Quote Originally Posted by exeterjohn View Post
Hello. I am hoping that someone can give me information or tell me where to find the right information.

I have a very good friend who is Filipina and she lives in the Philippines. I would like to invite her and her 7 year old daughter to come and spend some time with me in the UK. I would be happy to employ her as my housekeeper if that makes entry to the UK any easier. In time, if everything works well we might consider marriage but we are not quite at that stage yet. It seems to me that the immigration rules are an absolute minefield.

For clarity, may I say that she is not a stranger from an agency who is coming here just as an economic migrant. I have known her for several years and there is a strong personal rapport.

Can anyone suggest how we might go about arranging this so that we stay within the law?

Many thanks in advance for any helpful replies.
Hi John and welcome to the forum,
First of all let me say that things are no where near as simple as you seem to think these days. You have absolutely no chance of bringing her here as your housekeeper unless she was already working for you as your housekeeper in the Philippines for a fixed period of time before you apply, four years I think it is, but I could be wrong, it might be less than this. The only way you could invite her here is as a visitor and the refusal rate for visitor visas is extremely high.

Can I ask, have you ever met this lady in person? If so and you have a romantic attachment to her, then I think the way forward for you is to apply for a fiancee visa. With this she can come here for 6 months and as long as you marry within those six months, she can then apply for FLR (Further Leave to Remain) and then ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) after 2 years.

If during the 6 months you decide not to get married then she would have to return to the Philippines before her visa expires.

Iain.