Quote Originally Posted by grahamw48 View Post
Any children with a British passport will not need visas to come here of course... and no earnings rules attached to them either.

Yes, your WIFE can work straight away, but not a Fiancee (until after you're married).

So if you want her to be able to put money into the pot... marry her in the Philippines !
Thats great to hear, thanks. I thought that the financial requirements applied to any children that we might have together and that had me worried as it would essentially mean we couldn't have children until I secured a better paying job. Good to know that isn't the case, thank you.

Quote Originally Posted by lordna View Post
Hi Phil,

Best not to worry about ILR & citizenship at the moment as it will be a few years till you get to that stage. Life in the UK test also comes later.

One important thing you should be aware of now is to collect as much evidence as you can that you are in a genuine relationship. This will all help once you apply for your visa. Photos (dated), letters to each other, tickets to/from philippines and anything that proves time you have spent together.

It's a long time since we married in the Philippines (7 years) but back then you needed a document from the registry office here showing your intent to get married in the Philippines. This takes some time to get after you apply so best to enquire about that so you can plan dates. This document was then exchanged at the British embassy in Manilla for another document/permit which will allow you to get married. (this may have changed so either check with someone else who has done it recently (cheekee?) and also look on the British embassy manilla website. I can't advise on English tests as it wasn't a requirement when we married. However I believe you still need to get a CFO sticker in your wife's passport before you can leave the country. You may (both) need to attend seminars before they will issue it.

Don't bother paying a solicitor and DEFINITELY do not employ an agency in the Philippines to help you! Just ask on the forum as plenty of people on here have done it before you.

Good luck!
Thanks for the information. i don't know about the registry office thing here but I know that I need to attend the embassy in Manila and get an Affidavit that allows me to get married over there. I will have to have a look in to this in more detail. I might even create a thread asking of the steps required before I marry over there and see what everyone says. What is a CFO sticker exactly? I haven't heard of that.

I won't be paying for a solicitor but I have found one that offers telephone advice when needed for £150. I MIGHT take them up on that. I had a free consultation with them a few days ago and they seemed very competent. I won't be using a service in the Philippines ever again. I hired one earlier in the year to help us with a visit visa application. What a waste of money. They constantly harrassed my girlfriend, asking her for this information and then more the next day. Why they didn't ask for it all in one go I don't know. Then they asked her to doctor her wage slips so it shows she earns more money than she actually does. She brought this up to me and so I was able to tell her not to do it. I then demanded someone else work on our case but even then I had to go back through the application and re-write most of it (they listed down myinformation incorrectly and listed family members wrong etc. etc. as well as poor addition for costs and spelling) so I learned a hard lesson there. The visa was granted but through no help from the agency. I managed to get a partial refund for the shoddy service which I let my girlfriend keep rather than send back here. The only reason I didn't ask for a FULL refund was that there was a branch of this agency in London and there was one member of staff there who was very helpful.