My Filipina girlfriend to visit UK from Thailand on a tourist visa

[SimonB1987]

Hello there,
I'm a 24 year old British man. While teaching English in Thailand I fell in love with a 31 year old Filipina who is librarian at the school.

My family have already met us together in Thailand and I have met most of her family there in Davao, Philippines, already. So, we thought it'd be good for her to come to my place and see the UK, my friends, the food, the weather etc...

So we applied for a tourist visa. We were advised by some friends to say that she was just visiting as a single. However, in the tourist visa application you have to say who you are travelling with. We didn't want to give the UKBA official any reason to be suspicious about travelling with me and then going to visit my parents and sister as friends. They would just have to look at facebook to see that we were in a relationship. So, instead of 'single' in the marital status I put 'unmarried partner' Unfortunately, we forgot to send photos of us together and so the visa was refused.

We will try again, but we have at least two options.

1) It was a mistake to put 'unmarried partner' and that she is actually just visiting friends as a single. Would we still need to send photos of the two of us together to prove that the first application wasn't a lie?

2) We've been in a relationship similar to marriage for almost two years and that we really are going to get married (which, I feel, is closest to the truth) but that we will probably get married in Thailand because her family and friends are so close-by. But I would like her to see England first.

Does anyone know of anyone who has experienced a dilemma like this? Could a tourist visa be refused because they suspect that, really, we want to get married there without paying for a fiancee visa? Thanks for reading.

[grahamw48]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Wherever you met your girlfriend she will be treated as any other passport-holder of her country (Philippines) as regards visa application.

If you are to be her sponsor while she is here, then you will have to be able to satisfy the relevant requirements as laid down by the UKBA ( see website ).

If she is applying for a tourist visa, then she will have to satisfy the requirements for a tourist visa...also on the UKBA website.

The fact that you met her in Thailand is pretty much irrelevant from a visa application point of view. The UKBA simply want to be satisfied that she will LEAVE the UK at the end of her visit, so she must show them good reason that that will be the case.

[SimonB1987]

Thanks for the welcome. I think option 1) might be better...

[South-east boy]

Did they not say why it was refused? Were you her only sponsor? Did you meet all the requirements there? You could also maybe put your parents as additional sponsors if you haven't so far. Did her her job, salary and savings meet the requirements?
Good luck!

[SimonB1987]

I will try to post the refusal letter. She could probably stay for 3 weeks on her own income because her flight ticket is already booked both ways. She also has a contract of work to return to. That's two sound pieces of evidence that she will leave at the end of her stay. The refusal letter didn't actually say there was any doubt that she would leave; the problem was that there was no evidence that we'd met each other or that I was even a real person.

Yes, my family can also invite her; they've met her themselves. If we'd sent all the required evidence in the first place I've no doubt it would be accepted. My caution now is about complicating things too much by explaining to them why I think the first application was refused...

[joebloggs]

every visa application is judged on its own merits, the past refusal shouldn't effect future applications, thou you should pay attenion to the reasons for refusal or you might just be refused again for the same reasons

[Lancashirelad]

remember to include a detailed and clear cover letter from yourself explaining your circumstances and give as much evidence as you can especially on the reasons she will return, copies of employment contract, letter from employer maybe, rent agreement in home country ect, it helps them to make the decision

[SimonB1987]

Thanks for all of your input. I will update here when I know the outcome.

Until then, best wishes to you all.