Spouse and Fiance Visas

[ginapeterb]

For those who wish to progress to obtaining a Fiance visa or a setllement visa after marriage in the Philippines.

Some helpful information here to follow


Pete & Gina

[Admin]

You can't get a fiancee visa if your already married, unless you forgot to tell the wife something ;D

[ginapeterb]

Thank you for that pearl of wisdom Keith very humerous as always....we will put some helpful information in this thread for those who are single males....looking to obtain either a fiancee visa or if wishing to marry in the Philippines a visa for entry as someone married to a UK Resident.

hahaha

[ginapeterb]

What is the Procedure to obain a:

1. Fiancee Visa for a Filipina who wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of marrying a UK Resident within 6 months.

2. A Visa for a Filipina who has married a UK National in the Philippines and wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of settlement with her new Husband.


The following Advice has been taken in some areas from a website designed by Eddie Basson who married a Filipina in Davao City 4 years ago, his website is informative and helpful, however some information has been provided by myself following a Visit to the British Embassy in July of this year 2004 after speaking to an ECO (Entry Clerance Officer).

You may wish to go to Eddie's website called "British Marrying Filipinos" which is at http://www.marrying-filipinos.fsnet.co.uk/ (paste this link into you browser and connect)

You may wish to use some of the information Eddie offers, and use some of the information we offer here, the process is slightly different but the bare bones are essentially the same.

So: what do you have to do ??

Firstly as I am in the process of doing now, you have to be single !

Why do i say that: Some Brits including myself at one stage..thought that you can apply for a fiancee visa whilst waiting for a Divorce Decree Absolute !

This is incorrect...you must be in possession of a Divorce Decree Absolute if you are divorced n UK..before applying at the British Embassy in Manila for a visa on forms VAF2 (2003)
The information given about Forms I2B Etc on Eddies website is no longer valid...so you may wish to use this information to help you as up to date as to the best of our ability, I think last month is pretty up to date..unless one of you comes back in Setpember and tells me something different...apart from that I am back in Manila on 17th September so you will have to be pretty slick to beat me. hahaha

Well here goes


Can A Filipina join her husband, Fiance?

Yes provided he qualifes as the following :

1. He currently lives and is settled in the UK.
2. He is returning to live in the UK Permanently after a foreign posting etc.

How does a Filipina qualify to join her husband in the UK ?

1. She must prove that she is legally married to her husband.
2. Her Husband is legally settled in the UK.
3. You must prove to the ECO and satisfy the ECO that you intend to live togther permanently as husband and wife in the UK.
4. You have Met each other.
5. Together you are able to support yourselves that is the husband can support his filipina wife without recourse to public funds.
6. That you have adequate accomodation owned or occupied exclusively by you, where you are able to live wihout recourse to public funds.
7. The UK Resident is not under the age of 18 years.
8. The Filipina wife is not under the age of 16 years.

For A Filipina wife who wishes to enter the Untied Kingdom to settle with her UK Resident husband, she will be allowed to work for a period of two years, if you can show that you are still togdther near the end of this period and intend to live together as a married couple she can apply for permanent residency.


What are the UK Immigration Rules for a Filipina who wishes to join her Fiance in the United Kingdom with a view to Marriage ?

The Filipina prospective wife must prove to the ECO the following :-

1. She is planning to marry a UK Resident within 6 months.
2. She plans to live with her UK Resident husband permanently after the marriage.
3. You have met each other.
4. Thee is somewhere for her to live without recourse to public funds.
5. She can be supported without recourse again to public funds.


If successful for a fiancee visa..she will be granted a visa for six months, during this period, she will not have permission to work, but this can be varied after the marriage has taken place, and an application to the IND (Immigration and Nationality Directorate) can be made for a 2 year extension.

What are the requirements for an application to be lodged at the British Mission overseas in this case your application must be filed at:

THe British Embassy
15th Floor
LV Locsin Building
6752 Ayala Avenue
1226 Makati City
Philippines (PO Box 2927 MCPO)

Telephone : 00 632 816 7271
Fax: 00 632 810 2745

E Mail: ManilaVisaEnquries.manila@fco.gov.uk

www. britishembassy.gov.uk/philippines
www.ukvisas.gov.uk

The Following steps must be taken and the following documentation must be provided to obtain a visa for either financee or spouse.

1. A completed visa application form which is
(a) Settlement Form (VAF2 2003)

Nakumpletong visa application form:
(a) Settlement Form (VAF2 2003)

2. Two Recent Passport size photos.
Dalawang pinakabagong passport size na litrato.

3. Visa fee in pesos. CASH is only form of payment.
Managers checks, or bankers drafts, made payable to British Embassy -Manila.

Bayad para sa visa. Tumatangap lamang ng cash, Managers, checks o bankers drafts, sa pesos na nakapangalan sa Britsh Embassy - Manila.

4. Current passport valid for at least 6 months and any old passports. A Clear Copy of the personal detail page should also be submitted.

Pinakabagong pasaporte (Valid at leat 6 na buwan) at lahat ng lumang pasaporte. Isang klarong kpya ng pahina na may personal na detalye ay dapat din isumite.

5. A fully copy of Sponsors passport, including the personal details page, and all the stamped pages.

Buong Kopya ng pasaportte ng sponsor, kalakip ang pahina ng personal na detalye at ang lahat ng pahinanag may tatak.

6. If the applicant has children, birth certiificates of each child on the National Statistics office (NSO) Security paper.

Kung may mga anak ang aplikante, sertipikasyon ng kanilang kapanganakan na nakalayay sa security paper ng National Statistics office (NSO)

7. Evidence that the sponsor can support the Filipina wife or Fiancee financially, Recommended submissions should be the last 6 months bank statements showing income and savings and evidence of employment.

Katibayan na kaya kang suportahan ng sponsor sa mga financial na pangangailangan.
Itinatagubilin namin na magbigay ng up-to-date at detalyadong transaksiyon mula sa bangko sa nakalipas na 6 na buwan bago sa petsa ng aplikasyon at Katibayan ng trabaho.

8. Annulment or divorce papers of applicant and sponsor if necessary. Divorce Decree Absolute for British Husband or Legal Annulment for Filipina wife. if not single.

Papeles ng pagpapawalang bisa ng kasal ng aplikante o papeles ng diborsyo ng sponsor kung kinakailangan o katibayan na inuumpisahan na ang pagpapawalang bisa ng kasal.

9. Evidence that your sponsor has adequate Accomodation. Mortgage Documents or rent books are acceptable along with the description of the property.

Katibayan na ang sponsor any may tamang laking tirahan. Dokumento galing sa pag-upa ng lugar any maaring tanggapin kasama ang paglalarawan dito.


Fees.

From 28th April 2004 the following fee is valid for this application.

PHP 27300.00 OR £260.00 this fee is based on a the prevailing exchange rate fixed by the British Embassy which is rather tilted in their favour as it bares not resemblance to the current bank rate...its 105 pesos to the UK 1 Pound, whereas the current rate is around 95 pesos to the Pound, naturally they make a little extra money out of the deal.

HOW TO LODGE THE APPLICATION.

An application can be lodged using the Visa call centre using the following numbers.

PLDT Tone Users : 1-909-UKVISAS(8584727)H

GLOBE: 1-900-UKVISAS(8584727)

Bayantel 1-903-UKVISAS(8584727)

STOP PRESS !!!!

A new service being offered by the British Embassy to cut down on travelling from the lower Islands is the (CAVA) service as follows:

You will be able to lodge your application by telephone at the Visa call centre of your choice and a roundtrip courier will be instructed to call to the home of your filipina fiancee - wife and collect your completed application, photographs documentation and fee to be transported by the said courier to the visa section, and to return the said documents back to her home, their is an additional fee of PHP 280, which is not refundable.

If you meet the CAVA Criteria, this service will be used, you need to call the Visa Call Centre with your passports ready, then a customer servie representative will confirm which service you qualify for, you need to have your passports ready when calling.

If you do not qualify for this service, and inteview appointment will be made for you to attend in person at the Embassy to lodge your application.

The following Advice is issued by the British Embassy - Manila and should be considered very carefully !!!!

BEWARE OF TOUTS OF FIXERS.

These people will take your money and promise to deliver, they cannot guarantee you a visa, all cases where the applications are suspected of being handle by touts or fixers will be passed to the Philippine Authorities for whatever action they consider to be appropriate.

MAG-INGAT SA MANLOLOKO AT MANGUNGUARTA

Maniningil sila ng pera sa inyo ngunit ano man ang kanilang ipangako ay hindi garantiya na kayo'y mabibigyan ng bisa. Lahat ng kaso tungkil sa mga ganitong illegal na gawain at organisasyon any isasangguni namin sa mga awtoridad para sa nararapat na parusang kanilang igagawad.


The Brtish Embassy may request an interview with the Filipina wife-fiancee, interview appointments are usually about 2 months after application has been lodged, Eddie Basson has osme useful help on the interview process and its good reading use it.




Further advice on extending the stay of a Filipina who is settled in the UK on a fiancee visa or spouse visa can be obtained from:

IND Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Croydon Public Caller unit
Lunar House, 40 Wellesley road,
Croydon CR9 2BY

General enquries: 00 44 (0) 870 606 7766
Application forms 00 44 (0) 870 241 0645

E-mail public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.



Best of Luck

Pete
Forum Moderator

Any questions or unusual situations should be left as questions for the Forum moderators on this threat.

We will endeavour to answer them as quickly as possible... please state the following:

Your name
The circumstances of your relationship
Date of Travel to Philippines
Anything you think will help us in answering your question.

[ginapeterb]

Stop Press....


Certificate of "No Impediment to Marriage"


The fee for issue of this certificate is now £30.00 and not £25.00 as previously stated...sorry folks..its gone up a fiver.

Also the period of waiting is 21 days...the same as if the marriage was to take place in the United Kingdom.

[ginapeterb]

SUPPLYING A COVERING LETTER WITH COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM VAFW(2003) IS SAID TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF A SUCESSFUL ENTRY CLEARANCE.


it has been reported to me privately that a covering letter to the ECO (Entry clearance officers) goes along way in establishing your intentions when making an application for entry clearance...remembering that it is your fiancee or wife who will be the applicant, therefore here is a suggested covering letter that can be used to facilitate your application.



Entry Clearance Officer
British Embassy Manila
15th Floor
LV LOCSIN Building
6752 Ayala Avenue
1226 Makati City
Philippines


Dear Sir/Madam/Miss,

This letter is in support of my wifes/fiancee's application for a entry clearance visa for the purposes of settlement/marriage in the Untied Kingdom.

Whilst considering her application I would like you to be aware of the following:

1. The Circumstances in which we met
2. My financial position.
3. The Accomodation arrangements available to my wife/financee.
4. An overview of our relationship.


The Circumstances in which we met.

I met my fiancee/wife through...........................and on the ...........we decided to meet in ..............by ..............of..............we decided to get marrired/engaged and I proposed....on............

We got married/engaged on..........................

I returned to the Philippines on............and we spent .....week together.....


My Financial Circumstancces

I am presently employed by....self employed as....and represent..or work for.....................................................
I am paid a salary of...or earn for the year .....

I am quite capable of supporting my fiancee/wife and have been supporting her regularly in the Philippines by regular Western Union transfers.....International Money orders....transfers to her bank acocunt etc etc etc...therefore I am quite able to support my fiancee/wife in the United Kingdom should entry clearance be granted.


Our Accomodation arrangments.

I own a ......(rooms number of) and occupy this property exclusively...I rent xxxx and have a rental assured shorthold tenancy agreement for ....months.

An Overview of this relationship with my fiancee/wife.

......and I have been together for .......years/months.... and have developed a close and personal loving relationship, it is our intention to live together in the United Kingdom with a view to marriage within 3 months....or as married we inted to live together in marriage for rest of our lives.

I would do anything for ....and I to be together and would leave the Untied Kingdom to live with her in the Philippines if entry clearance was not succesful, however I am settled inthe UK...have a long term career/business and it would cause financial hardship should I have t leave.

I trust from the facts placed before you...that you will look favourable on the application for my fiancee/wife.


Yours sincerely......



A letter of this type is said to increase the chances of entry clearance being granted...also offering to be interviewed if reaquired during the settlement interview is a good sign..even if you are not asked to do so.

[Eljohno]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 10 2004, 11:21 PM
SUPPLYING A COVERING LETTER WITH COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM VAFW(2003) IS SAID TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF A SUCESSFUL ENTRY CLEARANCE.
it has been reported to me privately that a covering letter to the ECO (Entry clearance officers) goes along way in establishing your intentions when making an application for entry clearance...remembering that it is your fiancee or wife who will be the applicant, therefore here is a suggested covering letter that can be used to facilitate your application.
Entry Clearance Officer
British Embassy Manila
15th Floor
LV LOCSIN Building
6752 Ayala Avenue
1226 Makati City
Philippines
Dear Sir/Madam/Miss,

This letter is in support of my wifes/fiancee's application for a entry clearance visa for the purposes of settlement/marriage in the Untied Kingdom.

Whilst considering her application I would like you to be aware of the following:

1. The Circumstances in which we met
2. My financial position.
3. The Accomodation arrangements available to my wife/financee.
4. An overview of our relationship.
The Circumstances in which we met.

I met my fiancee/wife through...........................and on the ...........we decided to meet in ..............by ..............of..............we decided to get marrired/engaged and I proposed....on............

We got married/engaged on..........................

I returned to the Philippines on............and we spent .....week together.....
My Financial Circumstancces

I am presently employed by....self employed as....and represent..or work for.....................................................
I am paid a salary of...or earn for the year .....

I am quite capable of supporting my fiancee/wife and have been supporting her regularly in the Philippines by regular Western Union transfers.....International Money orders....transfers to her bank acocunt etc etc etc...therefore I am quite able to support my fiancee/wife in the United Kingdom should entry clearance be granted.
Our Accomodation arrangments.

I own a ......(rooms number of) and occupy this property exclusively...I rent xxxx and have a rental assured shorthold tenancy agreement for ....months.

An Overview of this relationship with my fiancee/wife.

......and I have been together for .......years/months.... and have developed a close and personal loving relationship, it is our intention to live together in the United Kingdom with a view to marriage within 3 months....or as married we inted to live together in marriage for rest of our lives.

I would do anything for ....and I to be together and would leave the Untied Kingdom to live with her in the Philippines if entry clearance was not succesful, however I am settled inthe UK...have a long term career/business and it would cause financial hardship should I have t leave.

I trust from the facts placed before you...that you will look favourable on the application for my fiancee/wife.
Yours sincerely......
A letter of this type is said to increase the chances of entry clearance being granted...also offering to be interviewed if reaquired during the settlement interview is a good sign..even if you are not asked to do so.

Quoted post

Hi Pete,
i had a letter wrote already but after seeing this i re-wrote the whole thing.Thanks again for taking the time to write it all.

John

[ginapeterb]

Since writing the above posts, we understand their has been an increase in the fees required to process a Settlement visa.

We understand that the fee is now PHP 28,800.00 although at this moment in time, this information has not been confirmed, the information will be confirmed during january of 2005 direct with the British Embassy, Manila.

[ginapeterb]

ok folks I did call in to the British Embassy, and the current fee is P28,600 and not 28,800 as I had been told, the fee has risen from P27,000, thats effectively another £18.00 hmmmm not in line with inflation I have to say.

I have also found out that the initial visa issued is now only for 2 years and is a temporary visa, the visa must be re applied for after 2 year period, to make it a permament residency, I now have been reliably informed that this is to stop dumpers, ( I have referred to them in an earlier post) the visa cannot be renewed without evidence that the Filipina spouse is still living with her husband.

Hmmmm they are getting wise to it.

[Admin]

Probably not wise, just looking for something else they can extort fees out of

[ginapeterb]

Reader Updates - Important information regarding UK Marriages to Philippine Nationals.

Ladies and Gentleman following a visit today to the District and Superintendent registrar in my borough, I have the following to report, this may affect some of you who are contemplating:

1. Marriage in the United Kingdom to a Philippine National.

From the 1st February 2005, the following new rules, procedures are required before you can marry in the UK if the marriage is to a Non EEC National.

The Intention to marry cannot now be made at your local district registry, within the new rules, there will be a number of specialist centres being introduced around the UK, by regions, you will have to have your intention to marry registered through these special centres, they will then send the information to the Home Office - Immigration and Nationality Division, the intention to marry must be done via filling in a form from the specialist centre, there will be a fee of

£130.00

The Home Office must give the approval for the intention to marry and register the details at your local City or Provincial register office, before you are able to wait the statutory 21 days before a marriage licence can be issued.

This means now that those British Or EEC Nationals resident in the UK who have travelled to the Philippines and applied for a Visa for a Philippine National to have entry clearance to the United Kingdom, will only be granted a 6 month visa, as normal, but the marriage cannot be undertaken unless it has Home Office approval, this approval can only be achieved now through filing the appropriate form and paying the required fee.

Readers who apply after the 1st February 2005, will wish to note this new information, before deciding on whether they would wish to marry in the Philippines or Marry in the United Kingdom, the new legislation we understand is an attempt to curb the ever increasing number of bogus marriages between EEC UK nationals and African immigrants who use the 7 day residency clause to marry in the UK.

Details can be found at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk

Marriage in the Philippines

From 1st January 2005, all marriages which are to take place in the Philippines, still need to register their intention to marry with their local superintendent registrar, however, this is not a call in service any more, you still need to call at your local registry of births marriages and deaths, however, you will be asked to make an appointment to call back from 2-7 days, with the required paperwork, the notice of intended marriage must be posted as previously noted for 21 days in the office, the following details are required and are correct at date of this post.

The Fee to give a notice of marriage (pursuant to marriage to foreigners act 1906) is as follows: £30.00

An Appointment will be and the following is required on the appointment, the information will give the superintendent registrar the ability to determine whether a Certificate of No Impediment to marriage is warranted.

Your Birth Certificate

Your Passport

Your Driving Licence or Bank Statement showing your home address.

Divorce Decree Absolute. (If married before)

Your Fiancée’s Name, Address, Occupation and Date of Birth.

The location in the Philippines , City and Province where the marriage is to take
Place.

However no date is required.

After 21 days has elapsed providing there is no objection to the marriage, or anyone files a Caveat to the notice, (an objection) the registrar will issue a CNI, there is no validity on the CNI, but it is best to have it less than 3 months from the date of your
Intended marriage.

Notes: If anyone files a frivolous caveat to the notice of intention to marry, they are liable to prosecution for stating falsehoods, any frivolous intention to try and obstruct a person from obtaining a CNI will be liable to prosecution for supplying false information.

[Admin]

My wife's niece will be pleased. She's taken so long to get her act together to get an interview in the Philippines after us telling her and Mr English potential hubby what the procedure was for the last 15 months, they now get this as a bonus! Lucky them.

I actually agree with the new procedure, although as usual, the many suffer because of the few screwing the system.

[ginapeterb]

Indeed I also agree with Keith on this matter, the legislation has been enacted mainly to prevent African's mainly Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Commonwealth natiionals from using our very lax residency rules, a foreign national can marry in the United Kingdom after 7 days residency of arriving in the United Kingdom even if they are on a student, visitor, or other work visa, their is nothing to stop them doing this, there was some recent press and t.v. activity regarding, the Richmond on Thames district registry office, which has a very high percentage of foreign nationals marrying EEC Nationals, the spouses tended to be Portuguese nationals which are of course EEC Members, there have been a number of cases of pay offs for these services, from 1st February, the Home office will no doubt want to see the details of the intended marriages, the addresses given on several different marriages were in fact the same accomodation address.

Whilst I agree with the legislation, this will hamper genuine relationships, and give them an even more higher amout of paperwork to complete.

Once the scammer has married in the UK, they can then apply to the Home Office for a temporary residency visa, for 6 months, because they are commonwealth nationals, this visa can then be made permament providing evidence is shown to the Home Office that they are still man and wife, this of course is not too hard, given the bureacracy of the Home Office and its complete lack of ability to track these bogus marriage seekers.

Having then gained permanent residency, there is nothing to stop them from coming and going beween London and Lagos, Akrra etc etc, there premise is not to obtain nationality, but more so to obtain residency, and then feed into the benefits system, to which they seem very well versed in knowing their rights and entitlements.

[Admin]

I see the QUOTE button still works :lol:

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by admin@Jan 1 2006, 09:08 AM
I see the QUOTE button still works :lol:

Quoted post

indeed it does ..Im glad the letter in the courting and relationships section was of use to you, I recently wrote a coverering letter for a close friend of mine, and it was 3 pages long of explanatory circumstances, which were too long to just leave to chance, the interview lasted only 5 minutes, this is what the ECO said on the interview

Applicant: I have some circumstances about my children I want to put to you !"

Eco" Thats ok, I have already read it in the covering letter, thats fine, no need to go through it again, everything is ok with that.



There you are !!, you see a covering letter already had been read by the ECO, proving that they do read them.

[andypaul]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Jan 1 2006, 10:50 AM

There you are !!, you see a covering letter already had been read by the ECO, proving that they do read them.

Quoted post

I would like to back that up, and grateful for the advice and kind word from Pete and others when writing my Letter or should i say letters.

My letter was 4 pages long my wifes one page, another three pages about my finances and 6 pages (with photos) on our accomdation in the uk.

Sounds like loads some people if they have a huge mansion and loads of money in the bank can maybe do less. But we wanted to show the CEO that we Loved and cared about one another, also that my wife would have adqueate housing in the UK and not be a burden to public funds (in other words i can support my wife and she has the skills to get a job in the uk if required)

Thank you Pete for also giving me a basic outline to start with