Living with parents - minimal spending...

[Philip]

After reading a recent thread about presentation of your income and out going payments per month etc, I wonder how my situation would look to a grumpy official at the embassy.

Basically, I live with my parents still(dont laugh&#33 and I have very little out going payments, but with just under £300 income a week with Royal Mail.

I pay £20 board(rent? ehehe) a week, which when my gf comes here to live will only double. I save pretty much everything else, which then gets spent on support and plane tickets, save for my bus fares and general ingulgences of CD's and nights out every now and then...

Of course this will change once we are married and my then asawa is able to work, then the flat hunting will begin.

Hmm, your thoughts!?

[Pauldo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 7 2006, 10&#58;15 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
After reading a recent thread about presentation of your income and out going payments per month etc, I wonder how my situation would look to a grumpy official at the embassy.

Basically, I live with my parents still(dont laugh&#33 and I have very little out going payments, but with just under £300 income a week with Royal Mail.

I pay £20 board(rent? ehehe) a week, which when my gf comes here to live will only double. I save pretty much everything else, which then gets spent on support and plane tickets, save for my bus fares and general ingulgences of CD&#39;s and nights out every now and then...

Of course this will change once we are married and my then asawa is able to work, then the flat hunting will begin.

Hmm, your thoughts&#33;?
[/b][/quote]
When my wife and I moved from the PI to the UK we gave my mums address as where we&#39;d be living until we bought a place. No worries, as we had a chunk of change in the bank.

[symonh2000]

I am in a similar situation. I won&#39;t be able to afford to move out until my girl gets here and gets herself a job, so in the meantime I have to say we will be living here with my parents.
Then when she gets a visa, start looking right away.

[walesrob]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(symonh2000 &#064; Jun 7 2006, 10&#58;56 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I am in a similar situation. I won&#39;t be able to afford to move out until my girl gets here and gets herself a job, so in the meantime I have to say we will be living here with my parents.
Then when she gets a visa, start looking right away.
[/b][/quote]

When Elsa applied for her visa, she made it clear that we would both be living at my mothers house until we can find our own, and this didn&#39;t seem to cause any problems at the visa interview.

[Admin]

Why do people buy houses on a Mortgage and pay over 100% interest over the years? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Erm.gif[/img]

Just rent, much easier, your not liable for the building, and if you end up with bad neighbours, hooded kids, etc, it&#39;s easier to move [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Property in the UK is a complete ripoff. Best renting, and saving the interest yourself to buy a 4 berdroomed ensuite with pool in the Phil for around £30,000 cash.

[Pauldo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(admin &#064; Jun 8 2006, 09&#58;11 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Why do people buy houses on a Mortgage and pay over 100% interest over the years? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Erm.gif[/img]

Just rent, much easier, your not liable for the building, and if you end up with bad neighbours, hooded kids, etc, it&#39;s easier to move [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Property in the UK is a complete ripoff. Best renting, and saving the interest yourself to buy a 4 berdroomed ensuite with pool in the Phil for around £30,000 cash.
[/b][/quote]

But you pay rent for a lifetime and then walk away owning nothing [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img]

Or, you pay a mortgage, at comparable monthly costs to rental (but decreasing, relatively, as years go by due to inflation) and end up with a house worth far more than you paid for it.

Then you sell it, buy a £30,000 palace in the PI and still have a hundred grand or more left [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[ginapeterb]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'> I pay £20 board(rent? ehehe) a week, which when my gf comes here to live will only double. I save pretty much everything else, which then gets spent on support and plane tickets, save for my bus fares and general ingulgences of CD&#39;s and nights out every now and then...

Of course this will change once we are married and my then asawa is able to work, then the flat hunting will begin.
[/b][/quote]

So lets get this right Manila bound ? (put a name in for us) you pay your Mum £20.00 per week for your upkeep, sorry forgive me for [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] LOL, In the year 2006 I find that incredible, since that is what I paid my Mum when I was a young soldier in 1977, I would have to say you are one of the luckiest guys in the world, but I think you are getting ready for a rude awakening to life in the real world.

I love your next comment &#33;,

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>This will all change when we are married and my then asawa is able to work, the flat hunting will begin. [/b][/quote]

I find this paticularly funny and forgive me for laughing, but I bet your Filipino GF is ecstatic at the thought of coming to UK on the basis that she will have to find work more or less straight away, I bet she can&#39;t wait for the joys of starting her life in the new country, on the basis that you will only be able to consider looking for accomodation once she is working, that immediately should start to worry you, as it would mean, you are unable to accomodate her, unless of course your Mum consents to her living at her house until such time as you are able to look for alternative accomodation.

There is nothing wrong of course with being accomodated in Mums house, I know of others who do this, but I think you are going to find that your expenses will increase more than an extra £20.00 a week, I think you need to take a look at the &#39;real life&#39; before you bring this girl to the UK.

The cost of accomodation in the UK, whether it be private rentals, or house prices, has sky rocketed, the average 2 bedroom rental is at least £650.00 to £700.00 in the South East, some are between £800.00 and £1000.00, I can&#39;t speak for the North as I have no idea what they cost there, but I Iny any event I wish you well with it.

Pete

[ivor&mel]

This 20 quid thing amazes me, but it is not unusual. A guy at work, in his 30s, on 30K a year was paying his mother something like 50 quid a month for "keep"&#33; Mind you, he accumulated a hell of a lot of savings in his 15-20 years at work [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

[Philip]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ginapeterb &#064; Jun 9 2006, 09&#58;08 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
So lets get this right Manila bound ? (put a name in for us) you pay your Mum £20.00 per week for your upkeep, sorry forgive me for [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] LOL, In the year 2006 I find that incredible, since that is what I paid my Mum when I was a young soldier in 1977, I would have to say you are one of the luckiest guys in the world, but I think you are getting ready for a rude awakening to life in the real world.

I love your next comment &#33;,
I find this paticularly funny and forgive me for laughing, but I bet your Filipino GF is ecstatic at the thought of coming to UK on the basis that she will have to find work more or less straight away, I bet she can&#39;t wait for the joys of starting her life in the new country, on the basis that you will only be able to consider looking for accomodation once she is working, that immediately should start to worry you, as it would mean, you are unable to accomodate her, unless of course your Mum consents to her living at her house until such time as you are able to look for alternative accomodation.

There is nothing wrong of course with being accomodated in Mums house, I know of others who do this, but I think you are going to find that your expenses will increase more than an extra £20.00 a week, I think you need to take a look at the &#39;real life&#39; before you bring this girl to the UK.

The cost of accomodation in the UK, whether it be private rentals, or house prices, has sky rocketed, the average 2 bedroom rental is at least £650.00 to £700.00 in the South East, some are between £800.00 and £1000.00, I can&#39;t speak for the North as I have no idea what they cost there, but I Iny any event I wish you well with it.

Pete
[/b][/quote]

Thanks for the semi-piss take of a reply and for keeping up your usual practice of putting people down with out full knowledge of a situation.

I&#39;m only asking for advice/help on how to present the comings and goings of my money&#33;

[ginapeterb]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 02&#58;11 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Thanks for the semi-piss take of a reply and for keeping up your usual practice of putting people down with out full knowledge of a situation.

I&#39;m only asking for advice/help on how to present the comings and goings of my money&#33;
[/b][/quote]


Manila Bound, there is no point in being offended by my reply, most people on this site know me, they know I am one of the most helpful individuals ever to have come on this site, but as I said, you really do make me laugh, your outgoings would have to be presented like this:


Income £1200.00



Board to Mum £ 80.00



Disposable Income £ 1120.00



Based on the above, you should have no problems convincing the Entry Clearance Officer of your ability to support your wife without recourse to public funds, provided that your wife is able to live with you and accomodated at your Mothers home, i see no need for any concerns on your part.

I am mortified that you find my reply a semi- piss take, in fact, It was an honest appraisal of how I saw your post , because I found your grasp of the reality of life, a little hard to accept, £20.00 a week for your accomodation and expenses, seems to be out of touch with the cost of living in Toni&#39;s Kingdom, however, your post made me laugh, I am always honest on this forum, and will continue to be so, and as for your assertions that I do not know the circumstances, you&#39;ve already told us, " You live with your Mum and pay £20.00 per week" what could be more simpler than that.

If you are hoping that your Flipina Asawa is going to cost you another £20.00 on top, my question is this

Have you actually got one ? cos my experience tells me, that they cost an awful lot more than £20.00 a week, Courting and marrying a Filipina is not cheap, Ivor mark his card will you &#33;, John, Rob, Keith, Paul, Peter, will no doubt back me up, I may be wrong...no doubt you will correct me, but I still think you need to take a long hard look at the realities of bringing a Filipina to UK.

Room temp alone goes up substancially, increasing your heating bill in Winter, by 200 per cent, my electric bill doubled the last quarter because of the heating being on continuously at 25 degrees, when it was nice and warm outside.

Food bills alone will go up, Filipinas have to have their own food, that might mean you and your wife having seperate meals, hmmmmm I can think of one Filipinouk member who told me this is true, its certainly true in my case.

Costs of extra phone calls, calling cards, to Philippines, when they want to call home, £10.00 a shot, twice a week is £20.00.

New Clothes for Winter, jumpers, boots, etc etc, and the list goes on &#33;&#33;


So £20.00 a week hmmmmm need to do your sums again..&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; ang kuripot mo &#33;

[Philip]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ginapeterb &#064; Jun 9 2006, 02&#58;35 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
So £20.00 a week hmmmmm need to do your sums again..&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; ang kuripot mo &#33;
[/b][/quote]

First of all, apologies for that post, rough day at work and all. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Doh.gif[/img]

My first post mearly shows what I have to pay &#39;at the moment&#39; for my own &#39;keep&#39;, I am fully aware that in &#39;real life&#39; things are very different... You&#39;ve made an assumption and jumped on it.

Since late 2004, most of my money has been spent supporting my gf, helping with their rent, the costs of visiting the Philippines etc... so I am aware of how expensive things can be, I am under no illusion that all I&#39;ll need is to pay an extra £20 a week once she is here&#33;&#33;&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]

I dont see anything wrong with waiting till my gf is settled here before finding a place for us to live if my parents, gf and myself are happy with the situation&#33;

[ginapeterb]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 03&#58;05 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
First of all, apologies for that post, rough day at work and all. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Doh.gif[/img]

My first post mearly shows what I have to pay &#39;at the moment&#39; for my own &#39;keep&#39;, I am fully aware that in &#39;real life&#39; things are very different... You&#39;ve made an assumption and jumped on it.

Since late 2004, most of my money has been spent supporting my gf, helping with their rent, the costs of visiting the Philippines etc... so I am aware of how expensive things can be, I am under no illusion that all I&#39;ll need is to pay an extra £20 a week once she is here&#33;&#33;&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]

I dont see anything wrong with waiting till my gf is settled here before finding a place for us to live if my parents, gf and myself are happy with the situation&#33;
[/b][/quote]


ok Manila bound I hear you, we all have crappy days at work, tell me about it, no problem, I congratulate you regarding sending sustento for your Girl and her family, that is very responsible of you, I dont see anything wrong with staying at your parents, etc, before doing this, maybe I got the wrong end of it as well, hope that works well, what stage are you at with the visa etc, or have you married as yet ?

Best wishes

Pete

[Philip]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ginapeterb &#064; Jun 9 2006, 03&#58;15 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
ok Manila bound I hear you, we all have crappy days at work, tell me about it, no problem, I congratulate you regarding sending sustento for your Girl and her family, that is very responsible of you, I dont see anything wrong with staying at your parents, etc, before doing this, maybe I got the wrong end of it as well, hope that works well, what stage are you at with the visa etc, or have you married as yet ?

Best wishes

Pete
[/b][/quote]

The financial side of things is what worries me most, hence my uber-tired over reaction&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

So, perhaps it would be good to show in the out goings, the amount I send abroad each month or are they more interested in how the money will be spent once my gf is here?

We are planning on applying for a visa this winter, ie; when ever royal mail allows me to escape the uk for 3 weeks, but we aren&#39;t married yet.

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/66.gif[/img] Cheers&#33;

[ivor&mel]

MB,

Winter gives you lots of time to get this sorted; there is no reason in principle why your present circumstances should prohibit your lady from getting the visa. I still don&#39;t know which part of the UK you are in, but you need to think about the extra expenses that Pete has talked about. Talk it through with your family if necessary&#33; And will you still be providing any support to her family when she comes here? You&#39;re going to be her sponsor here, so you need to be able to show the Embassy that you have regular and sufficient income, manageable expenses, savings to fall back on.

The whole process of courtship, sustento, engagement, visa application, settlement, marriage, FLR needs to be looked at. All of these are going to cost you, but I&#39;m sure you&#39;re going into this with your eyes wide open [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] Just keep records and receipts of all outgoings related to your relationship. Cost the processes you still have to go through - there should not be many unknowns. When you get engaged, apart from the ring(s), you will be expected to throw an engagement party (not essential, but greatly appreciated) so that you can be shown off to loads of relatives that you will never see again till you throw the next party [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] The visa process needs money for the application, UKVACS, courier, travel and accommodation for one or both of you. For Settlement, I&#39;m thinking about expenses for the CFO farce (fees, travel and accommodation again), plane tickets to get her over here. Marriage? Depends on whether you are planning to marry here or there; but do talk it through together, plan and cost it. Once she is here and you are married, you will need to apply for Further Leave To Remain within 6 months: another nice little earner for the Home Office&#33; All this will have to be paid for before she is able to start work here.

Also, what I would recommend you do is to buy as many of the essentials as possible in the Philippines rather than the UK. Rings are probably the biggest single expense, and can be bought much cheaper there if you have time to wait for them to be made&#33; And if your lady doesn&#39;t insist on having rings made in England [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigcry.gif[/img] Buy all the clothes you can, both for cold and warm weather (though cold weather clothes are not so easy to find there [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] Jumpers, socks, hat were not difficult to find, and short boots, but a decent winter coat and gloves? No way&#33 Another tip that came from this Forum: consider having her get any necessary dental work done before she comes here.

There&#39;s a lot to think about and a lot to do. Just don&#39;t try to rush it and get it wrong. You&#39;ll probably make mistakes - I&#39;m sure most of us did - but just make sure they are little ones [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Ivor and Mel

[Eljohno]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pauldo &#064; Jun 8 2006, 09&#58;51 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
But you pay rent for a lifetime and then walk away owning nothing [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img]

Or, you pay a mortgage, at comparable monthly costs to rental (but decreasing, relatively, as years go by due to inflation) and end up with a house worth far more than you paid for it.

Then you sell it, buy a £30,000 palace in the PI and still have a hundred grand or more left [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]
[/b][/quote]


I agree with what you say as you could pay rent for years but end up with nothing to show for it.

More and more people over here are buying houses just to rent them out and using that as their pension.

Where i live in N.Ireland my city is the most expensive place to live and the house prices have gone up by 44% in the last year according to a recent survey.

A guy i know owns 4 houses and rents 3 of them out and i would guess he has already made a few 100,000 profit just in the last 5-10 years.


john

[Philip]

Maybe it&#39;s just not feesible for someone who earns £10,000 minimum a year to do this&#33;? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigcry.gif[/img]

My work is good in that it offers lots of opportunities for overtime throughout the year, especially at christmas time though, phewee&#33;

I think our evidence side of things is healthy... we have plane tickets, hotel receipts, photos, chat logs, letters, phone bills, proof of support/WU receipts, pay slips, bank statements and work contracts etc. They are all kept in order in a big box file I bought.

My gf also has a large folder where she is keeping all of her relevant papers and evidence as well.

At Royal Mail we kind of get to pick when we get our winter hols, so I plan to hold back for an early 2007 slot to allow for some extra income/savings.

So yeah, a good review of the financial side if things is definitely in order, thanks for the advice.

[ivor&mel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 05&#58;46 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I think our evidence side of things is healthy... we have plane tickets, hotel receipts, photos, chat logs, letters, phone bills, proof of support/WU receipts, pay slips, bank statements and work contracts etc. They are all kept in order in a big box file I bought.
[/b][/quote]Yeah, that&#39;s the sort of stuff [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] You could save money by using an alternative to WU though; I always use Xoom, but there&#39;s at least one thread about possible ways to send money.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 05&#58;46 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
At Royal Mail we kind of get to pick when we get our winter hols, so I plan to hold back for an early 2007 slot to allow for some extra income/savings.
[/b][/quote]Be aware that Christmas/New Year is a busy time for flights to Phil. Unless you can book well in advance, you may need to think about Feb at the earliest if you want a sensible fare.

Ivor and Mel

[Philip]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ivor&mel &#064; Jun 9 2006, 06&#58;12 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Yeah, that&#39;s the sort of stuff [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] You could save money by using an alternative to WU though; I always use Xoom, but there&#39;s at least one thread about possible ways to send money.

Be aware that Christmas/New Year is a busy time for flights to Phil. Unless you can book well in advance, you may need to think about Feb at the earliest if you want a sensible fare.

Ivor and Mel
[/b][/quote]

During May my gf set up a bank account that allows transfers via Loyds here in the UK, we&#39;ve yet to use it though.

Aiming for feb or march 2007 for my 3rd visit to apply, then go back in early june hopefully returning to the UK together.

Well, that&#39;s the grand plan anyway. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/BouncyHappy.gif[/img]

[ivor&mel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 06&#58;22 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>Aiming for feb or march 2007 for my 3rd visit to apply, then go back in early june hopefully returning to the UK together.
[/b][/quote]I&#39;m not getting my head round this&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Doh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Erm.gif[/img] She&#39;s your gf, not fiancee? Are you planning on getting engaged early 2007, applying for a fiancee visa then, and married here late 2007?

[Philip]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ivor&mel &#064; Jun 9 2006, 06&#58;33 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
I&#39;m not getting my head round this&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Doh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Erm.gif[/img] She&#39;s your gf, not fiancee? Are you planning on getting engaged early 2007, applying for a fiancee visa then, and married here late 2007?
[/b][/quote]

Heh, sorry for being vague&#33;

We&#39;ve talked about it and both said it would be lovely to be Mr & Mrs, it&#39;s just not official yet(no ring).

so yes... engaged then apply, then marry here.

You think this is bad&#33;?

[ivor&mel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 9 2006, 06&#58;47 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>You think this is bad&#33;?
[/b][/quote]Not at all - just trying to let my brain catch up with reality&#33;

[baboyako]

I dont see why you&#39;re all having a dig at this chap.

The requirements are &#39;no recourse to public funds&#39; so it doesn&#39;t matter if your only earning 10k/yr and living with your parents.

I asked my fiancee to marry me. she said yes. that makes her my fiancee. & no, she doesn&#39;t have a ring.

what people spend their money on is their business.

[ivor&mel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(baboyako &#064; Jun 9 2006, 08&#58;28 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>I dont see why you&#39;re all having a dig at this chap.
[/b][/quote]No-one&#39;s having a dig at him, are they? We all have different styles of phrasing, but the replies to his concerns have been genuine attempts to be reassuring where appropriate and cautionary where appropriate.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(baboyako &#064; Jun 9 2006, 08&#58;28 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>The requirements are &#39;no recourse to public funds&#39; so it doesn&#39;t matter if your only earning 10k/yr and living with your parents.
[/b][/quote]They are the documented requirements, yes. But replies here are based on the British Embassy in Manila&#39;s possible interpretation of the requirements. Once you enter the Embassy, you are in a zone where normal commonsense may not necessarily apply.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(baboyako &#064; Jun 9 2006, 08&#58;28 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>I asked my fiancee to marry me. she said yes. that makes her my fiancee. & no, she doesn&#39;t have a ring.
[/b][/quote]Doesn&#39;t give her automatic right to UK settlement though.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(baboyako &#064; Jun 9 2006, 08&#58;28 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>what people spend their money on is their business.
[/b][/quote]You can try telling that to an ECO if you wish [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yikes.gif[/img]

[Philip]

Everythings fine, just a little misunderstanding earlier. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/BouncyHappy.gif[/img]

[andypaul]

Hi Manila Bound

Living with your parents is no big problem as long as there is room for you all in the eyes of the law like pete and others mentioned in much better detail than I can in this and other threads.

All though I earned more than you on paper my outgoings were probaly much higher due to my owning a flat. I just scraped though on what i estimated would be the minimum we would need to support my Wife.

As I and others have said before it appears its not the actual amount you earn, its the amount free to support your wife and you that counts.

So if you can ensure that you have lets say 50 - 60 free say 200 - 240 pounds a month free you can write a case for you having enough to support your soon to be Wife. As you mention you have other costs other than the rent. It maybe better to up the amount you put down as rent or show how much you give towards the households utility bills, food and any other costs you can think of.

Treat your visa application like a new business start up when writing the figures down.. Think what you would write down in a business plan to the bank. You need to have more money coming in than going out and a surplus at present which can be used to help your Girlfriend/wife as she finds her feet. It will take months for her to settle and find a job unless she is very lucky. My Wife was lucky and found a job after three months, but this is not always the case for many others. So you need to show what happens if everything goes to plan and what happens if things don&#39;t.

I waffled on for pages about my finanacial details in our paperwork, I have no idea if anyone read it at the embassy but I set out to prove that we had enough money to support us both and stressed the skills and opptunties for my wife once she came over.
What Jobs she would be capable of once here, qualfications which would help, the level of her English etc. The avaibilty of jobs in our area etc. Basically if i could think of a reason why someone could deny my wife a visa, I wanted to be able to counter it.

My wife came over in October just as winter started the heating bill was HUGE as she was at home most days, she also had her 5 snack/meals aday as i was out all day at work. Once she was comfortable going to the shops in the local town, of course she wanted to buy some more clothes (what young lady doesn&#39;t) nothing special or fancy but it all adds up. As does the bus fares and any snacks bought while out, my Wife is still in her phill habit of eating while shopping.
We are lucky in that we have phill food shops nearby, but not many do, others have to travel miles for what your Lady will think of as basics.


No one is trying to put you off being with the Lady you love. I guess its like the other chaps have said its not easy and all the advice we wanna share is to help you avoid the mistakes we have made or nearly made.


Remeber nothing is impossible, somethings just need a bit more planning or hardwork than others.

[Admin]

Rental in the north is around £200 a month for a 2 bedroomed house, but again, it depends on the area, it can be very difficult to get somewhere decent these days, all the good ones are filled with asylum seekers & criminals [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cwm24.gif[/img]

One thing you must realise when the g/f is here, your heating bill will DOUBLE, and the fresh fruit/veg & fish bill costs me over £50 a week, and that&#39;s just for the missus [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yikes.gif[/img]

£2.50 for a large mango [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigcry.gif[/img] I can get a box of them with change in the Phil for that [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]

[andypaul]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(admin &#064; Jun 10 2006, 08&#58;39 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Rental in the north is around £200 a month for a 2 bedroomed house, but again, it depends on the area, it can be very difficult to get somewhere decent these days, all the good ones are filled with asylum seekers & criminals [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cwm24.gif[/img]

One thing you must realise when the g/f is here, your heating bill will DOUBLE, and the fresh fruit/veg & fish bill costs me over £50 a week, and that&#39;s just for the missus [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yikes.gif[/img]

£2.50 for a large mango [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bigcry.gif[/img] I can get a box of them with change in the Phil for that [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]
[/b][/quote]


Im with you on the amount to rent and bills. I just mentioned the free 200+ pounds as a figure the Embassy might be looking for after accomdation in our case. I have no firm evidence for this but people have written in appeal cases that the minimum figure avaiable to look after your wife was the amount for income support for one person which I belive is just over 50 quid a week. (I think it was about 54-55 quid when we applied sorry can&#39;t remeber now)
I.E the goverment is trying to ensure you have enough to get by, for food, clothing and i guess social purposes.

But as you rightly say we all know that figure is on the lower side to what is actually need.

For Manila bound he might have to show he has enough for his costs, his ladies costs and there housing.


I worked on the fact that in our paperwork i had after all my present costs (housing,utility bills,food bills and other outgoings such as social spending money) what i had to look after my wife.


I suggested the heating bill would increase, but showed that I had refurbished the flat that year so the insulation was far better and heating equipment was better so would not rise as much as if the flat was left untouched.
I also stressed that my wife would use skype to talk to her family and friends more in phill than I (as could not use at work), thus saving on the phone and text bill as at first she would be at home or would call on days off/ in the evenings/ early mornings.

I was just basically trying to counter all the aruguments the ECO might have agaisnt my wife coming to the UK.

We had evidence of contact with regards to huge folders of phone bills,messagner,postal communications, photos together with her family, bills and reciepts you name we had it.

Evidence of adqueate accomdation paperwork proving ownership and the size of the rooms,photo graphs in the style of a folder showing the flat to back up the details in deeds. proof of utility bills and buliding work to show how i had improved the flat. Also included my Council tax bill showing i had the discount for single occupancy to show only i was living there.

Evidence of adqueate financial support for my wife with wage slips, p60 and letter from company showing how much would get for the next year, bank statments showing postive savings, then a three page letter with tables showing outgoings now and when my Wife arrived. I showed that untill my Wife got herself a job in the UK that I could support us both.


As i see it thats the three points the ECO is legally supose to look for.

Proof of contact and that its a loving relationship, Accomdation and not a burden to public funds.


But Admin your right we all know from experience the figures above are on the low side. But hopefully will ensure the ECO has no grounds for not oking the Visa application. The ECO like us all is looking for an easy life, if you can show them not reasons to object i guess its just as easy for them to ok the visa as dissallow it.

Better get ready for the game now, good luck Manila Bound, if I can help in any way let us know.

[Philip]

Thanks for the info and good luck, holy *s*h*i*t* we are going to need it&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cwm24.gif[/img]

Bring it on&#33;&#33;&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yikes.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

[andypaul]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(manila bound &#064; Jun 10 2006, 02&#58;03 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Thanks for the info and good luck, holy *s*h*i*t* we are going to need it&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cwm24.gif[/img]

Bring it on&#33;&#33;&#33; [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yikes.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]
[/b][/quote]

Well we all needed good luck, when going though the same process.

We were both lucky and worked dammed hard as im sure you both will and have been doing already.

Its true that you make your own luck. From what i read you have done all the right things. Asked the right questions and done the right research.

[russ01539]

I cant understand why people are still suggesting which phone company to use or phone card so they can call home.

I have found, in the long run, if you buy your gf/fiance/wife's family a internet ready pc etc with a webcam and mic, and set up your choice of messenger then it is free for your wives to 'call home' and they have the added pleasure of being able to see their family face to face. It still works out cheaper even if you have to pay for the connection and line rental at the Pi end of things.

Or do most peoples wives' families still live in the province with no phone connection or electricity ?