Spouse visa "maintenance funds" please help..

[Robert86]

thanks very much stevie, il keep uz posted on how everything goes.. little question to ask.. as we can only stay in the Philippines for 21 days on a British passport, would i still need to apply for 59 day visa before i leave as im staying 4 days over, or is that something i could arrange when im there?

[stevie c]

Hi Rob yes mate you can apply for a visa here at the philippine embassy in London or im pretty sure that you can get your visa at the philippine immigration when your there.

[stevie c]

Rob where is your home in the uk?

Where in he Phils will you be getting married?

Have you been to the Phils before?

[Robert86]

im in Belfast maria, my fiance is from antipolo and we will be marrying in mandayulong city. yes ive been twice before the first time i went for 2 weeks, the first time i met maria, we also went to boracay and stayed at the shangrila hotel for 3 nights, we went to baguio city and taal volcano. the second time i went i was there for 3 weeks, we went to cebu, bohol and stayed at anda white beach resort for 3 nights.. we also went to hong kong for 4 nights and stayed at l'hotel, travelled all over hong kong pretty much inside them 5 days, went to disneyland, ocean park, victoria peak and victoria harbour and took the tour bus around which was cool.. so yea.. cant wait to see maria again.. missing her very much, has been nearly 7 months, so i hope next time it wont be as long, next time i hope she will be here.

[stevie c]

You have certainly travelled many places in the Phils in such a small time

Im sure all you plans for the wedding & settlement visa will be a succes i wish you all the best for your plans

[Robert86]

thanks very much stevie, well im off now, going to watch barcelona vs madrid lol, speak to u later bud.

[stevie c]

Yeah same here thats what im watching now.

[Iani]

Thanks for that info Robert.

Well for all it's worth, I've been doing some contacting too - I've spoken with my mp a couple of days ago. She agrees this is a crazy idea and "says" she will investigate and get back to me.

I'll post on here if I'm told anything interesting, but let's not hold our breaths on that one

[joebloggs]

Hello guys, got some good news.. I emailed Prof Metcalfe (Chairman of the MAC Migration Committee) i told him in my email my concerns that this could affect me greatly.. i got a reply just today from his secretary, this is what it read, Dr Mr Mcclure,

Professor Metcalf has asked me to reply on his behalf. The MAC report related to a specific economic question. It also acknowledged that there are moral, social and legal dimensions to family migration. The MAC is an advisory body only. The Government is free to decide whether or not to implement the range set out by the MAC, and to date there has been no announcement of a decision...

so that is some good news, that maybe it might not be implemented and that there is other factors.. not just economics .

Mac advises the gov on job shortages and i think most of the time the gov implements those recommendations, but as you've said other factors moral, social and legal need to be looked at, so its not so straight forward.

[lastlid]

Hello guys, got some good news.. I emailed Prof Metcalfe (Chairman of the MAC Migration Committee) i told him in my email my concerns that this could affect me greatly.. i got a reply just today from his secretary, this is what it read, Dr Mr Mcclure,

Professor Metcalf has asked me to reply on his behalf. The MAC report related to a specific economic question. It also acknowledged that there are moral, social and legal dimensions to family migration. The MAC is an advisory body only. The Government is free to decide whether or not to implement the range set out by the MAC, and to date there has been no announcement of a decision...

so that is some good news, that maybe it might not be implemented and that there is other factors.. not just economics .

Hi Robert. Presumably this is the body that was involved in the consulatation on changes to immigration requirements through the marriage route?

Fortunately we have our spouse visa now but there are still further hurdles ahead for us to clear, so of course I hope that there are no changes ahead for us or anybody else, for that matter. It's just that I cant help thinking that there will be changes, even if it is no more than an increase in the already excessive visa application fees, along with their associated miscellaneous costs .

I think someone posted on here just a few days ago that they thought the government couldn't possibly implement the changes that are discussed in the consultation. But of course they can and have systematically been making changes since they came into government, making it harder and more costly to come into the UK via the marriage route. I dont think that precedent is going to change much and there will be some tweaks afoot as a minimum, just a question of how many and how big.

Thanks for taking the trouble to post your findings. Cheers.

[lastlid]

I have just had a quick squint and speed read of the Mac report, only really have time for that as I need to get breakfast and get off to work. it can take some time to read all this stuff eh.....I had a quick look at it last year just after it came out but didnt take a lot in at the time......

[Robert86]

thanks, yes pls let me know if you get any news

[Robert86]

alright stevie! game was quite good last night.. barca shown their class in the end.. just hope inter milan beat genoa tonight for my bet lol..

[stevie c]

Hi Rob yes mate enjoyed the game also.

Mourinho just cant seem to get one over on guardiola

[Robert86]

as a united man.. i must admit, i like Mourinho and i think he will be the next united manager after sir alex.. but guardiola has got the best team ive seen in years.. no other team can touch them at the moment..

[Robert86]

stevie, is it possible to bring a spouse via the EEA Family permit ???

[stevie c]

Sorry Rob i cant answer that one but im sure when terpe or joe bloggs are about they will be able to give you an answer

[Robert86]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

[Terpe]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

Robert,
You are living in Belfast right?
Do you already have dual UK/Irish citizenship?

The rules right now are very fluid on this and it could be a little bit of a gamble, but I think in your overall circumstances it could be a risk worth taking.
The Home office have not yet issued their policy on this and many applicants have been OK. It may take extra time though.

[Arthur Little]

hi, would like to know is it possible to bring spouse via the EEA Family permit?

I THINK it COULD be, Robert ... with your being from Belfast (which, incidentally, I've only just noticed! ). Citizens of the Irish Republic ARE, DEFINITELY eligible to bring a spouse via the EEA Family Permit. And it seems feasible someone from Northern Ireland may well be able to take advantage of some form of reciprocal Agreement between the "two" neighbouring countries if I'm not mistaken.

I would certainly hope this might be the case ... because, if so, it'd make things a lot more straightforward ... PLUS ... a HUGE + ... there'd be NO visa fee to pay!

Terpe is likely to be the best person to advise you for sure in this respect.

[Arthur Little]

Terpe is likely to be the best person to advise you for sure in this respect.

... talk of "the devil" ... , Terpe!

[Robert86]

hello terpe yes im in northern ireland although i do not have dual citizenship though i can apply for irish passport..

[Robert86]

Arthur once again thanks for your help

[Terpe]

hello terpe yes im in northern ireland although i do not have dual citizenship though i can apply for irish passport..

OK Robert, firstly here are the UKBA information links on the EEA family permit route.

Take a look at the UKBA page for EEA Family Permit for details of what it is and how to apply.

Look here also for some very good additional information on the EEA Family Permit.

British citizens living in UK are not EEA nationals for the purpose of the European rules.
That means that their family members don't qualify and need to apply under the national rules.

There is a possible exception if the British citizen is exercising economic treaty rights in another EEA state whilst they and their family members live there.

Technically, if British citizens also have another EEA citizenship their family members may be granted EEA family permits and residence cards under the European rules.

The 'risk' for dual British/Irish citizens thinking of using this route is that The European Court of Justice has previously handed down it's ruling on this and has dismissed an appeal based on the case of McCarthy v Secretary of State for the Home Department -Case C-434/09

What this means is that dual nationals living in a country of their nationality who have never exercised free movement rights cannot rely on European rules.

At the moment the Home Office MAY choose to grant EEA family permits and residence cards to family members of persons in this situation.

However Robert, please be aware that the status granted is not legally held, it is solely a policy decision by the Home Office and this could change at anytime. Just now it's a totally unpredictable situation.

Although the Home Office has allowed the family members of dual British/other EEA citizens to use the European route and still does. They have not yet responded to the McCarthy ruling in any way.

They may do so at any time or may never do so, nobody knows.

If the Home Office does in fact follow the 'McCarthy ruling' it might also be deemed unreasonable to appeal if your wife were refused, since technically the Home Office would be legally correct.

You may seriously consider this route can still be worth the risk to apply, after all, there is no financial cost, BUT the waiting time is an unknown factor.

The EEA family permit is principally a "right" and so in principle there is no need to have money, to have suitable accommodation, to have been married for more than a day or to have the spouse pass any English Language test.

Another aspect to bear in mind is that currently under the EEA familily permit your wife needs 5 years of UK residence to acquire UK permanent residence, (same as ILR), then another one year as a permanent resident in order to qualify for the naturalisation application.(current UK Spouse Visa rules are 2 years to ILR, then additional 1 year to qualify for the naturalisation application.)

Mind you, that might change for the regular UK Spouse route after April 2012 if the govt introduces it's proposed changes.

You'll need to do some reading of the above links and to also consider the risks vs benefits, no-one can advise or guide you it's solely down to you.

Whichever route you finally decide on, I wish you good luck

[joebloggs]

you got nothing to lose by applying, if they refuse you, apply for a spouse visa.
thou there are a couple of advantages of applying for a spouse visa (ILR after 2yrs at the mo, thou it could be 5yrs soon )

[Arthur Little]

you got nothing to lose by applying, if they refuse you, apply for a spouse visa.

, Joe ... !

thou there are a couple of advantages of applying for a spouse visa (ILR after 2yrs at the mo, thou it could be 5yrs soon )

Put in that context, - and assuming Robert's current status allows him to be in a position to make the choice (based on Terpe's interpretation) - then clearly there are advantages and disadvantages with EITHER route. I hadn't realised, for example, that what he could expect to gain from a financial angle - through opting for the EEA Family Permit - was likely to be offset by longer waiting intervals entailed ... both for the Permit itself, and the ultimate qualifying period for ILR. "Swings & Roundabouts" immediately spring to mind; however, while (at the *present time) the choice might be influenced by how quickly his wife is keen to obtain Permanent Residence, *this looks set to change in the light of the latest government proposals ... meaning it will make little or no difference one way or t'other.

[Robert86]

Terpe, thank you very much for your detailed response i appreciate it i think we will go down the uk spouse route.. and just hope that these new minimum income requirements do not come into force.. thanks again

[Terpe]

Terpe, thank you very much for your detailed response i appreciate it i think we will go down the uk spouse route.. and just hope that these new minimum income requirements do not come into force.. thanks again

You're welcome Robert.
Maybe something to hold in the back of your mind.

[Peter]

Hi everyone! I'm peter. I'm new here in the forum. I'm engaged to a filipina. I'm planing to get her so that we can get married here in the uk. We stabled a crossed two problems and we really need your help and advice.
1st problem= i have applied for a loan, will it be bad for our fiance visa application? The loan is amounting 2,000pounds and the repayments is 107pounds a month. I have two full time job earning an average 450 - 490pounds a month with my two jobs.
I don't have other expenses apart from our food when my fiance is here with us.
2nd problem= i'm living with my mum at the moment. However she is clamming housing benefits . I am wondering will this also affect our fiance application as my mother is claiming a housing benefits?
But when she's allowed to work here in uk, she has a offer job where i work. My boss gave me a letter stating that she has a interview in the company when she's allowed to work.
I hope you can help me with my problem. I really want to get my fiance as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

Peter xxx