
Originally Posted by
Welsh_Italian
My wife applied for a tourist visa for herself last year and the best thing I can do is outline our application details.
* We were married (last June, only 4 months before she applied)
* She had no job
* She had no savings
* She did not own property and lived with parents at home
* She did not own business
* I had already booked tickets for me to fly to the Phils in November and for both of us to fly to the UK together
* She did not have return tickets from the UK to the Phils
* She had been abroad only once before, within Asia on a work trip
* I had no savings and showed no evidence of them (the wedding cleared out my savings)
* I intended to leave the UK Jan this year (shown by tenancy contract and job contract)
* I had permanent work (income ~ £25k) and I submitted 1 years pay certs
* We had prospective accommodation (a flat we had signed our agreement on - the tenancy contract was submitted). We submitted photographs of the flat.
* Had letter from my parents saying that they wanted to meet her again and that they would be willing to support us (just in case)
* Sponsorship letter from me saying that we're fed up of living apart and we wanted to be together like any other married couple and that the rest of my family wanted to meet her
* Photographs of wedding and our time together, letters etc as proof of relationship
And her visa was granted the day after it arrived in the office. The whole process (from posting to receiving the passport back) took about 10 days.
So it is possible. Just make the application substantial (ie, not just the forms and a few sheets of paper, but lots of evidence of your relationship and how much you love each other and want to be together, and how she has complied with any other country's visa requirements). However, it is still a risky process and there are no guarantees. Also, remind them that their own website recommends couples to apply for a tourist visa in the first instance.
We applied for the tourist visa because a) the processing is quicker (not much difference really), b) we didn't intend to settle in the UK (and we haven't), c) it's a darn sight cheaper than a residence visa. I don't know if receiving a residence (spousal or fiancee) visa and not settling in the UK counts against you for future applications. I don't think so, but you can never tell when policy will change.