Help with visa process through Agency?

[Coraliam]

Hi can anyone offer any advice please, My wife and I were married in March this year in Dapitan and decided to go through an agency to help with the visa process, after waiting what seems forever for my wife to get security and NSO certificate she finally made a trip back to Cebu to hand over her requirements to the agency, we were then informed she has to take TB test in Manila and has also booked English test in Cebu (she lives in Dipolog) only then we realised had we been told we could have had these tests done beforehand and would be ready to apply for the visa now.

We are starting to think now the agency might not be the best idea as my wife made a special trip to Cebu to hand over our requirements which are not needed yet (until applying for the visa) and will be outdated by the time she has done the English test in October!

The reason we went with the agency was so we got the best advice, we are worried now after the test's there may be other things we will need to do which we can be getting on with now to help the process run smoothly,

Are we right in thinking after the TB then English test we will apply for the visa, when accepted she then goes for biometrics and thats all?

Can anyone share there experience on the process and in what order things are done and what they are, has anyone used an agency themselves? do you think we are better to do this on our own, as long of course as we know what were doing

Im sure i might of asked all the questions someone else has before but i cannot find them on the Forum it often seems so complicated, appreciate your time and thanks David

[Terpe]

In addition to all the mandatory supporting documentary evidence you are required to also submit an English Test Certificate and TB certificate for the visa application.
The English Test pass certificate will be valid for at least 2 years.
The TB screening certificate will normally be valid for 6 months.
Sometimes a certificate may be issued for only 3 months validity if the applicant has shared a closed environment or household for a prolonged period with someone with tuberculosis.

All of the mandatory documents in support of meeting the Financial Requirement MUST be no older than 28 days at the date of application ( ie Bank statements / pay slips etc)

There's really quite a lot of paperwork to process. It's important to get everything together at the right time.

An agency can not provide a full application. They can only tell you the documents you need to provide based on your own personal circumstances.

You should be extremely cautious of using an agent.

[Terpe]

may I suggest your first step is reading this forum thread and following all the included links to the UKBA site.

All New Guide - How to apply for a Spouse/Partner Visa

You should also make searches here in the forum for any areas/topic of concern

Do remember that there is no guarantee that an agent can secure a visa for you.
At the very least I would suggest ONLY using a UK based immigration advisor.

The huge majority of spouse visa documentation is supplied by the Sponsor rather than the applicant.
There's plenty of twists and turns, ins and outs that an agency in the Philippines would surely struggle to well understand. Just my opinion.

[andy222]

nice one terpe.

[lordna]

We also used an Agency from Cebu called OLVIS who claimed to be experts. The only reason I agreed to use them was my wife convinced me she needed the support of someone who spoke her own language. BIG MISTAKE, they were absolutely useless and without me double checking everything they produced and correcting it we would never have got the visa. I think they charged us about £1000 for absolutely nothing apart from further complicating the process and introducing themselves as a third party which meant us travelling to Cebu several times to meet them in their offices.

DO NOT USE AN AGENCY...... IF YOU ARE WITH THEM ALREADY DITCH THEM NOW. Just use the advice you can get from lots of people who have already done it here on this forum OR alternatively use a British Immigration advisor that has to be registered by law.

Just remember your getting a visa to enter the UK so get advice from someone who knows UK immigration law NOT a philippine or American agency. I made the mistake but please dont repeat it!

http://olvis.com/uk-british-visa/ AVOID THIS SITE AND THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE!

[robbie bobby]

We also used an Agency from Cebu called OLVIS who claimed to be experts. The only reason I agreed to use them was my wife convinced me she needed the support of someone who spoke her own language. BIG MISTAKE, they were absolutely useless and without me double checking everything they produced and correcting it we would never have got the visa. I think they charged us about £1000 for absolutely nothing apart from further complicating the process and introducing themselves as a third party which meant us travelling to Cebu several times to meet them in their offices.

DO NOT USE AN AGENCY...... IF YOU ARE WITH THEM ALREADY DITCH THEM NOW. Just use the advice you can get from lots of people who have already done it here on this forum OR alternatively use a British Immigration advisor that has to be registered by law.

Just remember your getting a visa to enter the UK so get advice from someone who knows UK immigration law NOT a philippine or American agency. I made the mistake but please dont repeat it!

http://olvis.com/uk-british-visa/ AVOID THIS SITE AND THIS COMPANY LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Lordna is right.Dont use an Agency.The nice folks here will give you and help you with all the info you need.Terpe has the knowledge to put most immigration lawyers to shame.Arthur and Doc also helped me with info and It was all put into a thread in the same day so by time I went to sleep I knew everything I needed ,the order in which to do things and the timescales involved.They are simply the best!!Ditch the Agency now!!

[Arthur Little]

The nice folks here will give you and help you with all the info you need. Terpe has the knowledge to put most immigration lawyers to shame.Arthur and Doc also helped me with info and It was all put into a thread in the same day so by time I went to sleep I knew everything I needed ,the order in which to do things and the timescales involved.They are simply the best!! Ditch the Agency now!!

Thanks for your kind comments, Robbie ... they're very much appreciated.

[bigmarco]

Stop Don't do it

You're throwing your money away. I like the others paid 40,000 PHP to get a refusal.
Everything you need to know is here in the forum and it's completely free of charge.
If you still feel you need some help then engage the services of somebody who knows British Immigration Law.

[MissDi]

i agree with everybody else. do not use Agency. one of my friends use them when she applied for a fiance visa, only to get a refusal. she didnt disclose how much they spent but she said it was big amount of money. my husband and i contacted a solicitor from here in UK instead (to help us double check we have everything we need) who has great knowledge of immigration, worth your money, than agencies. i wish though i found this forum long time ago when we were applying back in Phils. all advises for free! how good is that! hehehe

[Coraliam]

Wow just got online and found all these replies thank you so much everyone, It looks like my doubts are confirmed although i must say it is quite nerve racking to think of going it alone, i have read quite a few posts on the site and have a good idea what we need to be doing, many thanks to you all, as said we are the ones to supply the information especially the sponsor so we have no problem with that, i need to think about things and how best to move forward, reading your messages rings a lot of bells I think from the lack of support from the agency so far and what you guys are saying we need to ditch them, i don't think they do understand as Terpe said with all the twists and turns, many thanks for the guide Terpe and again to you all for your support, I will speak with my wife and get back here, have updated my settings now so i will get replies by email (thought i had no replies!) so grateful thank you all again David

[rhaichard]

Be wise ... thats all I can say
Im only 22yrs old but Im the one who did my spouse visa application. Since I was a bit afraid going to the offices, i always bring my mum with me.

You can get most of the information you need here in this forum.

[rhaichard]

all advises for free! how good is that! hehehe.

FREE is the BEST price

[Dedworth]

FREE is the BEST price

I've always thought the same

[robbie bobby]

I've always thought the same

That's my favourite word in the whole world.nothing can beat free

[aprilovez]

Be wise ... thats all I can say
Im only 22yrs old but Im the one who did my spouse visa application. Since I was a bit afraid going to the offices, i always bring my mum with me.

You can get most of the information you need here in this forum.

lol girl same here...

[rhaichard]

lol girl same here...

instead of paying agency, i ate in Jollibee while doing my visa

[rhaichard]

I've always thought the same

husband's favorite phrase

[aprilovez]

instead of paying agency, i ate in Jollibee while doing my visa

i remember when i was at eco building while waiting for my appointment time an agent came and ask me bla bla and she mentioned about appeals and she said oh girl there is no chances of appealing.. am like ...

[lordna]

Wow just got online and found all these replies thank you so much everyone, It looks like my doubts are confirmed although i must say it is quite nerve racking to think of going it alone, i have read quite a few posts on the site and have a good idea what we need to be doing, many thanks to you all, as said we are the ones to supply the information especially the sponsor so we have no problem with that, i need to think about things and how best to move forward, reading your messages rings a lot of bells I think from the lack of support from the agency so far and what you guys are saying we need to ditch them, i don't think they do understand as Terpe said with all the twists and turns, many thanks for the guide Terpe and again to you all for your support, I will speak with my wife and get back here, have updated my settings now so i will get replies by email (thought i had no replies!) so grateful thank you all again David

David if you have doubts about how to go about anything on the forms or anything ....just ask on here. Instead of one opinion you will get the benefit of all of our experiences and believe me there's lots of us that have done it already!

[rhaichard]

i remember when i was at eco building while waiting for my appointment time an agent came and ask me bla bla and she mentioned about appeals and she said oh girl there is no chances of appealing.. am like ...

its just useless to get agency, why ? Because you need to go to the VFS and personally handed your documents, all you need to do is gather all your helpful documents

How easy is that ?