We Are Approved

[ginapeterb]

At least you have the sheep over there in the valleys, boyo...ohhhhhhhh lovely sheep..and when you drive up and down the vale of Glamorgan, or West Wales..I bet those sheep were a welcome sight were they not boyo ! Good morning campers ! hehehehehehe we dont have no sheep here in Sunny Essex,

[Admin]

Watch it Pete, your outnumbered & surrounded by us sheep folk :P

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by admin@Jun 16 2005, 08:01 AM
Watch it Pete, your outnumbered & surrounded by us sheep folk :P

Quoted post

Yes I can just imagine you lot driving to Blaneau Ffestiniog, although at least you have Snowdonia, scenery is excellent I agree with you, Keith have you taken Ping to Snowdonia yet, I know there are lots of sheep there she can see ! and that area around North Wales is very nice, I want to show Gina some of the nicest scenic spots in our country, I thought of Snowdonia, the Lakes, Then maybe the Cotswolds, then also Devon, and in the future maybe north of the border to the Lochs, the Isle of Skye is quite nice also, lots of cascading water falls, and mountains, the Lochs that border the Isle of Skye are very serene, no people around, but it rains like hell, and blows, I would like to see a Filipina on Loch Ness what do you say to that boys ? (Rob ? Boyo) or should we go to the Swansea Valley Rob ?

[walesrob]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Jun 16 2005, 12:02 PM
or should we go to the Swansea Valley Rob ?

Quoted post

Hey Boyo, you know the Swansea Valley is in the middle of a massive re-generation...my brother runs a mountain bike centre near Port Talbot and its fast becoming a "must do" for mountain bikers and it attracts bikers from all over the world - from USA to Japan. If however your not a mountain biker nearby theres always the Gower Peninsula, Tenby beach, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Dan Yr Ogof caves. Theres even the Museum Of Egyptian Antiquities in Swansea itself. And where did Catherine Zeta Jones, Dylan Thomas, Richard Burton and Bonnie Tyler come from? Correct - The Swansea Valley. Plus the beautiful green and lush countryside you wont find in London :P

[ginapeterb]

Thats that point Rob, I absolutely agree with you, tthe Pembrokeshire National Park is excellent, that coast line down there in Pembroke is nice and worth a visit, just look at some of those headlands, down in Tintagel in Cornwall, there is a fantastic headland overlooking the Atlantic, where you and your Pinoy can sit and enjoy the most amazing views, as you look down to the small inlet coves below, another great place is Boscastle, although that needs to be cleared up a little after the storms and floods but there is not a harbour like it anywhere, and excellent place to swim, Polperro is also a great example of a 17th century cornish fishing village, again nothing like it in the Philippines...so there is lots to do with your Pinoy wife, come on guys, lets show them the works...hehehehe

[Admin]

You can always do a visit of all the UK racetracks Carlisle on a wet & windy Winter day, they love it

[peterdavid]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Jun 16 2005, 04:55 PM
there is a fantastic headland overlooking the Atlantic, where you and your Pinoy can sit and enjoy the most amazing views,

Quoted post

Errr...that'll be PinAY....unless of course you're sitting on the opposite side of the church....

[Admin]

OY, AY U....now that's scouse

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by peterdavid@Jun 16 2005, 07:46 PM
Errr...that'll be PinAY....unless of course you're sitting on the opposite side of the church....

Quoted post

Geeeeeze ok, I got it wrong, whats the problem ? so I made a gramtical error, I wish you guys would just tryy for once to be a little more objective in your posts, constant p...taking does nothing to enhance the cultural side of the Forum, apart from that, Philippine readers do not understand our sense of constant p...taking in any event....Pinoy Pinay ok, ok, assume then that

1. I am not Homosexual.
2. Its most likely that since Gina got a visa to come to UK, its almost likely that my partner is female.
3. In that event you uderstood that my post referred to a female sitting with me on the Cornish headlands, and not a ladyboy, as my post might have inferred.

And in any event , should I wish to have been sitting on the Cornish Headland cuddling up to my partner, its a free country, well almost, and if I wished to sit with a ladyboy, that is my privilidge, as it happens, she is not a ladyboy, but I understand you lot, she might have been, or is it him ? he might have been ? the Philippines is full of ladyboys, so I can understand you needing to see the correct pronounciation, my mistake it wont happen again.

[peterdavid]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Jun 17 2005, 07:47 AM
Geeeeeze ok, I got it wrong, whats the problem ? so I made a gramtical error, I wish you guys would just tryy for once to be a little more objective in your posts, constant p...taking does nothing to enhance the cultural side of the Forum, apart from that, Philippine readers do not understand our sense of constant p...taking in any event....Pinoy Pinay ok, ok, assume then that

1. I am not Homosexual.
2. Its most likely that since Gina got a visa to come to UK, its almost likely that my partner is female.
3. In that event you uderstood that my post referred to a female sitting with me on the Cornish headlands, and not a ladyboy, as my post might have inferred.

And in any event , should I wish to have been sitting on the Cornish Headland cuddling up to my partner, its a free country, well almost, and if I wished to sit with a ladyboy, that is my privilidge, as it happens, she is not a ladyboy, but I understand you lot, she might have been, or is it him ? he might have been ? the Philippines is full of ladyboys, so I can understand you needing to see the correct pronounciation, my mistake it wont happen again.

Quoted post

Ok, keep your hair on. No need to throw all your toys out the pram...

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by peterdavid@Jun 19 2005, 10:20 AM
Ok, keep your hair on. No need to throw all your toys out the pram...

Quoted post

No it was a matter of me spitting my dummy out ""

[Admin]

His pining for his sweetheart, so his hormones are like that of a teenager at the moment. As we say in Liverpool 'Calm Down, Calm Down' :P :lol:

[ginapeterb]

Well as many of you know, now I can talk openly as Gina and I landed back in UK in the early hours of Sunday Morning, after a 13 hour flight back from Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific decided to lay on an Airbus A340-300 which suprised me, considering, we had a 747-400 just from NAIA to Hong Kong, I found the flight to be a little cramped, but having said that we got back in 1 peice, and arrived home this morning at 2am, its been a hectic day, as I have been showing Gina around a few things, but I really wanted to report on the usual British Embassy experiences, so here it is.

I had kept it fairly secret from the Forum, as I had my own reasons, but back on the 6th June, Gina had already had her Settlement Visa wife category 2 years, issued that day, and many of you will remember that experience, which is fairly well documented in the Forum, under this thread.

What was not commonly known, (and forgive me for not letting on, I had my reasons), is that Gina's visa had been revoked on the 1st July 2005, but first let me tell you how this happened.

Back on the 6th June when the original visa was issued, Gina had planned to submit her resignation over a 4 week period, this would of course allowed her employers to recruit a new office Manager and Gina could then train up the new recruit, this was ok in principal, but it did kind of put some irritation my way, as I had wanted to leave the country, sadly, we decided not to do the CFO counselling, until about 2 weeks later, this would have been ok, around the 18th June, Gina was in Cebu at the Pre-Arrival counselling for UK, when the Embassy called, the caller was our good freind Oscar (for many of you who may not know of Oscar, he is the visa information desk officer at the British Embassy, Paul has alluded to him in the past, I know him quite well now also, he can be quite helpful, and does things to help, that our own civil servants do not do, its useful to keep on his good side).

Oscar called Gina on the 18th June and asked her to send her passport back, as their was quote "Something wrong with the visa details" this was of course a complete lie, however we do not suggest for a moment that Oscar is the liar, in fact we beleive the entry clearance officer, Ben Croucher, (who can be named now - is also no longer at the Manila Embassy) he is the liar, he lied or fabricated a story to obtain the passport back, his intention we now know was to cancel the visa and carry out a further interview, I was surprised to receive a call from Gina in UK, at first we thought it was a hoax, however when we traced back the number, we realized it was not, and that it was a genuine call from the Embassy, I asked Gina then to fly from Cebu to Manila, and she did so the following day, of course, thte flight from Cebu to Manila on Cebu Pacific involved me shelling out a further £30.00.

Once Gina arrived at the Embassy the following morning, she asked to see the ECO Ben Croucher, when he eventually came out, he said the following :

"I have reason to beleive that your marriage to your sponsor is invalid, I would need to see evidence that your sponsor is in fact free to marry you"

Gina immedeatly said the following " You have already seen the Divorce Decreee Absolute, and I have evidence in the form of the interview transcript from the 6th june 2005, to prove that you have seen it "

Ben Croucher then said " I have nothing on the file to show that this is true, we did not take any photocopies"

This is of course a complete lie, as the reason he had nothing on file, is because they had given us all the photocopies back, it was only because the Embassy had received a third party letter from my former wife, that an allegation was made, to suggest I was not free to marry.

Ben Croucher said "I need to re-interview you again, but I am unable to do so, without your sponsors Divorce Decree Absolute, I cannot see you until this Friday, or the following Friday on the 1st July 2005"

Gina said " Well my husband now has the papers, he had left on the 13th June 2005, and had gone back to UK to work"

An appointment was made for 10.00am on the 1st July 2005, I then had to send the documents back to Gina via Fedex at a cost of £35.00 so now we have costs of £60.00 for flights, £30.00 for hotels, £35.00 for Fedex, and a further £60.00 for return flights from Bacolod City to Manila, so far we are in the realms of £185.00 in additional expenses, all because of an ECO filing mistake.

On the 1st July 2005, this is how it went.


Ben Croucher: Do you have the Divorce Decree Absolute ?

Gina: Yes here it is.

Ben Croucher: Ok I will have to photocopy it, thank you, now I am able to interview you.
It has come to my attention that your sponsors ex wife, has written to the
embassy saying that your sponsor cannot support you, as he has her to support
I would need to see details of your husbands income and outgoings, and any
liabilities to his former wife.

Ben Croucher: Why did your husband divorce his 1st wife ?

Gina: I am not at liberty to discuss his former marriage, but I do know the details.

Ben Croucher: Can you give me an idea ?

Gina: My husband became fed up with being used for money !
and his step children were indifferent to him, and other matters I cannot discuss
at this meeting.

Ben Croucher: Oh what a baby !! Whats the matter with your husband ? didnt he get enough
attention then ?

Gina: I think you are over simplifying his relationship with his former wife?

Ben Croucher: I think your husband has made a mess of your life ?

Gina: My husband has not, we are happy together and intend to support each other.


Ben Croucher: But I have evidence here, your husband has financial liabilities, he has made
a mess of your life, why did you marry him ? he has not much to offer you !


Gina:: I marry my husband because he asked me, and I love him, we can work out
things together.

Ben Croucher: Hmmm you did not tell me in your interview of the 6th June 2005, that your
husband has liabilities to his son, is it because you thought you would be
refused a visa ?

Gina: No, you did not ask me about my husbands liabilities to his son, it was
documented in the original application, I thought you had noted it.

Ben Croucher: No, you should have told me about it, I think you didnt tell me about it, because
you just wanted a visa, isnt that the case ?

Gina: No, you told me you would grant a visa, why should I withhold anything ?

Ben Croucher: (looks at passport, points with finger to visa stamp) you just wanted this didnt
you, to get you to UK, you were not truthfuil in your interview ?

Gina: I was truthful in my interview and answered all the questions you asked me, I
cannot answer questions that you do not ask ?


Ben Croucher: Well before I can progress this further, I need you to produce the doucments
listed on this letter, if you produce them, I think it will be ok, you have 6
months to produce them.


Letter from Embassy stated the following:


1. Evidence of your Sponsors schedule of payments to the CSA.

2. Bank Statements for June and July 2005.

3. Evidence of Clean Break Settlement between sponsor and former wife.



The passport was then returned to Gina with her visa cancelled and annotated as follows:

"CANCELLED WITHOUT PREJUDICE"


This of course truly devastated us, but it took the best part of 11 weeks, before I was able to return to the Philippines, I had intended this time to attend the Embassy with Gina, and the visit was planned for the 27th August 2005.

When I arrived on Saturday 27th, the following Monday was a bank holiday here in the UK, and the Embassy was closed, so our first visit was on Tuesday the 28th at 9am.


British Embassy Manila - Visit 28th August 2005 at 9am.


The British Embassy is becoming one of the most difficult places to gain entry to, so after taking some very serious advice from peterdavid (paul) we hatched a plan to get me in the building.

When you approach the British Embassy, what is not commonly known is that adjacent to the ground floor entrance is in fact a restaraunt, at the bottom of the steps, to the LV Locsin Building is a private security Guard, and 2 Philippine Marines of the Diplomatic protection squad.

They in themselves dont present any problems, to get past the guard, is fairly easy, the guards at the entrance to the LV Locsin Building are the real problems, and I will demonstrate how I effectively got past them without any problems, which was actually by sheer bluff. (sorry Rob not Luff) Bluff mate.

Guards at the Entrance are generally Female : Sir what business do you have at the British Embassy.

PB: I am sorry I am unable to discuss it with you, it is a matter between British Government and myself.

Guards: Is it a visa related enquiry Sir ? as you cannot go to the Embassy, if it is for the Visa Section ?

PB: Sorry I am unable to discuss the mattter with you, it is confidential, I have to go to the Visa Information desk !

Guards: Sir we have orders not to allow you up to the Visa Section, we have all the forms here, including information for the Visa Section.

PB: I do not require any help from you here thank you.

Guards: Well Sir, we have to know what your business is ?

PB: I am going to the British Embassy on the 17th Floor, my enquiry is not related to the Visa Section, my business is with officials of my government, I am unable to divulge the reasons for my visit, sorry.

Guards: very well Sir, please write your name in the book, and take a badge, the 17th floor is on the left, you take the lift up.



PB: then proceeds to the 15th floor, and had no intention of going to the 17th floor that is effectively how to get in...

At the 15th floor, I spoke then to Oscar, after being frisked yet again at the entrance to the visa information desk.

Oscar was as usual sitting at the desk, behind the glass screen, I asked Oscar if a certain Kevin Deluja, was available to come out and see me, It took Oscar about 5 minutes, which seemed like 5 hours, to tell me that Mr Deluja was on leave until the 30th August 2005, I then interrogated Oscar as to the name of the Entry Clearance Manager.

He then told me her name was Jacqueline Lewin, (bookmark this name guys as she has been there for some time, she is the rudest, most obnoxious black female I have ever come across), I then asked Oscar to get her out to speak to me, Oscar kindly obliged, although it seem to take him 15 minutes to get her out, and I stood outside in the hall, for what seemed an eternity.

Out comes Jacqueline Lewin, (face like at 4 weddings and a funeral, looking downa at the floor)


Here it goes:

JL : Whats all this about then ?

PB: Good Morning Jacqueline !

JL: No respone.

PB: Good Morning Jacqueline ?

JL: Good Morning (looks up in embarassment)

PB: I wonder if you can help me ?

JL: No respone.

PB: I was wondering if you could help me out, I have been asked by Ben Croucher to come to Manila from UK, as on his last interview with my wife, he alluded to my presence being desirable, as I had just returned to UK on the 13th June, i was unable to be here for aprevious appointment on the 1st July 2005, he asked for some further information.

JL: Wait let me check the computer.


JL: Well you have been told to submit more information ! !

PB: Thats correct, I have in fact got the paperwork here with me, the reason i am bringing it, as Ben Croucher, asked for my attendance, sadly I was unable to take a leave of absence, so my MD has agreed to allow me to come, only on the basis, that I inform him asap, when I can return to UK with my wife !, as this is not a holiday, can you give me some idea as to when the visa will be reissued and let my wife and I return to London ?

JL: Well lets look at the paperwork, wait a minute, this paperwork is not valid past October is it ?

PB: Its only August Jacqueline !!

JL: Even I can see that (raised voice) are you stupid or something ?

PB: No response.

PB: Jacqueline I am not here to enter into a confrontation over this, i am simply asking if you woulndt mind taking personal charge of this for me, as I want to go home to work !!, I dont even want to be here !!

JL: Well ok, I cant promise you, but I will leave the papers with the duty officer, it may get done today, it may not, it might be tomorrow !

PB: I can ask for nothing better than that, thank you Jacquline for doing this.

JL: (NO RESPONSE) TURNS BACK AND BUGGERS OFF BEHIND THE DOOR.



(This represents an accurate report of the 5 minute session with Jacquline Lewin at the Embassy, remembering she is the Entry Clearance Manager a senior section leader, who has about as much charm as a peice of bacon)


I silently made a plan to go back to the Embassy on Thursday the 30th August if I had not heard anything.

On Wednesday 29th August 2005 at around 12.15pm, Gina received a phone call from a Janet, stating that "Your passport is ready to collect" although they didnt say, whether a visa had been issued or not.

at this time, Gina and I had gone to Cathay Pacifics downtown office at the LKG Tower 22nd Floor, 6801 Ayala Avenue, we had already waited 1 hour, and still had not seen a customer services advisor.

At 12.30pm, we high tailed it up Ayala Avenue in the hot sun, to the Embassy, by this time I was of course profusely sweating, by the time we arrived and Gina went up to the Embassy, guess what, they had shut for lunch, and out they all come, Entry Clearance Officers, who look like Mammer doesnt know they are playing foreign office pen pusher.

We were told to come back at 1.50pm.

We had lunch in Glorietta, and returned at 2pm.

Gina went up to the Visa Section, I stood outside in the hot sun, for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 3.30pm, Gina came down the steps with her passport, visa inside, sadly, they had ommitted to tell her that the passport was ready, but that she was too early, as it had to be signed and processed at 3pm, with all the others for that day.

I could have swung for them, but as i was so tired, I left it, I could comment further, but I was so happy to get the visa, my brain was not functioning, due to the hot sun.

All in All, the extra costs, including flights and hotels, goes somewhere into the £1500.00 range, all because they f... up, couldnt organize a p...up in a brewery, but failing that, its all over,...thank God..once and for all.

Any comments. ????

[Philip]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 11 2005, 03:40 PM

Any comments. ????

Quoted post

Glad it's came to an end, and now you can concentrate on your future together, but jesus, what a traumatic thing to go through, and that's just one small part of your visa experience!!!

[kentish]

So you think its over ....................

I dont think so, not by a long way.

You still have to apply for indefinate leave to remain ! Then you will find that the UK immigration offices are no better.

Get that wallet out and stand and deliver !

Good luck !

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by kentish@Sep 11 2005, 08:06 PM
So you think its over ....................

I dont think so, not by a long way.

You still have to apply for indefinate leave to remain ! Then you will find that the UK immigration offices are no better.

Get that wallet out and stand and deliver !

Good luck !

Quoted post

Indefinite Leave to Remain was just a formality in the UK for my wife: fill a form in, write a cheque, send off passport, get a couple of guarantors to sign the paperworks, that they'd known her for a year and she was cool, and the certificate came about two weeks later.

Nationalisation was a bit more tedious, as they need proof of the abilty to speak English. Apparently, speaking fluent English is not good enough. You have to show valid documentation that you have some qualification for it.

OR, you can go to a solicitor of some kind and get a signed statement that you have a good command of the English language. Anyhow, my wife and I both mised this in the procedures, having misread the documentation about it, so they sent us all the papers back and asked us to send the evidence they required about the language proof. But, they did only want the proof papers, and even sent us an adressed envelope to send it back in.

We had been warned the whole process could take up to 10 months to finish, depending on how her paperworks panned out, but surprisingly, even with the paperwork glitch, she got her certificate of Brit nationality back after about ten weeks total. She did her swearing in ceremony two months ago, immediatly sent off for the Brit passport, and recieved it back within ten days.
Now she is a full on Brit, and just wants to get the hell out and live in the USA :blink:

I've no complaints about the UK end of the immigration and naturalisation process. Just a bit complicated and expensive, and it's only going up in price.

Oh, there was one slight glitch: the woman my wife had to do the swearing in thing to, some local councillor or other, turned out to be my very first ever girlfriend, back when I was a pimply teenager!!! :o B)

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 11 2005, 04:40 PM
Any comments. ????

Quoted post

I think a carefully worded letter of complaint, in the strongest possible terms, to both the head of the Manila embassy, your local MP, Tony B.liar and anybody else you can think of may be in order.
I sent one to the embassy when we were living over there, after the way we were treated the day we collected the visa, but got no reply.
Cheers, Paul B

[Admin]

We can all write to our MP's now about the crap service out there....maybe someone can put together a generic letter?

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by admin@Sep 11 2005, 08:19 PM
We can all write to our MP's now about the crap service out there....maybe someone can put together a generic letter?

Quoted post

Keith, I think its a good idea, however, I just received a letter back from my MP, you may remember my visiit some 4 weeks ago, quite frankly the letter was a complete waste of time, he only said, that he had received a reply from UKVisas, who said, that they were waiting for paperwork from me to advance the application, the person to complain to, is Lord Triesman, the current minister who has responsibility for the Embassies overseas, but to be truthful, as I we will have to wait for ILTR, I dont want to rock the boat for myself, although Kentish tries to point out to me, that my quest is not over, I hear you, but please dont take my joy away, I have had a long and arduous path to travel, over the last 18 months, I need to relax now, thanks for pointing it out to me about ILTR, but i am in the Honeymoon stage, know what I mean mate !!! thanks.

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by Pauldo@Sep 11 2005, 07:30 PM
Indefinite Leave to Remain was just a formality in the UK for my wife: fill a form in, write a cheque, send off passport, get a couple of guarantors to sign the paperworks, that they'd known her for a year and she was cool, and the certificate came about two weeks later.

Nationalisation was a bit more tedious, as they need proof of the abilty to speak English. Apparently, speaking fluent English is not good enough. You have to show valid documentation that you have some qualification for it.

OR, you can go to a solicitor of some kind and get a signed statement that you have a good command of the English language. Anyhow, my wife and I both mised this in the procedures, having misread the documentation about it, so they sent us all the papers back and asked us to send the evidence they required about the language proof. But, they did only want the proof papers, and even sent us an adressed envelope to send it back in.

We had been warned the whole process could take up to 10 months to finish, depending on how her paperworks panned out, but surprisingly, even with the paperwork glitch, she got her certificate of Brit nationality back after about ten weeks total. She did her swearing in ceremony two months ago, immediatly sent off for the Brit passport, and recieved it back within ten days.
Now she is a full on Brit, and just wants to get the hell out and live in the USA :blink:

I've no complaints about the UK end of the immigration and naturalisation process. Just a bit complicated and expensive, and it's only going up in price.

Oh, there was one slight glitch: the woman my wife had to do the swearing in thing to, some local councillor or other, turned out to be my very first ever girlfriend, back when I was a pimply teenager!!! :o B)

Quoted post

Pauldo, that is excellent thanks, really gives me an insight to what is requiured, and of course this will come, over next few years, what I would want to know is, how long before I can apply for Naturalization for Gina, I understand its 2 years before I should go for ILTR, maybe Pauldo and Keith can tell me when we should consider presenting the application for ILTR, but having got that, how long does it then take to obtain nationality, and how long does the applicant have to be in UK to obtain that.

[walesrob]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 12 2005, 05:40 AM
Pauldo, that is excellent thanks, really gives me an insight to what is requiured, and of course this will come, over next few years, what I would want to know is, how long before I can apply for Naturalization for Gina, I understand its 2 years before I should go for ILTR, maybe Pauldo and Keith can tell me when we should consider presenting the application for ILTR, but having got that, how long does it then take to obtain nationality, and how long does the applicant have to be in UK to obtain that.

Quoted post

I'll be watching this topic as well. Elsa arrived in the UK in March, and I'm surprised that no paperwork has been sent to her regarding her visa or what happens after 2 years. I would have thought UKVisas would have a least sent something? After all, i did pay £280 for the visa, so I want something more than just a stamp on Elsas passport!! I'm still confused about how the issue of FLTR can be delayed if Elsa should leave the UK on holiday, for example - her visa does state multiple entry so she is allowed to leave and return the UK, but Keith, you said that anytime spent away from the UK will add to the delay of issue of FLTR?

[Admin]

To get a UK passport you need to married here 3 years, painless process, but can take 9 months according to the IND site, but took us only 6 weeks!!

Maybe it's worth telling your story to a newspaper, they love things like this to kick the goverment in the balls

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by walesrob@Sep 12 2005, 09:11 AM
I'll be watching this topic as well. Elsa arrived in the UK in March, and I'm surprised that no paperwork has been sent to her regarding her visa or what happens after 2 years. I would have thought UKVisas would have a least sent something? After all, i did pay £280 for the visa, so I want something more than just a stamp on Elsas passport!! I'm still confused about how the issue of FLTR can be delayed if Elsa should leave the UK on holiday, for example - her visa does state multiple entry so she is allowed to leave and return the UK, but Keith, you said that anytime spent away from the UK will add to the delay of issue of FLTR?

Quoted post

I don't recall getting any communications about how to take the next step. We basically looked it up on the 'net how to do it. I think we had to wait until one month before her 'trial year' was up, (which is now two years of course) and send the application in. Not too late, not too early, is basically the jist of it.

I think you can take holidays out of the UK, as long as it is not more than about 50% of the time period you are waiting. ie, Elsa could probably spend a year back in the PI and still qualify.

The new naturalisation period is a total of five years in the UK before you can apply.

And in case anybody is wondering, Filipinos can still keep their Philippines nationality as well as take up British. New laws came in a couple years back, which is my wife now has two passports/nationalities.
Cheers, Paul B

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by admin@Sep 12 2005, 09:32 AM
To get a UK passport you need to married here 3 years, painless process, but can take 9 months according to the IND site, but took us only 6 weeks!!

Maybe it's worth telling your story to a newspaper, they love things like this to kick the goverment in the balls

Quoted post

I phoned the immigration folk to see how my wifes application was coming along, not long after she applied, and some brain dead retard answered me in a dead beat, disinterested monotone: "It can take up to 10 months to receive the naturalisation, AFTER you are allocated a case worker, and that can take up to five months"

After I rang off I had a thought about the crud he'd just told me, so I called back again, fuming, to ask the prat how MY WIFES application was proceeding! (Flashbacks from the Philippines??)

Luckily I was now speaking to a friendly scouser who told me that the other guy had quoted the MAXIMUM parameters, and we were likely to be serviced far quicker, but that we still did not have a case work yet. It was only a week later that all our documents were returned to us and they inquired about the 'proof of English' qualifications we had overlooked. We sent that off and were fully sorted within about six weeks.
Cheers, Paul

[kentish]

Dont worry Pete about your wifes ILR. Its just my hubby trying to cheer you up.

Got my ILR after about 3 weeks from posting and as soon as hubby found out, he quickly went to the kitchen not to cook but to check that all the chopping knife are still there and he said if one is missing then it should be somewhere in our bedroom...

Enjoy your honeymoon.....

[Pauldo]

I was wrong about the five year wait, as it sounds like it is still three years if married to Brit. A good friend told me five years though, and he is married to a Chinse girl, so there is some misinformation going around :unsure:

Here's the IND page guff:

If you are applying on the basis of marriage to a British citizen, the legal requirements are that you:

are 18 or over when you apply;
are of sound mind;
are of good character;
have lived in the UK for 3 years;
can communicate in English (or Welsh or Scottish Gaelic); [Your knowledge of the language must be sufficient for you to fulfil your duties as a citizen, and to mix with people with whom you live and work. If because of a disability you cannot speak the language, it will be sufficient if you can communicate, for example, by writing or using British sign language. If you are aged 65 or over or suffer from physical or mental disability, you may not have to meet this requirement.]
If you are married to a British citizen in Crown service or specially designated service go straight to the information about Crown Service below for alternative ways that you might quality.

You must have been physically present in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands on the day 5 years before the application date (3 years if married to a British citizen). The application date is the date on which it is received by the Home Office. i.e. if your application was received on 20/11/2003 you should have been physically present in the United Kingdom on 21/11/1998 (or 21/11/2000 if married to a British citizen). This is called the residential qualifying period.

You should have been here legally during this period. In other words you must have had the necessary permission under the immigration laws to be in the United Kingdom.

You should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of this period. Usually there is a stamp or sticker in your passport saying that you have indefinite leave to enter or remain or no time limit. If you do not have a passport which says this and you have lived here many years you may still be free from an immigration time restriction. If you are married to a British citizen you only need to be free from immigration restrictions on the day you apply.

Some discretion may be exercised over the other residence requirements if there are special circumstances. If you do not meet the residence requirements but believe that there are special circumstances in your case, you should explain them when you apply.

Time spent in the United Kingdom while exempt from immigration control (for example, as a diplomat or a member of visiting forces) or while in any place of detention (or unlawfully absent from such a place) does not normally count towards the residence period.

During the 5 year period you should not have been absent from the United Kingdom for more that 450 days of which no more than 90 days should have been taken in the last 12 months. My Italics: If you are married to a British citizen you should not have been absent for more than 270 days of which no more than 90 days should have been taken in the last 12 months. There is discretion to allow absences above these normal limits - see the information below for details.

[ginapeterb]

I did call the DWP today, on their national number, the procedure is now slightly different in that Gina was issued with a Temporary National Insurance Number, this consists of TN followed by your date of birth, and the letter F denoting a female.

This is valid for 6 months, by which time, a interview must have been completed, sounds simple enough, only when the applicant starts work, does then an employers letter be required to be sent in, with a formal interview to obtain a new permament NIN.

Pete

[ginapeterb]

STOP PRESS.

Found out today, that British Embassy Manila are not accepting any more interview appointments this year, applicants are now being directed to apply by post, through the CAVA Service, documents including fees and all other evidence should now be submitted using the Courier Assisted Visa application service, the cost is P250.00, the courier will call at your home, collect the documents from the applicant, the British Embassy Visa Section will scrutinize the documents, if a formal interview is required, they Embassy will now advise in writing and an appointment will be made.

This is the latest folks....trust me...it came through this morning.


Pete

[walesrob]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 13 2005, 10:19 PM
STOP PRESS.

Found out today, that British Embassy Manila are not accepting any more interview appointments this year, applicants are now being directed to apply by post, through the CAVA Service, documents including fees and all other evidence should now be submitted using the Courier Assisted Visa application service, the cost is P250.00, the courier will call at your home, collect the documents from the applicant, the British Embassy Visa Section will scrutinize the documents, if a formal interview is required, they Embassy will now advise in writing and an appointment will be made.

This is the latest folks....trust me...it came through this morning.
Pete

Quoted post

So it seems they've relaxed the compulsory face to face interview requirement and gone back to CAVA AGAIN! That will be a relief for anyone applying for a visa soon....I wouldn't wish anyone to go thru' the hassle you and I had at the hands of the sometimes bumbling, incompetent & rude Embassy staff :unsure:

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by walesrob@Sep 14 2005, 07:03 AM
So it seems they've relaxed the compulsory face to face interview requirement and gone back to CAVA AGAIN! That will be a relief for anyone applying for a visa soon....I wouldn't wish anyone to go thru' the hassle you and I had at the hands of the sometimes bumbling, incompetent & rude Embassy staff :unsure:

Quoted post

Its the old story Rob, we are just glad to have our girls out !!!!, its a relief, that we personally dont have to deal with them again, but no doubt they will change the system yet again at some time in the future, the latest I heard is that there software is no good, and they are trying to bring in a new computer system, hence all the balls ups !!