Ady, welcome to the forum, my name is Pete, I read your story, and have to say that the answers you have received about your situation often comes from a sense of hopelessness that exists when dealing with rather unusual situations and given that not all relationships fall into a "one size fits all" I can understand how you feel, since the girl you chose is married under the Philippine family code.
Firstly the information you have received from the the other guy you confided your story to, is woefully incorrect, very often professional sponsors as I call them tend to over exaggerate their knowledge in the field of immigration to the point that very often knowing a little is worse than knowing nothing at all.
I don't pretend to be an immigration lawyer, as much as I would love to do it full time and make the sort of money those people make, I am destined at this present time to sell bathrooms for a living and be a member of this forum.
But I know enough to know you have been bum steered and wrong footed, certainly as your girl is married in the Philippines, and as a citizen of the Philippines the Philippine congress has passed very stringent laws regarding the status of Filipino's who attempt to bypass the Family code, by going abroad to obtain foreign divorces.
The only way that a foreign divorce is legal in the Philippines is if the divorce of a Filipino was instigated by a plaintiff who is a foreign born national, now since I presume your girl's husband is a Filipino, that situation would not arise, since both are subject to the Philippine laws on matrimonial matters.
To suggest that your girl would somehow hi tail it over to Hong Kong and try to start a divorce proceeding against the husband in the S.A.R. which is now a province of the Chinese Peoples Republic is somewhat preposterous and laughable.
For one thing, your girl I presume is not a resident of the Special Administrative region of the Chinese peoples republic, is she not ? and if not, then how do you think she may start a divorce proceeding ?
Ridiculous advice, secondly any such divorce if remotely successful, would not be legal in the Philippines, and therefore although assuming you have deep pockets to maintain your girl in Hong Kong whilst she undertakes this dangerous procedure, then attempts to apply for a visa to enter the UK, when UK officials are well aware that Filipinos who are divorced abroad must be a national of that country before they may do so, checks would then be made into the nationality of your girl, and a chinese peoples national she would not be.
You have found out to your displeasure that you have only 1 option, and that is sadly and rather irritatingly, the only option open to you, however I disagree with the advice you have been given about an anulment procedure taking 5 years or more, that is wholly incorrect, anulments go through the regional trial court of the Philippines, and can take from between 18 months to 24 months depending on the standard of the lawyer you obtain, and the amount you are prepared to pay.
Secondly, the grounds for an anulment are stringent, such as the psychological incapacity of one of the parties to the marriage, i.e. the husband or wife could not carry out the duties of a husband or wife at the time the marriage was performed.
Or that one of them cannot engage in sexual intercourse, or that sexual intercourse has not taken place, or that at the time of the marriage, there are a number of area's which Filipino lawyers seek to exploit for the purposes of anulment's.
However as with all things in the Philippines, money makes the world go round, providing the right amount of money is on the table, that will normally secure the right result.
The only other way you can get your girl into the UK, is if you have been in a relationship with her for 3 years or more, you could then apply for your girl to come to the UK on the basis that you have lived in a relationship akin a marriage for that period, however to do this you would need to be presently settled and living in the UK, pretty difficult to achieve if you are in the UK and she is in the Philippines.
The other way to get your girl to be with you, is simply to try the tourist visa route, whilst the anulment process is taking place, you have nothing to loose and whilst this is going on, you could see each other and live together in UK, provided your girl has compelling reasons to return, I see no reason why she should not be granted a tourist visa.
Apart from that, the anulment process is the best one for you, at least then once she is legally annulled, she can then apply for a fiancee visa, and join you in the UK, if you want her that much, you will wait like the rest of us on this forum, who have waited 2 years or more in some situations 3 to 4 years to get their girl into UK.
Best of Luck.
