Advice for new member...

[Scrutiny61]

Hi to all,

Have been chatting to my filipina lady online for a while now. She is beautiful both inside and out. We are now considering the best way forward in order for us to meet. All advice welcome. She lives in Pasay City, Manilla and works in Makati City. Our long term plans would be for her to come and live in UK as my wife. I have done some research on documents needed for visas etc & it seems like the best one to apply for (once we have met) would be the fiance visa? Also what are the chances that she could get a visitors visa for the UK as I feel it would be important for her to get a flavour of the country where she is to live before actually settling here for good. She is 29 and has a full time job in Phils...no savings or property though. Would I need to sponsor this visit? It would only be for a fortnight at the most!

Also when I visit Manilla, does anyone have any tips on where to stay and how to stay safe & how much plane fares & hotel rates may cost?

Sorry for so many questions to begin with & I thank you all in advance!!!


Scrutiny...

[darren-b]

Welcome to the forum.

What you need to do first is get to the Philippines then you can start planning your future together if that is what you still want once you have met.

You can sponsor her for a visitor visa, though there is no guarantees that it will be granted. Though recently it does seem that they have been more willing to grant them.

Whether you got for a fiancee visa or a spouse visa depends where you want to get married - UK or the Philippines? Spouse visas are slightly cheaper and easier to get than fiancee visas, but really it comes down to what you want to do.

Flights to the Philippines seem to work out upwards from maybe £400 depending who you fly with and when you fly. When visiting Manila I tend to stay in Makati at one of the 5* hotels near the main shopping area there (think I paid ~£75/night earlier this year) which is very safe area to stay. You can get safe hotels for less if you don't want to spend that much. If you are going to stay there for a couple of weeks you may want to take a trip away from Manila as to be honest it's not the nicest place to stay.

[Scrutiny61]

Thanks for the advice Darren, much appreciated. Will probably only stay for a week on the initial visit & if honest will be looking for somewhere much cheaper than than £75 per night. My Lady has suggested Eourotel in Makati City near where she works (Little Tokyo) but I'm unsure as to the cultural differences in standards of comfort? A decent, clean room with shower and TV will suffice for me!

Many Thanks

Scrutiny...

[Arthur Little]

Welcome. it would be wise to visit your girl in her homeland in the first instance. That's what I did myself ... twice in fact ... after corresponding with a *Filipina lady [now my wife!] for almost 12 months.

My first visit took place a year past September ... during which time, we were virtually inseparable. It was then I realised that *this was the woman I wished to spend the rest of my life with, and we began making plans for our future together.

After a stay of thee weeks, I came home in order to obtain what's called a Certificate of No Impediment from my local Registrar's Office, whilst she made arrangements to procure its Philippine equivalent, known as a Cenomar. Each of these documents is in effect, a statement confirming that the parties concerned are free to marry. In OUR case this procedure was relatively straightforward, since both of us had been widowed.

In late November 2008, I made my second trip to Davao del Norte Province in Mindanao, then flew to Manila to present my CNI at the British Embassy in exchange for the Phils 'Legal Capacity to Marry' version.

The wedding took place on December 8 ... following which, I stayed on until mid-February to await the result of my wife's spousal visa application that had been submitted on January 20. Finally, she was able to join me in the UK on March 8.

I hope your relationship has the same happy outcome.

[Scrutiny61]

Welcome. it would be wise to visit your girl in her homeland in the first instance. That's what I did myself ... twice in fact ... after corresponding with a *Filipina lady [now my wife!] for almost 12 months.

My first visit took place a year past September ... during which time, we were virtually inseparable. It was then I realised that *this was the woman I wished to spend the rest of my life with, and we began making plans for our future together.

After a stay of thee weeks, I came home in order to obtain what's called a Certificate of No Impediment from my local Registrar's Office, whilst she made arrangements to procure its Philippine equivalent, known as a Cenomar. Each of these documents is in effect, a statement confirming that the parties concerned are free to marry. In OUR case this procedure was relatively straightforward, since both of us had been widowed.

In late November 2008, I made my second trip to Davao del Norte Province in Mindanao, then flew to Manila to present my CNI at the British Embassy in exchange for the Phils 'Legal Capacity to Marry' version.

The wedding took place on December 8 ... following which, I stayed on until mid-February to await the result of my wife's spousal visa application that had been submitted on January 20. Finally, she was able to join me in the UK on March 8.

I hope your relationship has the same happy outcome.

Thank You for your encouraging words Arthur...

[IainBusby]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.

it seems like the best one to apply for (once we have met) would be the fiance visa?

Fiancee visa is cheaper initially but more expensive in the long run. Overall it is much cheaper to marry in the Philippines and then apply for a spousal (Settlement) visa.

Also what are the chances that she could get a visitors visa for the UK as I feel it would be important for her to get a flavour of the country where she is to live before actually settling here for good. She is 29 and has a full time job in Phils...no savings or property though. Would I need to sponsor this visit?

You would need to sponsor her visit, but although things have been easier lately, it's still not easy to get a visit visa. One thing is for sure, you'll have to have gone to the Philippines and met her to have any chance of success. The sticking point when it comes to ECO's (Entry Clearance Officers) deciding whether to give someone a visitor visa is the likelihood that they will return to the Philippines before their visa expires. They tend to have a very narrow view of thing - she comes from a very poor third world country, once she's been to the UK, why would she want to go back there...... They want to see evidence showing compelling reasons why she would and to them that usually means a good job, property and money in the bank.

Also when I visit Manilla, does anyone have any tips on where to stay and how to stay safe & how much plane fares & hotel rates may cost?

Apart from times like Christmas and the main UK school holidays, you can usually get a return flight from between £400 and £500, sometimes even cheaper than that. You can get an acceptable hotel room with aircon for around £20 to £30 if you get their phone number online and call them direct. Even better than that, you could get your girl to book somewhere nice for you because there is nearly always a premium to pay when the locals are dealing with a foriegner..... in Phils it's called the Kano tax.

Cheers,

Iain.

[Scrutiny61]

Hi and Welcome to the forum.



Fiancee visa is cheaper initially but more expensive in the long run. Overall it is much cheaper to marry in the Philippines and then apply for a spousal (Settlement) visa.



You would need to sponsor her visit, but although things have been easier lately, it's still not easy to get a visit visa. One thing is for sure, you'll have to have gone to the Philippines and met her to have any chance of success. The sticking point when it comes to ECO's (Entry Clearance Officers) deciding whether to give someone a visitor visa is the likelihood that they will return to the Philippines before their visa expires. They tend to have a very narrow view of thing - she comes from a very poor third world country, once she's been to the UK, why would she want to go back there...... They want to see evidence showing compelling reasons why she would and to them that usually means a good job, property and money in the bank.




Apart from times like Christmas and the main UK school holidays, you can usually get a return flight from between £400 and £500, sometimes even cheaper than that. You can get an acceptable hotel room with aircon for around £20 to £30 if you get their phone number online and call them direct. Even better than that, you could get your girl to book somewhere nice for you because there is nearly always a premium to pay when the locals are dealing with a foriegner..... in Phils it's called the Kano tax.

Cheers,

Iain.

Thank you very much for your valuable advice Iain

[jonathan47]

etihad seems a good deal at the moment and recently my fiance stayed at the city garden hotel makati when she went for her embassy interview was about £30/night and a nice hotel ..... i would also suggest to get away from manila 3-4 days ok but its not that nice and the islands and province are so much nicer and imho the real philippines... by the way i should warn you once you go to the philippines you'll keep going back its gets under you skin and becomes part of you !! great place great people....


regards


jonathan and annabel

[tuft249]

hi . theres loads of reviews for hotels on tripadvisor sure you can find somewhere ok for under £40 i stayed @ hotel carlston in baclaren it was basic &clean.klm is simple way to go from manchester no long wait for connection to manila.and a shorter journey than middle east routes.have a good trip