<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ivor&mel &#064; Apr 9 2006, 10&#58;27 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
The reason I asked about the authenticity of the e-mail was the bit about co-sponsorship: that is a new concept to me. What does it involve? A sponsor has financial obligations, so a co-sponsor would have too? If so, then the bit about "If you can help me sponsor my wife, it woulnd&#39;t involve you in any inconvenience in the UK" rings rather hollow... Maybe I&#39;ve seen too many variations on the 419 scam and am getting cynical And too many memories of Filipinaheart - just seeing the words "help me" flashes up "give money to me" [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

But if the guy is genuine, he has my sympathy. He has a place to live, and where his wife could live. He has not insubstantial savings, albeit - unless I have misread - hidden from Big Brother, which may prove problematic in declaring on the application form? Where does he live? 5K in London is different from 5K in Gateshead. How much is "Disability Living Alllowance (enhanced amount) + Income Support" worth? He&#39;s got 5K savings and had another 5K to spend on trips to Phil, so he&#39;s hardly been on the breadline? The criteria for successful visa applications are STILL a mystery to me - do you have any ideas about what the minimum level people have been accepted on? Has anyone in his position been granted a visa as far as you know? I really wish the guy good luck, and just hope he can explain the true situation to his wife as soon as possible so that they can work on this together.

Ivor and Mel



Ivor and Mel
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Of course you are correct Ivor, I suppose he should get our sympathies, not everyone I guess fits in the pidgeon hole of self reliance and a regular income, I suppose we also have to remember, that sometimes we think " Why is this guy stringing this girl along" when it may be a genuine situation, where he finds himself not fitting quite right into the pidgeon slot, I think he said, his 5k is depleted now, I dont think he has another 5k, Im not sure about the minimum levels, I think to be honest, its mainly, that the guy is working and would not need to have recourse to public funds to support his wife, if he is living on public funds, he cannot bring a.n. other to live in UK whilst being in receipt.

There are some who would say &#39; he has no business marrying a girl, whilst on public funds&#39; and there are those who might sympathise with his situation, as some of them may be partially disabled, and of course we know these guys are entitled to a happy life also.

I suppose its not impossible for this to go through ok, again the burden of proof would be on the guys ability to support his wife without recourse, as far as his attempts to get &#39;co sponsorship&#39; I would be suprised if anyone would do that for him ? we all have to support our own wives, although many pinays, once the settle in to life in UK tend to want to work themselves, for various reasons, so they in fact never become a burden on public funds.

Its a paradox, all they seem to be concerned about at UKVisas, is that the &#39;Applicant does not represent a burden on public funds&#39; and yet, the statistics, show that Pinoys and Pinays alike, tend to come to UK and end up working in jobs that many of us would rather not do, such as house helps, Nanny&#39;s Domestic workers, shop assistants, in the food trade, and other lower paid jobs, and yet they do find work fairly quickly, this shows that they wouldnt really end up being a burden on public funds, the problem with the spouse/fiancee visa process, is that the applicant cannot simply expect to show the Embassy that they would work, when they don&#39;t in fact have a job, the only case where I saw that was different, is actually our very own Rob, Forum Moderator, who could with all honesty say, that his wife had a job to go to, because Elsa&#39;s Job was already agreed and in place.

Rob will no doubt back us on this one, but as far as this guy goes, I hope he sorts it out, but its unreasonable for him to presume that some other guy can co-sponsor his wife, the Embassy are never going to sanction that.

As I said, best of luck to him.