Inviting my mum to attend my wedding next year, some advices pls....

[Babygirljen]

Hi guys! Hope you can advise me on this.. I'm going to marry a British citizen next year and I want my mum to come over here to attend the wedding and stay here for two weeks.. what we agreed is I will shoulder her accommodation and flights, and she can just "show" an amount of money, say, £1000 or less for food/shopping in her bank account. I thought that would be quite realistic then if she's only coming staying here for two weeks but of course I will still show my bank statements as I'm paying for her flights and accomodation. I think we're alright money wise however I have a few questions/worries.

My mum is retired and she's 62 y/o and the only income she got is her pensions and her monthly allowance from me , would that justify her funds requirement. i mean, she got separate savings but we don't really wanna include that because that's for her future plans and won't really need it for just that 2 weeks.. Assets wise, she just got her house renovated however there is no title as there was a problem about processing it, she didn't managed to sort it out and when she went to inquire about it they said it might take some time and of course will pay a fortune for that.. all that she have in her name is the tricycle which values more than php100,000. She's still also waiting for some of her retirement money as they they haven't given her all, just 40% of it since 2012 still waiting for 60% (I actually feel sorry for her having worked for 30+ years)

Ties in PI: she looks after my 4 yo niece and my niece lives with her as well coz my brother works full time while my sis-in-law works in HK. She is an active member/officer of few non-government organizations in my hometown so I would say that's considerable.

Other reasons of going back to PI: she won't be able to tolerate the cold weather in UK.

Other supporting evidence: she is 62 yo and she won't come here to work, she doesn't belong to that age bracket in which their intention is to come and work here so i guess that's a low risk. first wedding in the family so i want her to be there and obviously i want my brothers to be here as well but we couldn't afford that so at least even just my mum.

I couldn't think of any more supporting evidence that she is really returning to PI after the wedding especially that she's retired now and she's not employed anymore. and I'm worried that it would affect her application if we didn't provide a lot of evidence of her assets, she can't really present her house as her asset as ther's no title.. I just want her to be there on my wedding.. I know I've got a year but I'm already stressed...

[Terpe]

Securing a visit visa is notoriously problematic for many reasons.
Not least because approval or refusal of visa applications is principally based on the discretion of the ECO.
There is no appeal process.

The major challenge to overcome is the need by the applicant to prove a non-immigrant intent.
Applicants wishing to come to the UK under a tourist visit must clearly demonstrate that they do not intend to remain in the UK on a permanent basis. Immigration law places this burden of proof on the applicant.
In order to grant a temporary visa, the ECO must be satisfied that the applicant has strong social, economic and family ties abroad that would compel them to leave the UK at the end of the temporary stay.

Reasons to return home and strong/complelling ties differ from country to country, city to city, individual to individual.
Some examples of ties can be a job, a house, social and family relationships, a bank account, possessions etc
The ECO will be looking to see if the aspects of the applicants life binding them to their country outweigh those aspects that may cause them to be unwilling to return to their home country, or to attempt to change or extend your visa status.

On the positive side is that of the low cost for visit visa application.
Also that in the case of refusal the ECO will clearly indicate the reason(s).....making it potentially easier to meet requirements on a subsequent application.

In principle, financials are easy to meet.
Reasons to return home are often more tricky. Use the time you have to strengthen those.

Nothing to lose in making application and everything to gain.
I believe that visiting for a wedding has a better chance than a tourism reason....Good Luck

[sars_notd_virus]

Hi guys! Hope you can advise me on this.. I'm going to marry a British citizen next year and I want my mum to come over here to attend the wedding and stay here for two weeks.. what we agreed is I will shoulder her accommodation and flights, and she can just "show" an amount of money, say, £1000 or less for food/shopping in her bank account. I thought that would be quite realistic then if she's only coming staying here for two weeks but of course I will still show my bank statements as I'm paying for her flights and accomodation. I think we're alright money wise however I have a few questions/worries.

My mum is retired and she's 62 y/o and the only income she got is her pensions and her monthly allowance from me , would that justify her funds requirement. i mean, she got separate savings but we don't really wanna include that because that's for her future plans and won't really need it for just that 2 weeks.. Assets wise, she just got her house renovated however there is no title as there was a problem about processing it, she didn't managed to sort it out and when she went to inquire about it they said it might take some time and of course will pay a fortune for that.. all that she have in her name is the tricycle which values more than php100,000. She's still also waiting for some of her retirement money as they they haven't given her all, just 40% of it since 2012 still waiting for 60% (I actually feel sorry for her having worked for 30+ years)

Ties in PI: she looks after my 4 yo niece and my niece lives with her as well coz my brother works full time while my sis-in-law works in HK. She is an active member/officer of few non-government organizations in my hometown so I would say that's considerable.

Other reasons of going back to PI: she won't be able to tolerate the cold weather in UK.

Other supporting evidence: she is 62 yo and she won't come here to work, she doesn't belong to that age bracket in which their intention is to come and work here so i guess that's a low risk. first wedding in the family so i want her to be there and obviously i want my brothers to be here as well but we couldn't afford that so at least even just my mum.

I couldn't think of any more supporting evidence that she is really returning to PI after the wedding especially that she's retired now and she's not employed anymore. and I'm worried that it would affect her application if we didn't provide a lot of evidence of her assets, she can't really present her house as her asset as ther's no title.. I just want her to be there on my wedding.. I know I've got a year but I'm already stressed...

Hi. Welcome to the Forum!!

I would advise to write a good covering letter from the sponsors highlighting the reason for your mum's visit and since your wedding will be next year she will have loads of time to settle all her papers regarding her properties (land title takes about three months to sort out; yearly land tax paid for the properties which is proof of abode etc). The land title should be available and really should have been sorted by now even if it's a notarized copy from the bank.

Show your Mum's savings account as well. As long as it is in a PH bank account it's one good reason for returning.

Any papers referring to her pension is good proof also, as she will need to return to be able to receive the outstanding amount.

Showing that she looks after her nieces, I think in this case is irrelevant as who will be looking after her whilst she is in UK?And if someone else is looking after whilst you Mum is in UK, then they could also look after her any other time, right?

The cold weather is also not a good excuse because us Pinoys are very adaptable at any age and coats and jackets are whole new fashion items we love to encounter.

I wouldn't bother to mention that your Mum is a pensioner and can't work here because some do, and they will know she is a pensioner when they review her documents.

Just try to be as factual as you can with the evidence of the funds; accommodation and the situation and also a real matter of fact covering letter stating that, as you have already gone through the visa application process yourself you, as a sponsor, realize the obligations, undertakings and responsibilities of sponsoring such a visa.

Good luck and have a beautiful family wedding.

[Michael Parnham]

Hi Babygirljen, welcome to the Forum, good luck with your quest!

[Babygirljen]

Thabk you for all the replies! I know I still got like a year but it's just stressing me already.. I've got our coming first ever holiday in Philippines plus the wedding to think on top of it (sigh). I have been thru a lot about visa processing that I even had to go to court to appeal for it but it was all worth it. Sooooo I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that everything will turn out fine

[mickcant]

Hi Babygirljen Welcome to the Forum.

I expect you thought about having your wedding in the Philippines and wanted it here but if your mother is turned down for her visit visa you could always have 2 weddings.

Mick.

[melovesengland]

Your mother will be under family visit visa if she plans to come and visit you to the UK or attend your wedding etc. Like Sars said, a covering letter stating the reason why your mum wants to come and visit the UK for a very short period of time and reasons why she need to go back. Do not mention if you can about she is looking after a kid or that she is not in the bracket of working age, just keep it simple yet informative as much as you can.

Regarding to finances, since you are the main sponsor it is you who needs to supply bank statements, accomodation details, itinerary plan for your mum and a sponsorship letter about her upcoming visit. You need to prove that you can support your mothers needs whilst in the UK for 2 weeks. Also, include your mum's banking details or any documentation that shows shes got money coming in and out of her account as well as assests that she may have.

Goodluck to your app.