Hi All, advice needed from you pro's!

[bcfc0202]

Hi, my name is Neil, from Birmmingham, UK, i have recently travelled to the Phillipines & like most of you guys, met a nice girl, we are emailing ,writing, etc, her english is very good, so what is the best way forward for her to visit the UK? I can sponsor her, pay for her airline ticket, obviously state that she will not work , claim benefits etc, i can provide her return date of a airline ticket, i have heard many horror stories about visa refusal, due to my work load, i cannot afford the time off, but would pay for her to come to visit the UK, which would be a easier option for me, also spend more time with her as she can get granted maybe 6 months, so my questions are,
A/ Is it better to apply for a visitor visa & i sponsor her
B/ just let her apply for a visitor visa
C/ apply for a Fiancee visa
D/ or let her apply for a visotor visa with the view she is visiting a family member ( cousin etc) which can be put together as a friend of mine is married to a Filipina.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[KeithD]

B) But you must marry or you will find it difficult to ever get another visa.

[joebloggs]

of course keith sees the word 'pro' and hes straight in there

it all depends if you can afford to risk losing your visa fee on applying for a VV.

[bcfc0202]

So in your honest opinion, what is the best way forward.

[KeithD]

B) But you must marry or you will find it difficult to ever get another visa.

Already answered......and you posted the question twice

[kimmi]

fiancee visa..talking on my experience..

[Pepe n Pilar]

Hi Neil.... it's better to let her apply for a visitor's visa and sponsor her. I did the same. Just follow what documents to submit based on the checklist. Good luck!!!!

[vbkelly]

Hi, my name is Neil, from Birmmingham, UK, i have recently travelled to the Phillipines & like most of you guys, met a nice girl, we are emailing ,writing, etc, her english is very good, so what is the best way forward for her to visit the UK? I can sponsor her, pay for her airline ticket, obviously state that she will not work , claim benefits etc, i can provide her return date of a airline ticket, i have heard many horror stories about visa refusal, due to my work load, i cannot afford the time off, but would pay for her to come to visit the UK, which would be a easier option for me, also spend more time with her as she can get granted maybe 6 months, so my questions are,
A/ Is it better to apply for a visitor visa & i sponsor her
B/ just let her apply for a visitor visa
C/ apply for a Fiancee visa
D/ or let her apply for a visotor visa with the view she is visiting a family member ( cousin etc) which can be put together as a friend of mine is married to a Filipina.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

hi neil thats better to apply a visitor's visa and you sponsor her you have a big chance to grant this visa

[PeterB]

I sponsored Ruby and her visitor's visa was received in just 7 days.

[bcfc0202]

Thankyou for the advice, does she have to show proof of airline ticket & have a return departure date? Only that would be crazy to spend maybe £400-£500 on airline tickets & then get a refusal? I guess the more information i can supply about my self & my circumsatnces the better?
Regards
Neil

[theresa]

dont buy her ticket yet. apply for the visa 1st, tourist visa is the best to do i think. She has to have proof that she can afford to visit England, and a sponsor that can afford to support her in her visit. she also needs a credit card.

Cheers!
Neil

[silver13]

Hi Neil

Sorry I was not available for talking in YM, still feeling rough but here I am anyway Your best choice is to be honest and only option A/ is acceptable, Option D is a no no unless they are genuine relations and anyway the Gov will smell a rat at a later date?

Option B/ is not feasible as she needs a sponsor unless she is rich and I know she is not just like me and you, but even less rich

Option C/ Fiancee Visa? Mmmmm maybe but you need to prove your relationship is strong and as you are both still in BF / GF stage this may be more difficult, some in here would disagree? You need a lot of communication between you, Phone calls and other proof, cards, letters etc.

I know from your talking to Anilyn that your GF is a bit scared about travelling to meet you which I understand. Maybe you should consider travelling to meet her again in March / April as you mentioned you would have time then and develop your relationship further by talking on the phone and e-mail, letters etc before travelling to meet her again.

When You meet you may decide to get Engaged as I did to Anilyn and then maybe she will feel less scared at travelling to meet you once you have made that commitment to get married. She will be more willing to travel and see you, you could then also just go for the Fiancee Visa approach then? But maybe your GF will need to see life in the UK for 6 months before she or you commit yourselves to a lifetime together.

Afterall a marriage is for life not Christmas :-)

It is a big step for the both of you as with all in this forum, even more so for the one who is leaving family and friends behind.

I will talk more to you when I feel better Neil in YM

[PeterB]

she also needs a credit card.

Care to explain why? Ruby certainly doesn't have a CC.

[silver13]

Care to explain why? Ruby certainly doesn't have a CC.

I think in the case that you apply as a visitor without sponsor you would need one, but based from my experienced because i was sponsored by my fiance, it is not necessary to have a credit card indeed paul will not let me have one he!he!he!

[bcfc0202]

So regarding sponsorship, is there a form that you have to fill in? Or is it the fact that the British Authorities in the Phillipines are hooked up by computer to all the data in the UK? So when my GF in Phillipines states my name & address it has all my personal data? Sorry to sound a touch thick on this subject, but it is all new to me, hence thats why i've joined the forum for advice, also is there a section within the forum to understand all these abreviations? ECO, CFO, UKVACS? etc

[theresa]

CC because there are some Immigration officer would ask how much is your budget and if you have credit card based on my experience on my second visit there last february

[vbkelly]

Thankyou for the advice, does she have to show proof of airline ticket & have a return departure date? Only that would be crazy to spend maybe £400-£500 on airline tickets & then get a refusal? I guess the more information i can supply about my self & my circumsatnces the better?
Regards
Neil

hi bcfc0202 actually they don't advice to the applicant to buy a ticket before the visa's granted just incase of refusal, just to be honest to them of how many weeks or months she stay in the UK

[bcfc0202]

Many thanks for all the advice, i am glad to have found this forum, it is very informative. Maybe someone can advise me on this furthet potential problem?
Okay, so we get the visitor visa granted after i have sponsored her, so i come to buy her a airline ticket, i always use Oasishongkong & CPA, once she has a UK visa, can she travel via HK, where she would have to clear customs to proceed to fly onwards to London on Oasis? Or is another visa required for entry into HK? Sorry to maybe sound not very knowledgable, but i am rather new to all of this,
Many thanks Neil

[LEAHnew]

Hi Neil my kukupops from Birmingham too....
Goodluck...

[kimmi]

oh kukurokuk, ure awake already?i thought ure still sleeping..he he he

[LEAHnew]

Hi kimmi nagising ako bigla when i heard from Birmingham, pag na grant ng VISA gf niya magpapadala ako for my kukupops ng butong pakwan, lansones saka kornik...

[silver13]

CC because there are some Immigration officer would ask how much is your budget and if you have credit card based on my experience on my second visit there last february

I think if u applied for a visitor's visa without a sponsor you would need proof of your financial ability to visit the UK without recourse to public funds. Because if u are a poor girl without having any money or credit card ur visa will still be granted as long as u have a sponsor and he/she meet the requirements.

[bcfc0202]

Many thanks for all your advice on this very informative forum

[andypaul]

Many thanks for all the advice, i am glad to have found this forum, it is very informative. Maybe someone can advise me on this furthet potential problem?
Okay, so we get the visitor visa granted after i have sponsored her, so i come to buy her a airline ticket, i always use Oasishongkong & CPA, once she has a UK visa, can she travel via HK, where she would have to clear customs to proceed to fly onwards to London on Oasis? Or is another visa required for entry into HK? Sorry to maybe sound not very knowledgable, but i am rather new to all of this,
Many thanks Neil

No Visa required Phills can vist hong kong for 14 days with out a visa.
Transit as long as all visa onwards is in order no problems going though the airport.

[bcfc0202]

Hi Andypaul, many thanks for the advice, i may well buy her a ticket to meet me in HK, after all Manila-HK is quite cheap, maybe spend a day or so in HK, would be nice to know she would be waiting for me!

[bcfc0202]

Hi All, when applying for a sponsored visitor visa, is it unreasonable to state that truthfully you want her to stay maybe 4-5 months, or do you feel this is 'cheeky' in the eyes of the embassy? After all, to evaluate if you want to enter into marraige, you really do need to spend as much time as possible with your partner, so i ask the question that if you state that you wish for her to come for along duration, is this acceptable?, or just maybe say 4 weeks & she will get 6 months anyway, or will it go against her if she outstays the 4 week duration that she had origianlly outlined?

[silver13]

It's ok to state there 6 months duration hence visit visa is good for 6 months eventhough she decided at the end to stay for only 4 weeks or so. the visa is multiply entry so as long as the visa is not yet expired she can travel back and forth to UK.

If she didn't finish the 6 months i think there's no problem.

[silver13]

So regarding sponsorship, is there a form that you have to fill in? Or is it the fact that the British Authorities in the Phillipines are hooked up by computer to all the data in the UK? So when my GF in Phillipines states my name & address it has all my personal data? Sorry to sound a touch thick on this subject, but it is all new to me, hence thats why i've joined the forum for advice, also is there a section within the forum to understand all these abreviations? ECO, CFO, UKVACS? etc

For further understanding about ECO, CFO, UKVACS and to the whole process you may visit www.vfs-uk-ph.com and the british embassy manila www.britishembassy.gov.uk/philippines

U can seach in here similar case as urs and u will find more info

[PeterB]

In Ruby's application we put 'up to 6 months' as the duration.

There is no specific form for a sponsor who is not a relative, but there is space on the VAF1 to give your details, then you need to add as much supporting documentation as you can (as specified in the checklist, which is also part of the submission).

As a minimum, you will be required to supply an invitation letter, six months of bank statements to demonstrate your ability to provide financial support, and some evidence that suitable accomodation is available.