She was the respondant. papaers to the authorities? Philippines doesnt recognise divorce so nothing presented except the final divorce document when sending in the visa application - the divorce doc validity was not questioned by the ECO.
She was the respondant. papaers to the authorities? Philippines doesnt recognise divorce so nothing presented except the final divorce document when sending in the visa application - the divorce doc validity was not questioned by the ECO.
Yes ... you're quite correct, Philippine Law does not recognise divorce per se.And, as your fiancee is Filipina, I can only assume
that the Embassy is seeking legal evidence that her former marriage has been dissolved by annulment in her country of origin ... as well as through a US court.
Thank you for your reply but that does not seem logical as the Visa Authorities in Manila advise they accept divorce documents and as divorce is not allowed in the Philippines, they can only be referring to foreign divorce. Why accept divorce documents if they are of no relevance?
Also - we arent talking about Philippines Law here - its UK Law that applies.Originally Posted by rasc00
... but because your fiancee is a native of the Philippines, clearly she is, in turn, legally obliged to comply with the laws of her country. And, consequently, it seems to me that the onus will be on her to satisfy the British authorities beyond reasonable doubt that - in the eyes of the Philippine Judiciary System also - the marriage no longer subsists.
Ok but 1) The ECO has not questioned the validity of her USA divorce and 2) her ex is re-married and is accepted already for a USA Visa - so USA accepts without a Philippine Annulment it and the UK accept USA divorces also.
Just received the full tesxt of the decision as follows:
You have applied for an entry clearance to marry and settle w/ your fiance in the United Kingdom, I have considered your application under paragraph 290 of the United Kingdom Immigration Rules. You can read these Tules at:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/po...igrationrules/
Any documents you have supplied in support of your application have been considered and recorded. It has not been necessary to interview you in order to reach decision on your application.
The Decision
You were previoulsy married to ***** ***** and by your own admission have only recently filed for the marriage to be annuled in the Philippines. Although you were divorced in the US, divorce is not recognised in the Philippines and an annulment has to be granted. According to Philippines law, you are technically still married to Mr. ******. You are a Philippines national applying for entry clearance from the Philippines so this is a relevant and pertinent point to make. Until you can provide official documentary evidence that your first marriage has been annuled I cannot be satisfied that you are free to marry your fiance in the UK.
I have therefore refused your application because I am not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities you meet all the requirements of the above paragraph(s) of the Immigration Rules.
I think we have a pedantic eco here - the USA divorce is clearly recognised in UK Law - so, on with the appeal.
I've highlighted the reason you've mentioned for the visa being refused. Was this the only explanation given?
Ah ... I see our latest posts have crossed in transit.for supplying full details;
to the filipino/uk forum and Good Luck with your appeal!
Well as a last resort before appeal, I have emailed to Andy Battson (the EC Manager at Manila) because for the ECO to say that she may not be free to marry in the UK on the basis of a USA Divorce is clearly not correct and am sure any UK Family Court would agree. Additionally, Annulment is NOT essential to an application succeeding.
BUT the petition for recognition of a foreign divorce to the Philippines Court was not sent in with the application (well you cant read ECOs minds on everything can you) - so there is an argument perhaps that both the ECO and our application were not wholly complete - I will let you know what Andy Battson says in reply.
rasc00
If you’re a Filipino national, it doesn’t matter where in the world you file for divorce (ie Petitioner), such divorce is not recognisedas valid in the Philippines.
(Note however that the reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of marriage, but the
citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the petitioner)
As a foreign national, you can serve your Filipino spouse with divorce papers.
The Philippines recognizes official divorce documents from other countries. Filing for the divorce must be initiated by the foreign national in their home country and strictly following the regulations for divorce in their home country.
If a foreign national files for the divorce and has given the Philippine spouse a registered copy of the final divorce decree, both foreign national and the Philippine spouse can remarry again within the legal boundaries of the Philippines.
After complying with the procedure in having the foreign decree of divorce judicially recognized in the Philippines, the Filipino spouse may validly remarry.
If the foreign national had not given the Filipino spouse a registered copy of the final divorce decree, then the Filipino spouse must secure an annulment prior to being able to remarry in the Philippines, even though the foreign national is free to remarry in the Philippines.
maybe this will help
http://www.bcphilippineslawyers.com/...ilippines/430/
Guys I do think youre all missing the point here - It is not Philippines Law which applies to a UK Visa application - its UK Law. Under UK Law, foreign divorces (divorces outside the UK) are recognised in accordance with s46(1) Family Law Act 1986. So it has no bearing whatsoever that an annulment is not in place as that is Philippine Law, which has no jurisdiction in the UK. See http://www.international-divorce.com/d-uk.htm.
I rest my case.
UK Law validates Foriegn divorce (non UK divorce) under s46 (1) Family Law Act 1986 - it is not relevant that the applicant is a Filipino/Filipina and does not have an annulment. See http://www.international-divorce.com/d-uk.htm
For some strange reason, none of my follow up posts have been published even though they accord to the rules of the site. I have asked the Forum Admin why this is but meantime, I hope this one gets on.
My appeal to the ECM (Entry Control Manager) has been successful under s46(1) Family Act 1986, which conffirms that oreign divorces (Non UK divorces) are valid when applying for a UK Visa as a Philippine National and having married in the Philippines.
no your right, but under phils law its not valid, i dont suppose it matters one bit if she intends never to go back there
hi there im myan im engaged to a brit citizen and were plannin to apply for fiance visa this comin april
i just wanna know if he needs to earn £2,000 per month? im confused please help us
Unlike entry in the United States, there are no specific or guidelines with regards to the UK. I think the consensus on here is £2,000 in savings (not per week) and around £100 per week in disposable income after everything: rent/mortgage, bills, council tax etc. These costs will vary depending on what part of the country he lives in.
This said, I would be less concerned about the money and more concerned about the proof that the relationship is genuine. As long as he has a good 6 month bank statement record and has the £100 a week or so spare (which is relatively low), the money shouldn't be an issue.
Under 25 applying for a fiance visa
My fiance and I are looking to apply for a visa this coming May. We have been in a relationship for more than 3 years.
We are both under 25 and both students at Uni at the moment. But upon our application she will have already graduated from Uni. I live with my parents and have a part time job. However upon graduation (July) I will be doing a full time post at my work (which I will explain in the covering letter for the application along with a letter from my employer saying so). But even with a full time wage my spare will still be under £102 as state before by Terpe. Saying this, i do have over £7,000 savings in my bank.
Also, as part of the requirement, we have to prove that we are legally free to marry each other. I am aware that she would have to present a Certificate of No Marriage with her application as she is coming to marry in the UK. Do I have to send a Certificate of No Impidement as well? Both of us have never been married before.
Does any of these sound like a hindrance to our application?
Hello RickyR!
Thanks for the very nice information you shared in this site. I just want to ask if there is any agency who helped you out for the visa processing? My fiancee is doing all his best for as to be together as soon as possible as we are struggling to be far from each other. Aside from my fiancee's bank statement, do you think it will be a great help that the mum of my fiancee will be supporting me as well in my application by making a letter together with her bank statement that whatever circumstance we will encounter in my stay she will always use her personal money in the bank to support us? If you dont mind, can you please tell me what documents you have submitted in vfs that can't be find in the website? Do i still need NBI clearance or baptismal certificate? Looking forward of hearing from you. Thanks and God bless..
Chikky, you do not need to use an agency ..... you will be paying out money for no good reason, and they will not do it any quicker (slower actually !).
The vast, vast majority of people on this site have completed (successfully) the visa application themselves.
Follow the template provided here, ask questions here (if neccessary), give the Embassy what they've asked for ....and as long as you "tick" the right boxes, are "eligible" for a visa, and are a genuine couple, then you've little to worry about.
No man is an island, but Barry is
Thank you so much for the advise Bluebirdjones. My fiancee and I are doing our best just to be together as quicker as possible. I am on a student visa before and I met him last April 2010, but then i am working in Swindon and he is Norfolk so we just arranged to meet each other either. He come down to see me or i go to Norfolk to spent my days off with him. But before my visa finished i have decided to resigned earlier to be with him and we been living together in for 3 weeks. We got engaged there and just keep on chatting everyday until he had arranged his travel to see me. He visited me last Nov 16 and just go back to the UK on the 16th of this month. Two months together just make our lives so wonderful especially we are together on Christmas Day and celebrated his 50th birthday on New Years Day. Every single day is getting harder and harder to be far from the one you love that's why we are doing all our best. If you don't mind, how long you been in Uk and in what visa you are granted to come? Thanks a lot and God bless..
Chikky
thanks Ricky
this is all very informative, thanks,, due to us all having our own individual circumstances, i wonder if i could ask a little more, on requirments,
in short my situation, iv been off ill for over 1 year now, i am on bennefit, expected to be fit for work again this april,my job is no longer available to me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, BUT,,,,,,,,,i intend to be in philpines in april and get married there, if i return to uk with her,,
my questions reqarding your info,,,,,,,
1/ you mention sponser,,, who is regarded as sponser ,,is that me being her uk spouse ?
or some other individuel to do that for us ?
situation on comming back to uk,,,, i have my own house, very little mortgage left to pay, Approx £12,000, i have modest savings of £12,000, but i will not be working,,
my wife to be has good savings, property and some income from philipines,
i know that we could manage without public funds for possibly longer than 6 months,
understand that after 6 months my wife is then allowed to work in uk, correct me if im wrong please.
2/ in view of above, would they still require me to show i am working
3/ and is that period we have to support ourselves 6 months ?
4/if they require me to be working also, would she have to remain in philipines while i found work?
5/ if yes, how long would they require me to be employed before allowing her to join me ?,
i think thats it,
my appoligies if any answers are to be found,but some never seem o fit the individual,
i know im a bit slow soaking it all in , but it makes my head spin lol,,, thanks,,,, stewart
hi imagine.
The sponsor will be you and no body else as you are the husband.
The fact that you're on benefits might make her application difficult. It would be best if you have a job before she applies.
Although you may sufficient amount of savings, the embassy wants to know that your partner won't depend on public funds (maybe for the rest of her life, not just when she arrives) and £12,000 wont really last more than a year with you not having a job right?.
The best way of proving that she wont recourse to public funds is for you to have a stable job of which you have to show 6 months payslips. Which means you have to be working for at least 6 months. Some people have submitted 3 months payslips and were approved their visa, but 6 months is your best bet.
thanks drench
Hello I'm new here and me and my boyfriend are planning to wed in the UK next year... the problem is that he's only 20 years old, is it possible that i could have a finace visa when he's not yet 21? he'll be turning 21 March next year and we'll wed on April, that's our plan...
Thanks in advance!
no i dont think so, i think you need to be 21 when you arrive in the country (thou some people have got it a few months b4 they are 21 or the embassy could keep the visa app on hold til you are both 21.
there was a court case recently challenging the rise to 21yrs old, the judgement should be announced in a few weeks, so you might be in luck, it could go back to being 18yrs old.
Thanks for the quick reply
well actually my boyfriend's a brit and he's only 20 now but next year he'll be turning 21 on march... there's no problem with my age coz im already 25... but the wedding will be after he becomes 21 next march, is it still not possible to get fiance visa?
Does anyone know the answer - does a person have to be annuled or is a final divorce allowed to get a UK Settlement Visa?[/QUOTE]
Hi there.....
We have just been issued a settlement visa for my partner..
Both myself and my Filipina partner were married before. She has not had an annulment and I am only seperated and not divorced.
We did send in several leffers from both family and non family as character references stating the marriages are over and we will not be getting back together.
We also had to show eveidence we had been together at least 2 years ie joint bank accounts and joint rental agreemements.
Finally we applied for UNMARRIED Settlement VISA not Spouse or Fiancee....
Suggest you apply for Unmarried visa.......
Stuart
Hi, I'm new to the site and I've read your post regarding the refusal of your fiance's visa. I'd like to ask if there was a rebuttal on this case or if it was finally approved? Did she declare on her application form that she was married?
I'll be glad to hear from you...
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