Quote Originally Posted by RickyR View Post
Firstly, to answer your original question, do most visit visas get refused, NO. The current refusal rate for non-settlement visas is 18.8%, and most of those refusals are for student visas where a doubt exists as to whether the person intends to study or work.

The visas are all carefully considered to a set of UK Immigration Guidelines and Rules, and assessed on an individual basis.

The ECO (Entry Clearance Officer), will be wanting to see a good set of evidence supplied with the application, proving that you have no intention and no need to work and that you intend to return after your trip. Proof of these can be by return flight tickets, an itinerary, sufficient finances, a job to return to in the philippines, proof of previous international travel, information on your sponsor. Also include letters with full explanations from both yourself and your sponsor. With the correct evidence, it would make it very difficult to refuse you.
Don't forget to send in a photocopies of your sponsors passport including every page with a stamp on it, and any evidence of him visiting you.

I recently had a visa issued for my fiance and her 3 year old daughter to visit me for 4 months, my fiance is still in the process of an annulment. The process was pretty straightforward and took 4 days.
Students do have higher refusal rate (maybe 40%), but the refusal rate for a tourist visa is still about 20% (1 in 5 is refused).

Every case needs to be taken on it's own merits and where there is a strong relationship with a UK based person the visa is more likely to be granted even though the applicant wouldn't necessarily be granted on their own merits. To suggest that if you give the correct evidence you are unlikely to be refused is very misleading - your case is totally different.

Unfortunately an 18 year old with no wealth, who isn't in a strong relationship with a UK based person, and wouldn't be eligible for a fiancee/spouse visa even if they were due to age, is highly likely to be refused.