getting married soon!

[DAnn]

Hi guys!
I got given a visit visa last year. It was not difficult. I submitted the requirements and waited 10 days or so and it wasn't long I got a notification letting me know that my visa was ready for pick-up. I enjoyed my first visit to UK and being with my fiance for the first time in his home country, met his family and relatives and friends..wow!!! no one word to describe it all. To cut the story short, soon after I rcvd my first visit visa, I flew to UK, spent weeks with my Sweetheart and met his loved ones and friends. It all went well and leaving him behind was not easy. I returned here in Manila just before Christmas to celebrate with my family and also started on wedding preparations right after the New year. My fiance and I have been engaged for more than a year now and knew each other since 2009. Now, we realized from reading forums and also people have said that after we get married, I might have to wait a very long time before I can be with my husband because the spousal visa requirements and application takes very long! I thought that's not ideal! You get married because you want to start your lives together. So here is a suggestion from a friend, to apply for a fiance visa and get married in the UK instead of here in the Philippines because fiance visa is faster process than applying for married visa and will allow us to be together sooner ( we can't wait!). My fiance and I liked the idea! But there is one big thing now- we have already announced in early January to family and friends from both UK and here in Manila that we are getting married. we have already booked and paid down-payments to wedding suppliers here including venue, caterer, photo/video, band, etc... so we MUST go ahead with this wedding and we want to! We have been looking forward to having this dream wedding come to reality. So we will do it. Here's what we are thinking about, we would like to apply for a fiance visa while we are waiting for our wedding day here in Manila to arrive. When the wedding day comes, we will enjoy our fairy-tale-like-wedding ceremony and reception so we would also receive the church blessing and then after the wedding, by then we expect that my fiance visa would have been approved I will fly back to UK together with my Sweetheart and do a civil wedding there soon as possible. That way, we can be together soon instead of waiting for ages before we can start our lives together. But do you guys think it is ok to do the church blessing here first then the civil wedding in UK after? We don't want to not go ahead with our church wedding here now. Any advice or comment would be highly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[melovesengland]

U got me confused there love and made me eyes hurt on your post sorry to say that.

Anyway, you apply for a fiancee visa because the aim is to get married and settle in the UK after you got the visa granted. Spouse visa is for applicants who are already married to British Citizens that wants to go to the UK and get settled here. Fiancee and Spousal visa timeframe are assessed on your case. It can be quick it can be an agony of wait so bear that in mind.

I dont know if you are allowed to get married in the Philippines before you get granted a fiancee visa or after you lodge your application. Im sure one of the members here will enlighten you.

[Terpe]

Plenty of folks have mentioned that 'workaround' before.

The biggest flaw is in the assumption that a Fiance(e) Visa application is processed faster than a Spouse Visa.
There is no fact based evidence for this. There is no statistical evidence whatsoever.
In fact solely on an anecdotal basis from around the internet, I think you may find that spouse visa could be the fastest.

Technically the Spouse visa and Fiance(e) visa are both 'settlement route' visa and require virtually IDENTICAL supporting evidence . The only difference being that the fiance(e) visa requires EXTRA evidence because of the need to support the intention to :-
actually get married in the UK
and to permanently live together in UK

Also, the Fiance(e) visa has additional immigration status restrictions in that working is not allowed unti FLR(M) has been granted. This may take quite some time. One workaround is to make an appoinment at a UKBA enquiry office for personal appearance application for FLR. It does cost quite some additional premium but could be one solution to enable work to be undertaken.

I wish you well with your plans, but would urge you both to do some detailed research before you embark on a 'half-baked' strategy that could potentially put the security of your immigration journey in question.

Research, research research.
Let Google be you guide

[Arthur Little]

DAnn ... to our friendly, online filipino/uk community.

If I were you, I'd proceed according to the arrangements you've already booked in the Philippines. Thereafter, you will be free to apply for a Spousal Visa through the British Embassy in Manila.

My friend and fellow Moderator, Terpe is a veritable fount of knowledge on such matters; indeed, he has compiled a number of excellent threads covering both Fiancee & Spouse Visas ... and will, I'm sure, be more than happy to assist you in locating each of the links considered most likely to guide you smoothly through the process.

[DAnn]

Oh... thank you for the advice guys... I admit I am a bit disappointed that it sounds like applying for a fiancee visa is not the best thing to do because for the last week or so, this is what has been in my head- that we are going to apply for a fiancee visa and we will be together much sooner than if we are to apply for a spousal visa. I appreciate all the advice and if there is anything else you can share with us, would be highly appreciated.

[DAnn]

thank you for the warm welcome, Arthur Little!

[Terpe]

Oh... thank you for the advice guys... I admit I am a bit disappointed that it sounds like applying for a fiancee visa is not the best thing to do because for the last week or so, this is what has been in my head- that we are going to apply for a fiancee visa and we will be together much sooner than if we are to apply for a spousal visa. I appreciate all the advice and if there is anything else you can share with us, would be highly appreciated.

No-one is saying Fiance(e) visa is not best or otherwise.
Just that in your case, you need to understand that the application requirements for Fiance(e) and Spouse are the same.
Also that the processing for both is the same 'settlement route'. No time advantage for Fiance(e).

You and your Fiance need to research and understand the UKBA requirements.

[DAnn]

sorry for the long post
thanks for your input.
we are planning to just have a blessing here. we will do the civil wedding in UK.

[melovesengland]

Blessing or church wedding before you apply visa is you will going to take the spousal route, if you intend to marry in the uk and get settled here then fiance visa is what you need to have. That is the only difference between the two but overall documents, proceedings and processing are entirely similar.

Thats why majority of us in this thread advise you to do more research on those two visa so you know where youre standing at the moment, whats the most convenient way to go and whats more easy for you both to do. We are just here to guide you, and advise. You have got to learn and find way on how to do it properly. Goodluck!

[DAnn]

Hi Terpe!

yes we have done a little bit of reading and been asking friends too. the requirements are the same, we understand. but did you know that the NSO issued marriage certificate takes from 3 months to 6 months from the day you file your marriage papers until it is released (after the wedding or as soon as possible you may file it for NSO records)? the NSO-issued marriage certificate is one requirement for spousal visa. that will prove you are married. while if you are applying for a fiancee visa, provided you are not married yet of course, you do not need to wait for this NSO-issued marriage certificate but just need to submit evidence of the relationship and the genuine intention to marry in the UK within the 6 months given (fiancee visa)

[DAnn]

imagine this...say, if we are to go ahead with the spousal visa... after the wedding, we will file the documents to the NSO here in Manila. Processing period up to the releasing takes 3 to 6 months. We heard and read it is different each time, case to case basis of course and depends where in the Philippines you live. Next, say after 3-6 months we finally got our marriage certificate from NSO, we will now apply for spousal visa... with complete requirements/docs it should take up to 3 months more or less? that is a total of 9 months!!! Until I can finally be with the man I married! Unbearable! I am now 36 yrs old and my fiance is 41 yrs old. We do not have any children yet. We have been patient, been together for 4 years now. It is about time we start a family and if that is to come true, we really should hurry. My mum was menopause at 36 :( sad but true.

[DAnn]

yes, i agree the processing time of spousal visa and fiance visa might just be the same provided you have all the requirements/documents ready. fiancee visa requirements we believe is quicker to complete than the spousal visa requirements/docs. sad but true, here in the Philippines, things move slow. i feel for the people who got married and then after 9 months still not allowed to be with their other half in the UK. i can only imagine the strain it puts on their relationship. tsk..tsk...

[Terpe]

....we have done a little bit of reading and been asking friends too. the requirements are the same, we understand....

Good

....but did you know that the NSO issued marriage certificate takes from 3 months to 6 months from the day you file your marriage papers until it is released.....

DAnn, did you know you can seriously expedite that process and receive within a couple of weeks?
Look here - Advance Endorsement Birth ,Marriage and Death Certificate

....we will now apply for spousal visa... with complete requirements/docs it should take up to 3 months more or less?...

Visa for settlement visa (Spouse AND Fiance(e)) processing times can be found here - Guide to visa processing times - Manila Philippines
38% of applications decided within 40 days
90% of applications decided within 60 days

DAnn, I'm just presenting the facts, whatever you will think of them or whatever you will do with them is your choice.

My final word on your proposed strategy is that you do have immigration options. Explore them

If you get married after you get your fiance(e) entry visa but before you enter the UK, technically you shouldn’t use the fiance visa. Consult an immigration advisor

The fiance(e) visa is an entry clearance to the UK only so that you can get married. Read the rules

If you’ve already got married, the fiance(e) entry clearance visa is not the appropriate visa. Consult an immigration advisor

If you do go ahead with your strategy, then on the balance of probabilities, you will face future problems on your immigration journey including potential allegations of misrepresentation of marital status, misrepresentation of immigration rules or visa deception/fraud. Research the possible consequences

Whatever your final decision good luck

[DAnn]

Hi, Terpe!

Thank you for posting these links. We will definitely check them out. We do not want any problems in the future. We have been patient for the last 4 years and done things properly and according to the immigration rules. By the way, we are not getting married officially before or during the fiance visa application or processing even after I get a fiancee visa. There will be a party, a ceremony here before I leave and settle in the UK. But we will not be filing marriage here. We intend to get married officially in the UK. One thing we learned is that once I get a fiance(e) visa and got married in the UK, I will not be coming back here for a while (if i am to get a settlement visa) so we would like to do an advanced gathering for my family and friends here and then do a proper wedding in the UK later on so we will treat everyone for dinner and have a church Pastor to send as away with blessings & prayers before I leave with my Fiance.

[DAnn]

Hi everyone!
Thought I should share...
By researching & asking people with experience, we realized that acquiring the documents here in Manila that's required for spousal visa might take a longer time and we also learned it is not the visa processing that takes a lot of time but acquiring the docs/requirements from the local government here. While as for fiance visa, we learned that we will just need to provide evidence that the relationship is genuine plus proof of intention to marry within the 6 months given in a fiance visa, which we do not think we will have trouble of doing so and also we'll need to submit some other documents that we already have (those same documents we provided when I applied for visit visa before and it was granted. I was in the UK with my love for 3 blissful months even though visa given to me was 6 mos multiple entry). I returned home and we immediately started preparing for wedding plans. We agreed the sooner we start with wedding preps the sooner we can be together. Anyways, a month ago that we decided that we would like to apply for Fiance visa instead, not spousal visa, but just one big thing... we did not think of this first before we started planning for our Philippines wedding since last January. As of today, our wedding venue and other wedding suppliers are already paid 50%. So we decided that we will go ahead with the wedding as we have already spent a lot and it will be a shame and waste if we cancelled, but instead we asked the church secretary if we can request for the Pastor to just pray for us and bless us on the celebration day without doing the legal side of a wedding ceremony. Meaning, no signing of marriage contracts, no filing of the marriage to the local civil registrar. Guess what she said? She explained, that can be done if what I am asking for is a prayer. But because I am going to wear a wedding gown, I will march, we will have exchange of vows and we will have 150 people attending our party, then that will have to be an actual wedding and the church must file the marriage documents or otherwise not doing so will result to the Pastor's license revocation. We did not know that! Now we know! doh! Not sure we are happy with this new information but still, it is good that it was explained to us and now we are back to our original plan. We will get married soon. We are very excited about it but at the same time, we are bracing ourselves for the long wait after the wedding. Looking at the calendar, we will only get to spend a week to the most, together as a husband and wife after our big day and then who knows when we will be together again. Should we be happy or sad :( ? Did I mention I am now 36? And we want to have babies! :((

[sars_notd_virus]

I am so confused with your threads Dann , you are still not done with your annulment..how can you marry??
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....103#post431103

[DAnn]

I am so confused with your threads Dann , you are still not done with your annulment..how can you marry??
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....103#post431103

Hi sars_notd_virus...
sorry didn't mean to confuse you. I filed my petition for annulment more than a year ago. I have now in my hand the decision letter from the court. two weeks has now passed since I received the decision letter. From what I understand, I only need to wait 15 days then I can get a finality, correct? The wedding is not until 7 months later. If I am just waiting for the finality, do you think 7 months is not going to be enough? I hope it will be!

[sars_notd_virus]

Hi sars_notd_virus...
sorry didn't mean to confuse you. I filed my petition for annulment more than a year ago. I have now in my hand the decision letter from the court. two weeks has now passed since I received the decision letter. From what I understand, I only need to wait 15 days then I can get a finality, correct? The wedding is not until 7 months later. If I am just waiting for the finality, do you think 7 months is not going to be enough? I hope it will be!

Its alright..I seldom get confused , I have read through your posts (fiance visa, spouse visa, blessing from church, wedding arranged, annulment not sorted)...I am not trying to discourage you , would just like you to get it all right.

[DAnn]

Its alright..I seldom get confused , I have read through your posts (fiance visa, spouse visa, blessing from church, wedding arranged, annulment not sorted)...I am not trying to discourage you , would just like you to get it all right.

Thank you sars_notd_virus... That's why I keep reading here and posting for some advice because we do want to get it right. I also shared this site with my fiancé and asked him to read posts here as well. I saw that there a lot of people with similar situations come to this site for advice.
Again sorry if you got confused, you must know that was not the intention. My posts were done at the time of confusion. I think that's what brought me here, I am looking for other people who are going through the same situation and hoping to find some encouragement and good advice from those who has made it through.