Mark

[Shifty-Sidney]

After reading much more of this site and your comments - i feel much better. Maybe i am just feeling a bit insecure or impatient because i am used to everything happening straight away. I have been talking to my girlfriend for many months on yahoo (even my father and daughter love talking to her). I went to Surigao in April to meet her. I can only describe the meeting as magical - after only a few hours with her i realised just how good a relationship can feel. Since then i have been asking her to get a passport so she can visit her and see how things go `in the real world`. Wynn is also booked on a cruise in December for my parents wedding anniversary. I will also visit her again very soon because i miss her so much.
Sorry if this thread is sounding like an agony aunt column, but it is good to talk about this to people who have or are having the same experiences. I would also love to hear from anyone in Yorkshire with a view to talking about this.

[IainBusby]

After reading much more of this site and your comments - i feel much better. Maybe i am just feeling a bit insecure or impatient because i am used to everything happening straight away. I have been talking to my girlfriend for many months on yahoo (even my father and daughter love talking to her). I went to Surigao in April to meet her. I can only describe the meeting as magical - after only a few hours with her i realised just how good a relationship can feel. Since then i have been asking her to get a passport so she can visit her and see how things go `in the real world`. Wynn is also booked on a cruise in December for my parents wedding anniversary. I will also visit her again very soon because i miss her so much.
Sorry if this thread is sounding like an agony aunt column, but it is good to talk about this to people who have or are having the same experiences. I would also love to hear from anyone in Yorkshire with a view to talking about this.

I don't want to put a downer on things for you Mark, but getting a passport is the least of your problems if you are planning for her to visit here (UK) - "so she can visit her" - was this a typo, did you mean "so she can visit here". If so the real problem will be getting a tourist visa because unless she is wealthy, or has a businesses or lots of property in Philippines etc, the chances of her getting a tourist visa to visit you in the UK are almost nil.
Iain & Louella

[Welsh_Italian]

I don't want to put a downer on things for you Mark, but getting a passport is the least of your problems if you are planning for her to visit here (UK) - "so she can visit her" - was this a typo, did you mean "so she can visit here". If so the real problem will be getting a tourist visa because unless she is wealthy, or has a businesses or lots of property in Philippines etc, the chances of her getting a tourist visa to visit you in the UK are almost nil.
Iain & Louella

Does anyone know if this difficulty in getting a tourist visa apply to wives as well as girlfriends?

My wife (still in the Phils) wants to visit the UK while I finish my work contract, maybe from October to January, then we head off back to the Phils together. It's just too difficult to live apart. In our favour, I have enough money to look after us both (can provide pay slips), professional job (respectable? lol!), we're married, and I've travelled over there 4 times to be with her (totals a few months of living together there). Her situation is that she still lives with her parents (so no property) and has just resigned from her job (voluntary redundancy with a nice pay-off). My work contract will end in January also which could be evidence that we don't want to stay long.

The tourist visa seems a lot cheaper than the settlement visa which is overkill for what we need, but I've also heard about the high refusal rate. I wasn't sure if that was because the tourist visa applications were of a poor standard, the authorities are working to a quota system or or because they're just tightwads.

After reading this site, I've seen a few people have had tourist visas to visit boyfriends / fiances, but there is a high refusal rate. Would being thorough like the recommendations for settlement visas make a difference?

[IainBusby]

There is a very high refusal rate and the reason usually given for refusal is that they don't believe that the person will return to Philippines when their visa expires. Although it is much more expensive, I think you have much more chance of getting a spousal (Settlement) visa. Looking on the bright side, if your wife does get the spousal visa, it will last for 2 years instead of just 6 months and she can come and go as she pleases during that period.
Iain.

[Welsh_Italian]

There is a very high refusal rate and the reason usually given for refusal is that they don't believe that the person will return to Philippines when their visa expires. Although it is much more expensive, I think you have much more chance of getting a spousal (Settlement) visa. Looking on the bright side, if your wife does get the spousal visa, it will last for 2 years instead of just 6 months and she can come and go as she pleases during that period.
Iain.

Thanks Iain, your advice is much appreciated.