Hi there Aljim, welcome to the forum.
As a Family Visitor you will need to provide originals for the sponsorship letter and for the bank statements.
The rest can be copies or scanned evidence.
Please take a look at the relevant UKBA webpage here:-
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/vi...y/requirements
also guidance notes on supporting documents here:-
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...s-visitors.pdf
Visitor visa's are somewhat tricky. This is because the ECO has a lot of discretion in what to accept and what to reject.
The positives are of course that the visitor visa is not overly expensive and if visiting family will be eligible for appeal in cases of refusal.
If you review the links provided you will see that your sponsors will need to provide a sponsorship/invitation letter.
This should clearly state the relationship to you, that they will be accommodating you,fully supporting and maintaining you for the duration of your stay and covering the cost of all transportation etc.
Your sponsors need to provide copies of the photo page of their passport, also 3-6 months bank statements (current and savings) to prove that they have sufficient funds
for the duration of your visit. These must be original copies. I advise they also supply 3-6month payslips and include copies of birth certificates.
I indicate 3-6months as it depends on the financial standing of the sponsor. If their income is considered marginal then 6 months is needed, if their income is average for UK then 3 months would be OK.
Personally I would suggest 6 months, simply because this visa is not easy. A lot of help and evidence is much better.
The letter should also give some indication of why the visit is being made at this time (rather than any othertime).
Again personally I would suggest making some comment as to how very close they are to you and even maybe something like your Auntie looked after you et etc.
You need to make as strong a case as you possible can.
I have to be frank with you that one of the key issue that the UKBA will be looking for is some very strong and compelling reason for you to return back to the Philippines.
Your own case is not that strong, so you need to make as much as you can from your sponsors.
Your sponsors cannot give any assurances that they will take any responsibility for that.
The negatives in you case is that you have no employment and no other really strong reason to return. Please try to think of some if you can. Property, dependents, just anything you can.
The amount of money needed for a family visit is quite different to that of tourist visa, and actually quite a bit less.
I cannot give any actual amount and indeed the UKBA do not specify any amount. The ECO will simply make a judgement based on the evidence provided by the
bank statements of the sponsors. They will need to show enough to pay for all the things they say such as air tickets for you and sufficient disposable income or savings for the time you are there. The ECO will need to be comfortable that any emergency can be covered. If you want to force me into saying a number I would say for the one month you are there they should show savings of around £700 and a disposable income each week of around £80-£100.
I wish you the very best of luck.
I have completed 2 family visit visa's during the past 3 years, one for 3 weeks and another for two months. (current with a return of October)
Once again, financial support and a strong reason for you to return.
A return air ticket and a written promise counts for nothing.
If you have any question just post again in the same thread.
God Bless
