glad to find this very helpful site

[katrinadaniel]

Hi everyone! I am Kat. I just registered yet I have been visiting this site for quite awhile and I thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences that helped a lot of couples in getting their visa. I am hoping to be able to have a successful visa application with your help too.
I have been in UK for 5 months under visit visa but during my stay their we decided to get married before I came back here in the Philippines. I believed that there should be a separate visit visa for marriage but mine was just the visit visa intended to meet the family and friends of my partner but came up with a decision to get married there. There was no problem in getting our marriage registration there but our problem now that really worries me so much is my application for spousal visa. Is there anyone here with the same situation like ours? We have talked to our friends about it but they said for as long as we have a legal marriage in UK, have registered it both UK & Philippine immigration, the UKBA will have no reason to refuse our application for spousal visa. Is this true? pls help me as we are applying very soon.

[Bluebirdjones]

We have talked to our friends about it but they said for as long as we have a legal marriage in UK, have registered it both UK & Philippine immigration, the UKBA will have no reason to refuse our application for spousal visa.


Don't want to burst your bubble, but that is not correct.
Your application for the spouse visa needs to comply with the rules (eg genuine relationship, accomodation, financial situation of husband, etc etc)

It is not a done-deal by any means

[Terpe]

Hi Kat, welcome here to the forum.

Technically a visit visa does not permit marriage.
It's really difficult to predict just how UKBA will view this and how they will react.

On the positive side, at least you appear to have returned home to the Philippines before your visa expired.
The costs of a settlement visa these days are very high, and personally I would suggest you or your husband seeks professional immigration advice. I'm sure just a very brief discussion will be sufficient. May even be part of a free consulation.
You need to do something to minimise the risks.

As BBJ has rightly stated, any subsequent spouse visa application will need to comply with all requirements and is not as straightforward as you may believe.
Sadly, there are many cases of visa refusals for a spouse visa.

Please take time to review the UKBA website here.

Do seek professional guidance before spending money on English Language Tests, visa application fees and other associated costs which soon mount up.

Good luck and keep us informed if you can






andnot known what

[melovesengland]

Hi Kat, welcome here to the forum.

Technically a visit visa does not permit marriage.
It's really difficult to predict just how UKBA will view this and how they will react.

I agree on this. We have been advised by our friends to get married right away before my visit visa ends last year but we didnt listen to them for the simple reason of we do not want to break any rules. I am not an expert in this case but I would suggest like Sir Terpe said to seek a professional immigration advice before doing any step. I hope you will have a smooth application and processing in future. Cheers!

[Terpe]

Kat, just to say, that I personally don't see major issues for your spouse application from Philippines, but just feel you should have a professional tell you the definitive legal position.

[katrinadaniel]

Thank you bluebirdjones,melovesengland most especially Terp for your reply. Yes, I returned here in the Philippines before my visa expired but we start worrying hearing different comments about what we did. I went there without any plan of marrying there, we only decided when we felt like we want to be with each other for the rest of ourlives and my husband don't want me to come back here without being married to each other. Somehow we took the risk but of course we also worry that it will affect our future application. Will it help if we get married here in the Philippines again before we apply for spouse visa? is there anyone who has posted the same story as ours who successfully granted a spouse visa?

[Terpe]

Kat,
I would suggest you have you husband contact an immigration advisor here in UK before you start spending money on either a visa application or indeed on another wedding in the Philippines.

As I said, I personally don't expect any serious barriers with your settlement application being made from Philippines.

Your focus should be on building the supporting evidence for a compliant visa application.