fiance visa question

[mikey73]

hi everyone
have a question i hoped that someone out there would have an answer for. we (minie and i) are considering going for a fiance visa. but i am wondering if she would be able to study with that visa, minie is a teacher(primary school) and she would really like to do that here. i know she isnt allowed to work with the fiance visa but i was hoping that she might be able to study or even do some voluntary work at a school(i think this might be very unlikey to be allowed). would minie be allowed to study or do voluntary work with a fiance visa?

[darren-b]

Voluntary work is definitely not allowed - work is work whether paid or not.

I don't think there would be any problems with studying (never seen you couldn't) though probably subject to international fees.

[stevewool]

if you are wanting a fiancee visa , that means she will be allowed here for 6 months then sent back if not married , wait until you are married before you go onto the next stage

[mikey73]

hi darren/steve thanks for the replys
yeah thought the voluntary working would be a no.

[stevewool]

no mate just get here here if you can and enjoy each other the 6 months will go so quick

[mikey73]

yeah i know, just seeing what things minie would be able to do while i am at work or sleeping(work nights). we know that it could be hard for her to get into a teaching job here, as they might not accept her philippines degrees in teaching, so she is intrested in gaining or trying to do some form of teaching qulifications here.

[darren-b]

no mate just get here here if you can and enjoy each other the 6 months will go so quick

If though you go out to work during the day finding things to do in the first few months with opportunities to meet people in the UK is actually a very good idea as many filipinas do suffer from loneliness and boredom when they frst arrive here.

Voluntary work would be idea, but unfortunately not allowed.

[mikey73]

yes it would give her something to do and to keep her busy, rather than being alone. also the voluntary work at school here would have allowed minie to see what the school and education system here is like. she has over 50 students in her class in the philippines, she was shocked when i told her that the primary school i attended in rural aberdeenshire we only had around 20 students in total for the whole school. but maybe she could do it after we married instead.

[stevewool]

i understand but like darren-b says loneliness is the killer, nothing stopping her studying at home and reading up on all that there is to do once she is able to work

[darren-b]

If she want to teach here then you might want to look at this thread

http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....qualifications

It might be quite a long path for her to get the qualifications to be a teacher here.

[Steve.r]

It might be quite a long path for her to get the qualifications to be a teacher here.

Plus the CRB Checks

[LEAHnew]

yeah i know, just seeing what things minie would be able to do while i am at work or sleeping(work nights). we know that it could be hard for her to get into a teaching job here, as they might not accept her philippines degrees in teaching, so she is intrested in gaining or trying to do some form of teaching qulifications here.

Hi I agree to our gentlemen here as a fiancee visa holder she can't work...I've been there in that situation it's boring I'm glad there's Fil-UK forum that's why I survived I'll give u tips what things she can do

1. dance,music or art lesson
2. gardening
3. (re)decorating the house
4. shopping (never ending shopping)
5. Going to church if she's a church goer so she can socialized to some locals in your community
6. cooking - I love this coz I experimented cooking with the mix of Phil and English meal...
7. UK Telly program - maybe she'll be soon a fan of coronation street
8. and lastly preparation for the wedding

All the best
Leah

[stevewool]

thats good imformation there Leah

[mikey73]

hi guys
thanks for all the replys
i know she will be going to the church but shopping nooooooooo dont tell her that she can go shopping. i've been trying to get her to join this site but she hasnt joined yet, i think if would be a great help for minie if she did join and started to discuss things with the community, will just have to keep at her to join.

[stevewool]

let her use your site till she wants her own, takes some getting use too all these good folk

[joebloggs]

Plus the CRB Checks

my misses has had to do a few CRB checks this year , the only good thing she has not had to pay for them

yes it can be a long path, but its worth it in the end

[mikey73]

thanks darren for the link to the 'comparing your quaifications' thread, its not lookng good inregard to minie's degrees being much use here in the UK. which is a shame.

[Arthur Little]

Good Morning, Mikey ... there's certainly been a great improvement in the weather generally, since I welcomed you to the forum about a week ago.

I've just been reading your present thread, and can certainly identify with Minie's situation. My wife, Myrna has a BSc in Agriculture ... and taught at a Govt. High School for 22 years in the Phils. But it "cuts no ice" with the Scottish Education Dept - in spite of our having approached the local MSP about it. And yes, she'd need to not only re-train here, but also go back to college/university for further study. So, at the moment, we're quite content being a retired couple and spending the time doing things together. Besides, I'm a State pensioner anyway.

Good Luck with the fiancee visa. If there's anything else you're not sure about, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Arthur Little]

Oh ... ... meant to ask ... WHERE in rural Aberdeenshire did you go to school? My daughter lives in the village of New Deer. She's now a full time housewife and mother after working as a Speech & Language Therapist at Ellon Health Centre for 15 years. Her husband teaches Physics in the 'Broch'.

[mikey73]

hi arthur
it was a little place called 'old rayne' its next to bennachie(6 miles from it) it between huntly and inverurie and the believe it or not the broch (also inverallochy which is 3 miles from the broch). i still have a flat there, but work here in edinburgh.

[mikey73]

sorry arthur didnt see your first message there, yes if not good that they dont consider the degrees in the philippines as good enough, its not too good considering minie is a primary teacher (primary 1 it wouold be here) and she has to teach the children english (i would think it would be the same for you wife too) teach them to read write ect. i was thinking that she would maybe only have to do a teacher training course, but alas no.
yes its much better weather today, reallly is sunny leith. when i left work at 6am it was already nice ad wam and sunny to

[DaveUK]

Yam has found the same issue here when she arrived, but we already knew before she arrived that she wouldnt be able to teach right off the bat.

Yam has a BA in English and after speaking to the Board of Education here on the Isle of Man, they pointed us at a website of a UK company who for £47 will send us a letter confirming what her diploma equates to in the UK.

Once we have that, then it will be another quick call to the Board so they can tell her she will now have to do another 2 or 3 years in College before she can teach again :(

[mikey73]

hi dave
it doesnt realy seem fair i bet my degree would be accpted in the philippines. but not much we can do but battle on and keep

[Arthur Little]

Yam has found the same issue here when she arrived, but we already knew before she arrived that she wouldnt be able to teach right off the bat.

Yam has a BA in English and after speaking to the Board of Education here on the Isle of Man, they pointed us at a website of a UK company who for £47 will send us a letter confirming what her diploma equates to in the UK.

Once we have that, then it will be another quick call to the Board so they can tell her she will now have to do another 2 or 3 years in College before she can teach again :(

Forty-seven quid ... for a letter telling you what you already KNOW?! That's bloody scandalous! Someone's onto a bit of a commission racket here, methinks!

[joebloggs]

the problem is, some places you can gain a degree in 2yrs, also by distance learning, or might not be a full time course, so NARIC will say its not equal to a UK DEGREE.

[DaveUK]

Forty-seven quid ... for a letter telling you what you already KNOW?! That's bloody scandalous! Someone's onto a bit of a commission racket here, methinks!

That's not even the best bit! Not including them receiving the photocopy of the diploma, or the time it takes to send you the letter, you are informed it will take 3 weeks for them to review it.

But of course, if you're willing to pay something like £200-£250 (can't remember the exact amount), they can miraculously deal with it in 2 days!

[mikey73]

hi arthur
do you ever get up to fraserburgh or new deer? there isnt much in the broch now. its fast becoming a ghost town. not many shops in the broad street or high street anymore. lots of empty units. its changed alot since we first moved there, once it was ver busy but with the fishing industry running down the town has went the same way. its a shame seeng the number of boarded up shops and hotels too very sad.

[Arthur Little]

the problem is, some places you can gain a degree in 2yrs, also by distance learning, or might not be a full time course, so NARIC will say its not equal to a UK DEGREE.

Yeah ... but in the Phils, they have what's called 'The Teachers Board Exam' - which has a pass mark of 80% - and Myrna scored something like 83 percent back in the mid 1980s. And THAT was on top of 4 years' hard study for her BSc degree ... which she obtained with the equivalent of what is termed as 'Honours', here in the UK. But ALL THIS seems to count for virtually bugger-all over here! And whilst on it being essential for people coming from abroad to undergo a period of retraining in order to familiarise themselves with the methods WE use, I DO think that the standards set by OUR Education Authorities in Scotland - and equally, in England & Wales - are *deliberately OTT in the hope of discouraging overseas graduates from applying for jobs they feel ought to be filled by British professionals. And I suppose *that could be argued as being fair enough considering the state of the Employment Market here. But I do not believe our ACTUAL standards are any better!

Correct me if I'm wrong, Joe ... but I understand it takes 9 years for someone to qualify as a doctor in the Phils. Yet your missus was STILL required to undertake [what was it?] five MORE years of gruelling slog - followed by further examinations - before being permitted to practise in the UK. It's a System! Her patience and tenacity (not forgetting YOURS!) are to be greatly commended.

[Arthur Little]

... seem to've strayed a bit here. about that, folks!

[Arthur Little]

But of course, if you're willing to pay something like £200-£250 (can't remember the exact amount), they can miraculously deal with it in 2 days!

Hmm ... nothing changes, does it!?