Originally posted by jooms@Nov 20 2005, 10:14 PM
I have had a lot of problems with the visa section. Actually my in-laws had which means I had. Every few years one might visit for a few weeks to a few months and each time visa staff can find reasons to make it difficult for them.

You're having little more problems than anyone else getting a visa at the Manila embassy. All the staff are interested in is evidence that the relative is not going to stay in the UK and sponge off the governnment. Oh, and an excuse for the staff to hassle somebody and boost their personal powertrip.

My wife had no problems getting two visas for the UK, tourist and settlement, but then we were in a pretty long term relationship, loadsa money and I'd lived in the PI for years. That is the exception to the rule though. I actually made a personal complaint when we applied for the CTI to get married, and we were told to turn up at the embassy at the wrong time. Not great drama, appart from the five hour drive to get there and the watse of an entire day? I thought that would maybe be held against us at some stage.

After the settlement visa was issued I also complained in writing about the way we were expected to sit and wait for six hours, with our two year old, because the desk dork was too stupid/ignorant to tell us the facts. We had been told to arrive at 9am, then we were told to sit and wait for the passport. I eventually got up after two hours and asked what was happening. "Oh, you have wait until 3pm to collect the passport"!!

This week my mom in law is going for a settlement visa interview so she can hopefully come and live in the UK with us. We'd hoped it would be fairly straightforward, as we have a house, job blah blah, but one of our Filipino relatives threw a spanner in the works by including one single bank statement that showed mom in law had some money. It was only the 27,000 pesos application fee, but it upset the applecart enough to warrant an interview.

Fingers crossed she is successful.