Yeah, Shayla and Nids, the statement I referred to about applications being forwarded to the British High Commission is somewhat misleading. I have to admit that when Myrna first received this text message a few weeks after submitting her application, our immediate reaction was to ASSUME her visa had, at THAT stage, been granted, and that the role of the 'Commission' (as distinct from the 'Embassy' was merely to "rubber stamp" its approval for issue. So I guess our initial false optimism proved to be unfounded as PeterB implies!
Somewhat ironically, Peter also reckons the Philippine Immigration Authorities recently implemented a directive whereby it's mandatory for all spouses of foreign nationals to attend a 4-hour guidance & counselling session in either Manila or Cebu, entailing further unnecessary financial outlay for flights and overnight accommodation on top of the hefty expenditure already incurred. In Myrna's case, at least, it would seem a bit daft to impose such a requirement, since she has a lifelong fluency in the English language and even taught college students using this compulsory medium for the past 22 years. From the literature that Peter downloaded from his computer, it would appear THIS applies to those migrating to places like Australia & New Zealand, Canada & the US, Japan and a number of other (unspecified) countries as tabulated. Nowhere, can I see any specific reference to the UK.
