. So good luck to both of you, and look forward to the moment your together again. You will get your visa, I can feel it in my waters. hehhee

[KeithD]

Notice to readers: Don't give in bank statements with anything in the red on them, it is 99% likely you will be refused.

[Eljohno]

Notice to readers: Don't give in bank statements with anything in the red on them, it is 99% likely you will be refused.

Yes try to doctor the statement with a black pen

Only joking, even if you can borrow money to put into your account for a while is much better than showing your account that is in the red and you will get turned down as Keith said...

[andypaul]

Yes try to doctor the statement with a black pen

Only joking, even if you can borrow money to put into your account for a while is much better than showing your account that is in the red and you will get turned down as Keith said...

A good piece of advice Eljohno, I have read of many applicants been lucky enough for other members of their families to have placed a amount of money in the account for the application time.

[stuart_donnlyn]

Thanks for your advices..well take note all of that. Just now We're planning to meet again this september last week. can't wait! What are the other resort in boracay? Fridays is kinda overpriced tho secure and noone can approach you like strangers as they have security without you knowing thought theyre lifeguards.

[scotsfiancee]

Try to do search on net in different tour operators. So you can compare there prices. Or you may call direct to resorts.

[Eljohno]

Thanks for your advices..well take note all of that. Just now We're planning to meet again this september last week. can't wait! What are the other resort in boracay? Fridays is kinda overpriced tho secure and noone can approach you like strangers as they have security without you knowing thought theyre lifeguards.

If you search the forum both Rob and i have mentioned a place called "Blue Mango"

I am not sure what you paid for Fridays but for 3 nights in their best room it cost £85(total price) for the both of us and that included breakfast, internet and bottled water. The guy was American and real nice...

[baboyako]

I like. nigi nigi nu nus.

[stuart_donnlyn]

For today Its me Donnlyn writing here. Hehe we have joint account anyways! My fiance just called british embassy manila from scotland. Coz we wanted to ask if we would be hearing from them soon. But well like on the website says 1-3months. Kinda helpful info. LOL.

My fiance will go back again to Philippines to see me aww i cant wait for that. We plan that if ever the embassy says theres no definite time we will hear bout visa we will pursue meeting each other again here in Phily. So im kinda busy inquiring now. Im doing the booking always. I must say its not being cheap, but being thrifty. If i will be the one booking since im a Filipina they will give me local rates, i remember how Stuart compared the rates i was given is really half the price to name the few its Edsa Shang, Makati Shang, Dusit, and i get prices in local rates. So the more we save and the more we extend our stay.

When it comes to out of town trips like boracay, Palawan, they always highlight theres packages that says for local residents only..expats balikbayans. so i talk to them that I'm Filipina with a foreign bf. In that case they register it to my name and I still get the local rates(just for tips/advice to some whos planning their trips).

Our province is in Palawan. Anyone been there? We do have house there made of nipa hut. My father have an island but its empty lol its just full of cashews, mangoes and mangroves. I can actually bring Stuart there its just we're somewhat gonna be on-guard with my aunts and uncles lol which were uncomfy . But money wise we dnt need to pay for accomodation maybe just food shoping but its unlikely to happen coz we fish our own food.We even have octopus and squids below our nipa huts eh..hahahha.I'll take pics of our nipa hut lies exactly on sea.

We decided to rent a secluded island in Palawan near our town for the price of $160/night. Hehe i knew everyone loved to have the white sand for their own, walk,lay on sand without clothes and skinny dip anytime of day. Anyways they have rooms, bed, satellite tv, cd and dvd player, bathroom facilities so for basic needs its complete. In my opinion i like that coz i can have my baby for my own. Boracay got all acess you need food, internet,shops but for complete privacy nothing beats having it for your own. Palawan is best for that nature and privacy lol. Can't wait to see Stuart again. I always demand him to bring lots of extra memory for his digcam and cd's for videocam I promise him even the visa will take long we can look back on our pictures together and everything will past fast.

I always told him to just bring small bagpack as I can buy him tshirt here for only Php100-150 / shirt. But now he dnt need as he left Philippine clothes last year on my cabinet. Haha he really just arrive here with just backpack. Lol i feel talkative. God Bless you all and goodluck for those applying on ther visas like we do.

[scotsfiancee]

That's a nice story !!!.. Palawan is too far away.. though it's beautiful, so we choosed to go in nearby Island next time (Camiguin Island)... Yes your right Donnlyn we got more save if we do the booking, im the one who do our booking too in our island trips,and hotels. Goodluck for both of you!

It's good to know that your fiance is from scotland, same here!

[stuart_donnlyn]

wow really cool! my fiance lives in bellshill, how bout yours? just now while ur waiting what other stuff you do?Me..aside from crying lol..i do taekwondo and swimming on my spare time since i finish college at UST last May are u from Manila?... today our application is 1 month lodge thats why my fiancee call directly to british embassy manila so since there no definite time given we will just meet end of september. I'm so excited. i told my dad to order cassava cake, polvoron, buko those are all his faves....

[skye]

Hi Everyone,

I am a Filipina,30, and my fiancee is a Scotsman,35. We met during a holiday in Scotland and have been in constant contact for 5 months, I was vacationing in London at the time but daily phone calls and weekends together made our relationship grow. I also moved up to Scotland for the remainder of my stay (Jul-Aug) where we lived together and decided the relationship was for keeps and we were both of age to tie the knot.

Now that my visitor visa is up, we have been working toward getting a fiancee visa for me. Since I had to leave, we still felt like we would like to get to know each other more before we get married. I have met his family and he is planning to visit Manila for a week in the coming months to meet mine while my application is being processed since I heard it takes 1-3 months give or take. We're both very frustrated that we had to part ways last month and would like to be reunited as soon as possible. The system seems to be very unsupportive of British nationals having relationships outside the EU. Our plan is to get the necessary fiancee visa in Manila, return to Scotland, get to know each other a little more before marrying in Scotland within the given 6 months. I have read the checklist and previous posts from other members of the chatroom and I really found these helpful. We have been in constant contact, have gotten most of the documents in order and are fortunate that he owns a 2-bedroom property in his name that we will be able to live in when we get married with no flatmates.

I would like this to go as smoothly as possible and would like your advice one some matters before I submit my application since my case will be somewhat different.

I understand that he as my sponsor has to show that he can support my not being able to work as fiancee for 6 months in the UK by form of bank statements, his P60 and recent payslips. He has been employed almost all his life, he earns around 20-25k a year, pays his mortgage religiously and is able to live comfortably(no porsches just yet) but he has no bank statements to show. Had he known that this was going to happen, he would have taken better care of his bank statements, but you know how love is, it hits when you least expect it! I guess the most important thing now is to be able to see each other again as soon as possible back in the UK (since he cannot leave work) in order for things to progress.

Some questions:

1. How much is "enough" in the bank, really?
2. Will 3 recent payslips suffice or do they realy need the last 6? We were only able to dig up 5, checklists vary on how many they truly require
3. My fiancee and I did not expect to be married in the next year, our relationship was a pleasant surprise so on his end he may have accomodation and employment but his bank statements show his overdraft of around 800 GBP and these same bank statements are the ones that show the mortgage payments, he also has a little bit of credit card debt, nothing significant but the bank statements look like he might not have anything to produce unless he starts putting in a little money now but that will sadly mean it will take us longer to see each other
3. I, on the other hand, have some money in the bank to show, I have no debts and I have at least 40,000USD in savings, and as applicant, would that make up for his bank statements being in the red, do my savings count for anything in this application? Since this should probably be enough to support me even if I were unemployed in the Uk for 6 months, will this make up for his lack of statements? Should I still go ahead and just show mine, show his with the overdraft or not show his bank statements at all?
4. He also has another bank account with his brother, but this account does not show the mortgage of the flat we are to move in, and I read that they need the bank statements submitted must show the mortgage payments. He has no family members who will be able to pitch in to help his bank account and he does not want me to transfer money to his because he does not feel right about this. I don't think I can force him to since he's the man but I really need advice on this. I guess, no one likes to be denied at the embassy, right?

My last questions are about fiancee status...

5. Since we're not allowed to work until married... can we study? But will our tuition be the lower tuition available to residents of the UK or the exorbitant international student prices?
6. Some sites say that we will be entitled to use the NHS as fiancee, some say we will only be entitled to this when we are married, which is true?
7. Is it also true that we have to pay the 260GBP again after we are married and we apply for the 2-year extension?

Lots of questions! Hope someone can help us, the UK gov sites have been so vague.

Good luck to everyone and hope to hear from you soon!

[andypaul]

Some questions:

1. How much is "enough" in the bank, really?

I had just over 2k in my current account others had varying amounts but like others (Admin very recently for example) have said the sponsers main account should be in the black at the least.

2. Will 3 recent payslips suffice or do they realy need the last 6? We were only able to dig up 5, checklists vary on how many they truly require

Your Financee bank will print up bank statments for you for a small charge (natwest is five pounds) took about seven-ten days to turn up if i remeber correctly. But if you ask and say you require more than a few months, quote the data protection act to them i think then its ten pounds (admin fee) for up to 6 years of Statment information. But im not sure what format the statments would be presented in (i.e most likely just a basic computer print out not as well presented as the average monthly bank account in the uk.

3. My fiancee and I did not expect to be married in the next year, our
relationship was a pleasant surprise so on his end he may have accomodation and employment but his bank statements show his overdraft of around 800 GBP and these same bank statements are the ones that show the mortgage payments, he also has a little bit of credit card debt, nothing significant but the bank statements look like he might not have anything to produce unless he starts putting in a little money now but that will sadly mean it will take us longer to see each other
3. I, on the other hand, have some money in the bank to show, I have no debts and I have at least 40,000USD in savings, and as applicant, would that make up for his bank statements being in the red, do my savings count for anything in this application? Since this should probably be enough to support me even if I were unemployed in the Uk for 6 months, will this make up for his lack of statements? Should I still go ahead and just show mine, show his with the overdraft or not show his bank statements at all?
4. He also has another bank account with his brother, but this account does not show the mortgage of the flat we are to move in, and I read that they need the bank statements submitted must show the mortgage payments. He has no family members who will be able to pitch in to help his bank account and he does not want me to transfer money to his because he does not feel right about this. I don't think I can force him to since he's the man but I really need advice on this. I guess, no one likes to be denied at the embassy, right?

Well maybe he should swallow his pride and let you help. He sounds like a decent guy and in the UK many people are not used to having to be helped by others.
Just a few thousand in his account will help the application im sure. Also once your over it will be a few days/weeks before you can open a bank account so you will need to use his i guess at first. So why not move a little now? It will stop him paying intrest to the bank for the overdraft. Also will save time when you get to the stage of moving over to the UK as you have so much to do and remeber, once less thing to worry about will be a blessing

My last questions are about fiancee status...

5. Since we're not allowed to work until married... can we study? But will our tuition be the lower tuition available to residents of the UK or the exorbitant international student prices?

You will get stung the colleges became much tighter on admissions since october 2005 just as my Wife entered the UK grrr. Part time and evening courses maybe more lax or as your no subsidised allow you on the course.

6. Some sites say that we will be entitled to use the NHS as fiancee, some say we will only be entitled to this when we are married, which is true?

You are entitled to emgency medical assitance as any vistor to the UK is, but not to long term care as i understand it. But the NHS could technically bill you for some or all of the treatment.

The best example i read is you would be taken in a ambulance to the a and e and treated, but if you needed a hospital bed then technically then you might get charged. Im not sure about the law but taht seems to be what i have seen happening in recent years.

I have read its best to ensure you have some form of medical insurance for the six months just in case. But many just risk it and get away with it.


7. Is it also true that we have to pay the 260GBP again after we are married and we apply for the 2-year extension?

Not an expert but our goverment like most will take your money whenever possible. See posts on this site about FLR.

Lots of questions! Hope someone can help us, the UK gov sites have been so vague.

Good luck to everyone and hope to hear from you soon!

May i wish you both the best of luck

[skye]

Thank you SO much for your posts, they were truly helpful. I'm new to this forum and I'm so glad it's here because there were so many "hidden" things I didn't know about the Fiancee Visa process!

Looks like this is going to take a lot longer than we thought, that's the depressing part. My fiance has been in the red for a long time so does that mean that we have to make sure it's in the black and from then wait 6 months to apply? I will probably try to transfer some money to his account and he is waiting for his Christmas bonus. Are they incredibly strict about the 6 or will 4 or 5 months in the black suffice? Every month really counts, just thought I we would be getting through this sooner. Sigh.

[andypaul]

Thank you SO much for your posts, they were truly helpful. I'm new to this forum and I'm so glad it's here because there were so many "hidden" things I didn't know about the Fiancee Visa process!

Looks like this is going to take a lot longer than we thought, that's the depressing part. My fiance has been in the red for a long time so does that mean that we have to make sure it's in the black and from then wait 6 months to apply? I will probably try to transfer some money to his account and he is waiting for his Christmas bonus. Are they incredibly strict about the 6 or will 4 or 5 months in the black suffice? Every month really counts, just thought I we would be getting through this sooner. Sigh.

I think the ECO when reviewing your case would like to see that the Sponsers account is in the black and they can support you. I know of one example where the husbands account was not to well off and the Lady had savings. She wrote about her accounts on other websites and her writings were a great help to many. Her name i think if i remeber correctly was camille sheryl.
Basicaly her husband was just getting by (like most of us in the UK it seems) had no one in the family who could help out but the Wife Camille had savings i think about ten thouands dollars in savings this impressed the CEO from the report she wrote on her Interview.

I have read of other cases in the past where the couple were turned down due to the husbands situation but were ok once the situation was resloved and im sure it was only a matter of months from my recollection. Im sure others may rember or have better knowledge of this than me.

So if your hubby to bes account is in the black for a few months and improving. many times once you get a overdraft its hard to get rid of it, your earning ok but just can't clear the overdraft due to bills. So im sure if presented well the ECO should not object.

Like Pete and others on here suggest make sure you both go in to detail on your finances, think of it like you were starting a new project for your work and had to show the boss that your idea is a good one and of course does not lose the company any money.

I wrote out tables with my monthly in and outgoings showing i could also support my wife.

I showed in the first table my in/outgoings now and how they would change once my Wife was with me. Taking into account bigger food bill, increase in heating, council taxes, transport costs wtc.

I also wrote a few pages explaining all the details leaving nothing to chance. This was as well as my actual cover letter.

If you work together and let the good people on this forum help if they can im sure you can have your application submitted very soon.

Look at the postives

Your Your husband to be owns his own two bedroom flat ( so no problems with accomdation).

Your Husband has a decent Job and wage.

You have savings to help while settling and finding a job.

You have been to the UK previously and returned home.

Lastly you both seem from what i read to be happily in love.