Hello, anyone give me help and advice please

[kenny]

Hi everyone, i have recently joined this forum.
I have a Filipina girlfriend(fiance) which i met last December 09 and fell deeply in love with. I knew i i had found the woman of my dreams(my soulmate)before we met.
The day we met at Manila airport i will never forget, i surprised her by sneaking up from behind in the croud outside the airport after she had texted me what she was wearing and i texted her back.
I touched her back and said her name, she turned around looking amazed to see me standing there and shocked as i just appearded behind her.
She has one of those smiles which brightens everyones day(contagous smile as we call it) we got in a taxi and found a hotel, eventually we got to my room. We felt such at ease with each other as we had really known each other over the internet for nearly a year. So many chats we had on messenger, phone calls, texts, e-mails.
Some time later after talking in person and after freshing up in the bathroom we went out eat and a little sight seeing. We got back later to the Hotel, she was a lady and i was a gentleman. I gave her some taxi money and waved her off. I was in my room alone feeling very tired but happy.
We met downstairs of the hotel dining area for breakfast. After the second night staying at the hotel her family invited me to thier house and then to stay with them.
I felt a little nervous espiecally as they are a big family.they were so nice and made me feel really welcome.
To cut a long story short, i had the best time and met a wonderful woman who i really fell in love with. We got engaged while i was there and i brought her a ring.
The thought of my last day there i was always trying to keep in the back of my mind, but when i came to ride to the taxi ride back and arriving at the airport and saying goodbye, that was really rough for me. the flight back was long and lonely, arriving back in England.. well not too pleasant as i knew it was going to be a long time before we met again.
Back to England and reality, festive period over, glum faces, recession.
Seeing her back home on the webcam was nice of course seeing her but at the same time kinda hard.
Well i think it maybe three months since ive been back now and we have been intouch maybe everyday perhaps. I have to stop myself from calling and texting so often sometimes as my phone bill as never been so big, i just think well i dont go out drinking like some or spending money on designer cloths.

We are in the process of getting the fiance visa applicion ready, im so worried and anxious about it. I am not rushing it as i dont want any mistakes to be made or worse the application to get refused. I just want it to go well and pray that we get granted our visa.

At the moment i am living at my mothers place, she has told me i can stay here as long as i want and that i should save money for a deposit for a morgage.

Can anyone tell me please if i should rent accomadation before we put in our application for the visa? and also how much should i have in savings if any? I work self employed as a taxi driver with my own veichle also do airport travel excetra. up until last year i never took my work seriously as i am self employed and am my own boss( so i choose my own hours)
I recently saw a solicitor for advice on this matter and was told to work hard for a couple of months and put all earnings in the bank and any expensies use my account to pay for them. I have been doing that now for about six weeks now, working hard putting all earning in my bank account, using my account for expensies. The last two weeks of Febuary was slow and all this on the news all the time was getting me worried about the global recession, but work is picking up and i am doing fine.
We miss each other so much more and more, i just worry about this visa......
can anyone please help and give me advice

[Mrs.JMajor]

welcome on the forum kenny, you can ask your mother to write addressed to british embassy that she has no objection for your fiancee to live in your moms house

keep searching on the forum,about all the information with regards applying fiancee visa and i guess the minimum of savings deposit is 2,500£ but i had friend from the forum also the fiancee didnt show any savings deposit on his account but they grant a visa,just dont risk, as solicitor says work hard so you can show some savings to the ECO

good luck on your application

[kenny]

welcome on the forum kenny, you can ask your mother to write addressed to british embassy that she has no objection for your fiancee to live in your moms house

keep searching on the forum,about all the information with regards applying fiancee visa and i guess the minimum of savings deposit is 2,500£ but i had friend from the forum also the fiancee didnt show any savings deposit on his account but they grant a visa,just dont risk, as solicitor says work hard so you can show some savings to the ECO

good luck on your application

Thanks for your reply, i will just keep working hard. hopefully i can save close to that figure or if i can work really hard maybe i can save a little more than 2.500. I have some saved already that i recently put in an (cant spell it)ica account. i have had to spend 500 on a new clutch for my works veichle, so that set me back a little.
Any help and advice i really apreciate, thanks. Also can anyone tell me how long the visa process takes?

[kenny]

Thanks for your reply, i will just keep working hard and try to save as much as possible.
do you know how long the visa process takes?
all help and advice is much appreciated. thanks

[irobot]

HI KENNY..... I am not an expert on anything I do not even have a mobile phone....smiles.. but try this one down load a program off the internet called CHIKKA ..... which does computer to mobile phone text free in Asia and they can text back to your computer I think they may have to pay to text back but if she has access to a computer all the better.... Which may save you money but I do think it depends on what net work they use Globe or what ever but check it out, being free it is worth a go.It worked from Uk computer mine to Cebu / mobile phone no problem......Also I have used the Mad For Minutes home phone cards either bought off the internet or asian corner shops....which worked out cheaper too... phil..

[Jay&Zobel]

Hi Kenny,

I love GENUINE LOVE STORIES. Bless you mate!

With the accommodation, MrsJMajor is right.

Your mum is so kind! You can just let your mum write a letter to the ECO stating that you & your fiancee are allowed to stay at her home. Also provide pictures of the accommodation. (This shall be part of your application) Not only it will save you lots of money renting a place/paying a mortgage but also an opportunity to SAVE & SAVE & SAVE, then just move out whenever...

When we were applying for the visa, we did this too, then moved out immediately after we were wed....



You are self-employed... There is nothing wrong with it. Just provide all the necessary documents: ie. Self-Employed Self-Assessment Tax, Savings Account if any, 6 mos worth of Bank Statements (again this is very important to show that you can really provide for your fiancee within the 6mos period as she is not allowed to work)


Solicitor? Was his/her service free? If yes, then that was a big help. But then if not, you need not to hire anyone to give you advices. Just be here, search & read - everything is under the sun and free!!!

Finacee Visa is the 1st step, then once it's successful, expect for more fees... (lol). Not scaring you though hehe, but will help you see what lies ahead!!!

Take care and Bless you & your Fiancee!

[nids123]

hi kenny nice love story welcome to the forum

[Mrs.JMajor]

do you know how long the visa process takes?
all help and advice is much appreciated. thanks

3 months but so far with some member here they waited for 4 months already,that was the longest ever,and if you are lucky enough,u can have it like 4 weeks so far from member's experience here

[joebloggs]

does your mom own her house, or rent and how many other live in the house ?

its better if you stay at home and get your mom to write a letter of support, and not waste money on rent

[pennybarry]

Hi everyone, i have recently joined this forum.
I have a Filipina girlfriend(fiance) which i met last December 09 and fell deeply in love with. I knew i i had found the woman of my dreams(my soulmate)before we met.
The day we met at Manila airport i will never forget, i surprised her by sneaking up from behind in the croud outside the airport after she had texted me what she was wearing and i texted her back.
I touched her back and said her name, she turned around looking amazed to see me standing there and shocked as i just appearded behind her.
She has one of those smiles which brightens everyones day(contagous smile as we call it) we got in a taxi and found a hotel, eventually we got to my room. We felt such at ease with each other as we had really known each other over the internet for nearly a year. So many chats we had on messenger, phone calls, texts, e-mails.
Some time later after talking in person and after freshing up in the bathroom we went out eat and a little sight seeing. We got back later to the Hotel, she was a lady and i was a gentleman. I gave her some taxi money and waved her off. I was in my room alone feeling very tired but happy.
We met downstairs of the hotel dining area for breakfast. After the second night staying at the hotel her family invited me to thier house and then to stay with them.
I felt a little nervous espiecally as they are a big family.they were so nice and made me feel really welcome.
To cut a long story short, i had the best time and met a wonderful woman who i really fell in love with. We got engaged while i was there and i brought her a ring.
The thought of my last day there i was always trying to keep in the back of my mind, but when i came to ride to the taxi ride back and arriving at the airport and saying goodbye, that was really rough for me. the flight back was long and lonely, arriving back in England.. well not too pleasant as i knew it was going to be a long time before we met again.
Back to England and reality, festive period over, glum faces, recession.
Seeing her back home on the webcam was nice of course seeing her but at the same time kinda hard.
Well i think it maybe three months since ive been back now and we have been intouch maybe everyday perhaps. I have to stop myself from calling and texting so often sometimes as my phone bill as never been so big, i just think well i dont go out drinking like some or spending money on designer cloths.

We are in the process of getting the fiance visa applicion ready, im so worried and anxious about it. I am not rushing it as i dont want any mistakes to be made or worse the application to get refused. I just want it to go well and pray that we get granted our visa.

At the moment i am living at my mothers place, she has told me i can stay here as long as i want and that i should save money for a deposit for a morgage.

Can anyone tell me please if i should rent accomadation before we put in our application for the visa? and also how much should i have in savings if any? I work self employed as a taxi driver with my own veichle also do airport travel excetra. up until last year i never took my work seriously as i am self employed and am my own boss( so i choose my own hours)
I recently saw a solicitor for advice on this matter and was told to work hard for a couple of months and put all earnings in the bank and any expensies use my account to pay for them. I have been doing that now for about six weeks now, working hard putting all earning in my bank account, using my account for expensies. The last two weeks of Febuary was slow and all this on the news all the time was getting me worried about the global recession, but work is picking up and i am doing fine.
We miss each other so much more and more, i just worry about this visa......
can anyone please help and give me advice

My husband is the same, he lives with his Mom and Dad as he is long distance Lorry Driver and goes home only during weekends and sometimes once a month. So it is advisable for him not to rent/mortgage to save dosh. Mom sent me support letter for my application that I have my accommodation when I get here, they have 3 bedrooms, they owned the house and bought it cash 25 years ago. That letter of support helped my application.
I am sure your wife can get well on with your mom. Elderlies are polite, understanding, loving.
Goodluck!

[smiler78]

Hi Kenny welcome, Im in Leicester and left my girl in manila after my last visit and know just how your feeling, we are also getting ready to apply for the fiance visa this coming May so going through a similar thing. Wish you lots of luck mate it will be worth all these hard feelings and work once you have her here with you.

Carl.

[tiN]

Welcome to the forum

Goodluck on your application as well

[Pepe n Pilar]

Texting her thru chikka is cheaper. Just download the chikka.com then add her mobile number in contacts. While you use the computer in texting her she can immediately reply and it costs her P2.50/send which is much cheaper than if she text you direct to your mobile phone number which costs abt P15.00/send.

[IainBusby]

Hi Kenny,
Welcome to the forum. I'd say £2500 to £3000 in the bank would be about right, but what they want to see is 6 months bank statements, with a healthy balance and 6 months proof of earnings. As long as your Mother owns the house and is prepared to put it in writing that she is happy for you both to live there you should be OK.

The rest of it is just down to proof of relationship, so you should keep everything, especially hotel bills and receipts from Phils. You should also make sure that you have the archive set in yahoo so that it saves all of your chats, then you can print some off and send them over to her when she's ready to make her application.
Iain.

[kenny]

my mum owns her own house, which has two bedrooms and a bathroom.
3 people living here= me my mum and her partner.

[Mrs.JMajor]

If she is willing to make a letter addressed to british embassy saying she had no objection for you and your fiancee to live on her house,that would be a great help for your application

[kenny]

thanks for all help and advise people, i will carry on saving hard to show enough funds in the bank as possible. Hopefully we will gather everything together at the end of the month,or sometime in April and start to get organised for putting our application in.
I think this is a good forum and has given me hope.

[Mrs.JMajor]

kenny,dont forget to keep all the pictures that you been together,all the receipts of your hotel when u visit her,also tell her all the receipt if you sending her money,chat logs since you are applying for fiancee visa to prove to ECO your relationship is genuine,

wish you all the best on your future application,also tell her to be a member of this forum,because she will learn loads of information here that make the application success

[aposhark]

Hi Kenny,

Welcome.

All good advice here. Keep your plane e-tickets and boarding cards if possible.
Keep as much documented proof as you can, this should impress the ECO.
I would suggest seeing your fiancee at least twice before she applies for her visa. It's only my feeling but more than one visit shows commitment by you.
There are others here who may comment on visits to see your Mahal.

Don't over-do it with the photos in the application. Annotate them with "first visit, Manila. My fiancee and her family" for example.

Best of luck and stay strong.

[kenny]

HI KENNY..... I am not an expert on anything I do not even have a mobile phone....smiles.. but try this one down load a program off the internet called CHIKKA ..... which does computer to mobile phone text free in Asia and they can text back to your computer I think they may have to pay to text back but if she has access to a computer all the better.... Which may save you money but I do think it depends on what net work they use Globe or what ever but check it out, being free it is worth a go.It worked from Uk computer mine to Cebu / mobile phone no problem......Also I have used the Mad For Minutes home phone cards either bought off the internet or asian corner shops....which worked out cheaper too... phil..

By the way, thanks for that tip. My g/f signs into yahoo on her phone and we can send each other messages that way, but i can only recieve and send messages from my computer as the Orange network does not support yahoo moble. But its still free even though i have to use the computer.

[girl england]

Welcome to the forum

[MarBell379]

Kenny - a couple of things ref communication. Yahoo is good, and Orange should be able to support Yahoo on the right mobile phone. You can also access Yahoo via the internet if you have internet access so do some searching and that will help you find a way.

Phone wise, there are all sorts of VOIP systems like Skype, MSN or Yahoo where you can chat computer to computer. There are also cheap(er) phone systems available whereby you call a UK number and the number is bounced to the Philippines number via VOIP.
I call my gf mobile to mobile and it costs me the same as a UK call (free on my mobile contrtact) + approx 10pence a minute. That means I camn call for almost 20 minutes for less than the cost of a decent cup of Coffee from Starbucks!.
I use Rebtel, but have used Deeplake in the past. Do some searching for cheap international calls and you'll find a few. Try them out, as different ones get different quality calls. They can vary quite considerably depending on the bandwidth they rent.

Good luck. My gf and I have known each other for a year now and will be starting Visa applications soon. I'm visiting her in Phils in April and havent seen her since December so I'm really looking forward to it

[TJ777]

As a new member your question was my first connection with the site and found myself in the same position as yourself.
I have been to Manila 2 times and return in May.
I applied for a visa for 2 weeks only for my girl friend to visit the UK and found the whole process an absolute nightmare.
I supplied copies of my passport,earnings,employment,copy bank statements,evidence i could pay for air fares and return ticket etc,while my girlfriend provided everything from evidence of my stays there,receips of all contact and pictures of us together and evidence of money in her bank account,family,passport etc.
After all that her application was declined as they stated she "has no assests".
It is unbelievable the detail that is required and time involved and i realy do wish you all the best and do understand the frustration you might feel.
If there is anything I can help with I will be only to pleased to help.
regards.

[kenny]

Kenny - a couple of things ref communication. Yahoo is good, and Orange should be able to support Yahoo on the right mobile phone. You can also access Yahoo via the internet if you have internet access so do some searching and that will help you find a way.

Phone wise, there are all sorts of VOIP systems like Skype, MSN or Yahoo where you can chat computer to computer. There are also cheap(er) phone systems available whereby you call a UK number and the number is bounced to the Philippines number via VOIP.
I call my gf mobile to mobile and it costs me the same as a UK call (free on my mobile contrtact) + approx 10pence a minute. That means I camn call for almost 20 minutes for less than the cost of a decent cup of Coffee from Starbucks!.
I use Rebtel, but have used Deeplake in the past. Do some searching for cheap international calls and you'll find a few. Try them out, as different ones get different quality calls. They can vary quite considerably depending on the bandwidth they rent.

Good luck. My gf and I have known each other for a year now and will be starting Visa applications soon. I'm visiting her in Phils in April and havent seen her since December so I'm really looking forward to it

Thanks for that, i will look into it it would be good if i can save money on my phone bill
I havnt seen my g/f now for 11 weeks and three days now, im just waiting for my April Bank statement so we then can get everthing together. Then i can nervously wait and wait, i want her over here as soon as possible- 1. for the reason being of course we miss each other and 2. It would be nice for her to have time to adjust to the climate before Autum and winter comes along

[kenny]

As a new member your question was my first connection with the site and found myself in the same position as yourself.
I have been to Manila 2 times and return in May.
I applied for a visa for 2 weeks only for my girl friend to visit the UK and found the whole process an absolute nightmare.
I supplied copies of my passport,earnings,employment,copy bank statements,evidence i could pay for air fares and return ticket etc,while my girlfriend provided everything from evidence of my stays there,receips of all contact and pictures of us together and evidence of money in her bank account,family,passport etc.
After all that her application was declined as they stated she "has no assests".
It is unbelievable the detail that is required and time involved and i realy do wish you all the best and do understand the frustration you might feel.
If there is anything I can help with I will be only to pleased to help.
regards.

Im really all new to this myself about Visas, maybe someone else in this forum could comment
First of all, sorry to hear about your dissapointment.
Maybe the fiance visa shows more comitment, as part of the main requirement is that you have to marry within six months.
If she is coming to the U.K on a holiday visa, i am guessing that she does not need a sponsor but needs to show her own funds
Im sure there are plenty of good people in here who would be willing to give better advise than me on that. Wish you all the best.

[quickwillow]

Hi Kenny

Talking about your phone bill, I used to have the same problem with high phone bills until I found a cheaper way; I use Rebtel to make calls to the Philippines very cheaply. After signing up to rebel and adding credit, you can make calls to the phils or anywhere in the world for a cost slightly more than a local call, I used to buy bundles of minutes with Vodafone as this worked out cheaper, or if you have a contract phone use your free minutes to call you fiancée, I have moved to the Asda pay as you go network as they offer the cheapest local rates 8 p and about 9-10 pence per minute to the phils combined with using Rebtel. I should point out with the Rebtel service you can't text using this service, but to be honest who cares, I prefer to talk without the worry of the cost. Oh and good luck with everything.

[adam&chryss]

By the way, thanks for that tip. My g/f signs into yahoo on her phone and we can send each other messages that way, but i can only recieve and send messages from my computer as the Orange network does not support yahoo moble. But its still free even though i have to use the computer.

Hi Kenny. I bought my wife a phone on the 3 network which has free Skype and MSN, also Yahoo but im not sure. We pay £16 per month for it. Then she can sign into either and contact her friends and family all included.
Before she was here with me I also had my phone on 3 and it saved me a fortune being able to use skype and Yahoo.
Worth a try mate.

[kenny]

Hi Kenny. I bought my wife a phone on the 3 network which has free Skype and MSN, also Yahoo but im not sure. We pay £16 per month for it. Then she can sign into either and contact her friends and family all included.
Before she was here with me I also had my phone on 3 and it saved me a fortune being able to use skype and Yahoo.
Worth a try mate.

Thanks for the advice Quickwillow and Adam and Chryss.
My g/f, wife 2B Got the internet at her house last week which im paying for, so if anyone knows how to send regular money to Phil and could tell me a cheap or even a free way of sending i would be grateful. I did enquire at the bank for a direct debit but they tell me that for international there is a 20 pound charge which is more expensive than western union. Im thinking of opening an account with Abby national cus i read its free to withdraw cash abroad so i could send her the card in the post, has anyone used Paypal?
We have had many hours of free communication since last week with the webcam and mic, although the mic and sound dont always work but when they do it sounds better than a phone call conversation as we find our selfs repeating our words over on the phone sometimes.

we are planning to get the application ready at the end of this month, so its good we both have internet now. J ust waiting for April bank statement.
Im glad i found this Forum, i try to come on most days.

[joebloggs]

pnb europe. http://www.pnbeurope.com/

if you phone i think b4 3pm , she will have the money the next day..

they charge only £5 to send upto £1,000

[trader dave]

welcome kenny theres plenty of info for you to digest so i wont add to it but i have been trying to get my fiancee to the uk for getting on for 18 months
i have applied on 3 seperate occasions for her to visit here as a visitor FORGET THAT ROUTE as the british consol told my fiancee last time YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY unless she has assets job money ect she will not be coming here as a visitor your best bet is go to the philippines marry here then apply for her to come to live with her husband exactly what i am doing this summer so after 3 applications at £60+ each 3 times round trip from cdo to manila, on the plane and a few nights in the hotel i might as well have flushed that money down the loo

so the moral of the story is ITS NOT BLOODY EASY