Fiancee visa

[Arthur Little]

...but after we get married then apply for a spouse visa..its no longer necessary for me to go back to the Philippines..right?we might wanna come up with that idea but the problem is he doesnt have much time to stay here..

Okay! Say you got married in the Philippines, as I suggested. Your local Municipal City Registrar would forward the ORIGINAL marriage certificate to the National Statistics Office in Manila [hopefully forthwith] to be verified. Whilst awaiting verification, you and your then husband should be able to collate all the other documents that will accompany your application for the visa. As soon as the NSO returns the marriage certificate duly validated, you can place it with all the other necessary paperwork and submit the application to VFS Global in Manila. My wife and I actually flew to the capital to present it personally at the undernoted address:

UK Visa Applications Centre,
VFS Services Philippines Inc.,
Phil-Axa Building, 2501-02 [25th Floor]
1286 San Gil Puyat Avenue,
Corner Tindalo Street,
Makati City,
MANILA

You should be aware, though, that before travelling to the Phils, your husband-to-be will need to visit his local Registry Office in the UK to obtain a 'Certificate of No Impediment' [CNI]... which normally takes around 17 Working Days to be issued. Likewise, you must acquire what is called a CENOMAR (basically these documents are required as proof that neither of you are already married). Then, in order to comply with Filipino law, it will also be necessary for your husband-to-be to exchange his British CNI for its Philippines' equivalent as soon as possible after his arrival. This is normally done at the MacKinlay Hill premises and NOT at the Phil-Axa building.

I hope the foregoing goes some way towards answering your various questions. However, should there happen to be any other points needing clarification, we're here to advise.

Not an Expert ... I only try to help!

[jam07]

Okay! Say you got married in the Philippines, as I suggested. Your local Municipal City Registrar would forward the ORIGINAL marriage certificate to the National Statistics Office in Manila [hopefully forthwith] to be verified. Whilst awaiting verification, you and your then husband should be able to collate all the other documents that will accompany your application for the visa. As soon as the NSO returns the marriage certificate duly validated, you can place it with all the other necessary paperwork and submit the application to VFS Global in Manila. My wife and I actually flew to the capital to present it personally at the undernoted address:

UK Visa Applications Centre,
VFS Services Philippines Inc.,
Phil-Axa Building, 2501-02 [25th Floor]
1286 San Gil Puyat Avenue,
Corner Tindalo Street,
Makati City,
MANILA

You should be aware, though, that before travelling to the Phils, your husband-to-be will need to visit his local Registry Office in the UK to obtain a 'Certificate of No Impediment' [CNI]... which normally takes around 17 Working Days to be issued. Likewise, you must acquire what is called a CENOMAR (basically these documents are required as proof that neither of you are already married). Then, in order to comply with Filipino law, it will also be necessary for your husband-to-be to exchange his British CNI for its Philippines' equivalent as soon as possible after his arrival. This is normally done at the MacKinlay Hill premises and NOT at the Phil-Axa building.

I hope the foregoing goes some way towards answering your various questions. However, should there happen to be any other points needing clarification, we're here to advise.

is that true arthur? spousal visa is more likely to be approved than fiancee visa? but which is more time consuming in terms of gathering necessary documents, application and the time of its approval?

CENOMAR? is this the same as 'certificate of singleness'? how long before your wife get it?

[Sophie]

CENOMAR? is this the same as 'certificate of singleness'? how long before your wife get it?

Yes and you can just request an authenticated copy of your birth certificate and cenomar from NSO.....
you can go to NSO or you can request via online....I requested online and after i got the confirmation email, i went to the accredited bank to pay
for the fees and i got my BC in 3 days and my Cenomar in 1 week, mailed to me via fedex...

[jam07]

Yes and you can just request an authenticated copy of your birth certificate and cenomar from NSO.....
you can go to NSO or you can request via online....I requested online and after i got the confirmation email, i went to the accredited bank to pay
for the fees and i got my BC in 3 days and my Cenomar in 1 week, mailed to me via fedex...

so its the same... its the first time I heard of it

thanks sophie for clearing that out

[Arthur Little]

is that true arthur? spousal visa is more likely to be approved than fiancee visa? but which is more time consuming in terms of gathering necessary documents, application and the time of its approval?

Yes, it seems so! When Myrna called at the Phil-Axa building to present her application and its supporting paperwork, the VFS clerkess duly checked over everything, thanked her and, pointing to where the biometric fingerprinting would be done, added: "Ma'am, you should be made aware that a Settlement Visa normally takes around 3 months to process ... but no SPOUSAL visa [is] ever refused without very good reason!" I specifically remember those being the EXACT words the woman used. As to the amount of time taken to assemble the necessary documents, submit them and await the outcome, I believe there's very little difference [if indeed any] between the two.

In the event, we were, I suppose, a good deal luckier than most, as Myrna's visa was approved after just four and a half weeks.

CENOMAR? is this the same as 'certificate of singleness'? how long before your wife get it?

Again ... yes. In Myrna's case, it took 21 WORKING days. However, the waiting period can ... and does ... vary from person to person according to circumstances.

But it's easily obtained, as Sophie's experience clearly illustrates.

[jam07]

Yes, it seems so! When Myrna called at the Phil-Axa building to present her application and its supporting paperwork, the VFS clerkess duly checked over everything, thanked her and, pointing to where the biometric fingerprinting would be done, added: "Ma'am, you should be made aware that a Settlement Visa normally takes around 3 months to process ... but no SPOUSAL visa [is] ever refused without very good reason!" I specifically remember those being the EXACT words the woman used. As to the amount of time taken to assemble the necessary documents, submit them and await the outcome, I believe there's very little difference [if indeed any] between the two.

In the event, we were, I suppose, a good deal luckier than most, as Myrna's visa was approved after just four and a half weeks.



Again ... yes. In Myrna's case, it took 21 WORKING days. However, the waiting period can ... and does ... vary from person to person according to circumstances.

But it's easily obtained, as Sophie's experience clearly illustrates.

wow! i guess it eases the mind of the someone who has the dilemma of choosing between the two

thanks a lot for that information

one more question though, does your wife needs to ammend the lastname on her passport first before applying for a spousal visa?

hey, steadyfornow, i guess you should listen to arthur and go for spousal visa that is, if you are ready to spend the rest of your life with your bf

[Arthur Little]

one more question though, does your wife needs to ammend the lastname on her passport first before applying for a spousal visa?

No. My wife's passport was issued in her maiden name at the end of September last year. We were married less than three months later, and she was told it would be quite in order for her to have it updated to her new status once she was living in the United Kingdom. So no problem there.