Hi Tony,
I want to share my experience. My husband Mark was here 2 months ago and we got married a month after. He visited Phils 4 times this year to be with me. After spending our honeymoon in Sri Lanka and Malaysia he went with me to VFS and apply for family visit visa to visit husband and meet his parents for the first time. My children from previous relationship are living here in Cebu, and mind you I have a Welsh stepfather and both my parents don't want to live in the UK and neither me because I'm pretty happy here. After a week we receive the Refusal Notice on the grounds that my Cert of Employment doesn't have a letterhead, and I did not include any bank statements because I don't keep money in the bank. SO, the ECO thinks that my visit is not genuine and thinks that I will not be accommodated in the UK. Even though my husband owns a house, on full time employment as a lecturer at uni. portsmouth. We submitted my pays from paypal, cert of properties under my parents because all of the properties are under their names even though I like 10 miles from my parents but they own this. I included a letter explaining what I will do in the UK and why the properties under my parents name and some properties of my mum which she inherits from her parents. It would have show a strong ties to Phils. I've included the birth certificates of my children too. My husband also made a letter explaining about his properties. Anyhow, when the Refusal Notice arrived with my passport, it came with an appeal forms. On the forms it states what are the things you did not agree with on the ECO decision. You need to contest it stating the grounds of the visit. It is a shame really, because for genuine people like me to enter UK are the ones the ECOs will refuse outright. It should come to their realization that if indeed I wanted to enter UK to settle we would have applied for Spouse Visa. But it never occur to me to settle in the UK.
It is worth to give a try to apply for family visit visa. You may never know if you get a sensible ECO who has the common sense to handle the application. As for the ECO who handled my application, he/she failed to acknowledge that I have children in Phils, even though I clearly stated in my letter that I do not want to settle in the UK because of my children and hubby is moving here next year for good. That too is included in the letter, my only very reason to visit UK is to meet his parents and sister in person. And be together for few months before he moves here on March 2011.
You see, it would depend on the ECO. But you will can always appeal and it's free. It's just frustrating though because it is a human rights code article 7.
Hope this help and answers your query about family visit visa.