Filipina wife visiting visa to UK. Help please.

[Arthur Little]

Slightly tricky John I presume you will be applying for your child to come too?

As I see it your problem is this

If your financial situation would not achieve a spouse visa then its doughtful they would grant a visitors visa as you would be assessed on the same grounds as to your ability to support them. as well as having to show they will on probability return to the Phils befor it expires

... with respect, I cannot see any reason for John NOT being granted a SPOUSAL Visa, given that his income appears to be on a par with mine. I'VE been a State Pensioner myself, since last September, and MY wife's visa was approved six months previously ... at which time my income actually amounted to LESS (than it is now) - as [being retired prematurely] I was then in receipt of the interim 'stop-gap' known as Guaranteed Pension Credit, to top-up a modest occupational pension. Indeed, Keith ... if you cast your mind back to some of my earliest posts at the time I first joined this forum in October 2008, you'll see what I mean.

[JonHig]

Arthur.

If you can tell me where i might find these earlier posts of yours it might tell me something i am not aware of. Of course things might have changed since you did it.

I wish i could send you a PM but can't find how to do it (probably staring me in the face!). John

[Arthur Little]

Arthur.

If you can tell me where i might find these earlier posts of yours it might tell me something i am not aware of. Of course things might have changed since you did it.

I'd be more than pleased to share their content with you, John ... if they're still available for "general" consultation on the public forum; I know I'M able to access them ... but, from what Keith says ... it might not be possible for others to do so. However, once a 'Newbie' has reached 15 posts, he/she is, I believe [usually] provided with a message box on his/her main profile page.

I wish i could send you a PM but can't find how to do it (probably staring me in the face!). John

Yes the Private Message facility is a very useful tool; however, recent changes to Forum Regulations preclude contributors from using it until they attain 'Respected Member' status. And, there again, the rules have been overhauled ... due to past abuses of the system. I'm sure, though, that any technicalities can be overcome as soon as you've notched up the 15 posts referred to above.

[JonHig]

Thank you Keith.

I shall be renting a house initially and i figure i will need maybe three months rent plus a bond. Actual income wiill be covered by the pension and there is then just the matter of air fare visa for my wife and bits and bobs. Not too b ad really.

[JonHig]

Thank you Arthur

I will try and post another 4 times, including this one then i shall be at the magic 15! It would be a great help to be able to PM with someone who has actually 'done it' !

All the best
John

[JonHig]

I may decide the nbest wah to go is directly for the settlement visa, if the difference is only a matter of the interview and if qualifying for a visit visa covers most of the settlement visa requirements then wht bother. She will HAVE to like it when she gets there

Regards
John

[JonHig]

I do apologise for my tying errors this morning!

I am not normally like that but i think i am getting over excited at getting near my 15 posts! In fact i have done that so now i am waiting for the magic door to open

[keithAngel]

... with respect, I cannot see any reason for Jon NOT being granted a SPOUSAL Visa, given that his income appears to be on a par with mine. I'VE been a State Pensioner myself, since last September, and MY wife's visa was approved six months previously ... at which time my income actually amounted to LESS (than it is now) - as [being retired prematurely] I was then in receipt of the interim 'stop-gap' known as Guaranteed Pension Credit, to top-up a modest occupational pension. Indeed, Keith ... if you cast your mind back to some of my earliest posts at the time I first joined this forum in October 2008, you'll see what I mean.

Your right Arthur but you may remember it took a little while to elicite all the information to arrive at that conclusion unfortunatly I cant find your or my posts of that time .

One difference I do recall was that you owned outright your own home and in addition were applying from the UK

John as you say your child can come with you in anycase on a British Passport and as Arthur says you will probably meet income requirements with 600 a month what you will need to do is have proof of adequate accomodation do you have that?

The application for your wife has to show that its not a case were on the balance of probability you would all arrive in the UK and require immediate help from the public purse .

You and your child could of course just arrive stay with friends /family etc but to get the settlement visa you need to demonstrate conformaty to the H.O. rules (nothing to do with whats right unfortunatly) the more info you give the better the advise can be here.

Conjecture on my part in the absence of more information would be that you would need £1500 airfares perhaps, £500 spouse visa app a place to rent perhaps initially furnished £5-£800 plus deposit plus exteraneous amounts which could all add up to £4-6 k of course you may already know where you will live etc so keep the information coming

[Arthur Little]

Your right Arthur but you may remember it took a little while to elicite all the information to arrive at that conclusion unfortunatly I cant find your or my posts of that time .

Keith, the thread I'm referring to in particular was [appropriately] entitled '?What If ... ' and was typed on 29/10/08 ... with YOUR replies (among others) following on, the next day ... and again on the 31st. It can be accessed easily [by ME, at least] by going to my profile page and (under statistics) clicking on 'Show all threads by Arthur Little' ... but, of course, with THIS thread having long-since been "padlocked", I don't know whether other members will still be able to view it ...? I would certainly like to refer to it again in more detail, in order to help John in whatever way I can.

One difference I do recall was that you owned outright your own home and in addition were applying from the UK

Yes, that's true ... ! However, my wife and I applied for her visa from the Phils ... during my subsequent visit there.

[keithAngel]

Keith, the thread I'm referring to in particular was [appropriately] entitled '?What If ... ' and was typed on 29/10/08 ... with YOUR replies (among others) following on, the next day ... and again on the 31st. It can be accessed easily [by ME, at least] by going to my profile page and (under statistics) clicking on 'Show all threads by Arthur Little' ... but, of course, with THIS thread having long-since been "padlocked", I don't know whether other members will still be able to view it ...? I would certainly like to refer to it again in more detail, in order to help John in whatever way I can.




Yes, that's true ... ! However, my wife and I applied for her visa from the Phils ... during my subsequent visit there.

Heres your thread Arthur
http://filipinaroses.com/showthread.php?t=11873

I think its just a question of John covering the accomadation thing thats harder potentialy for him whilst he is in the Phils as Idealy they need to include where they will live in tha application whereas you already had that one covered although we didnt know tthat at the begining perhaps John already has a plan?

[JonHig]

Arthur,!

I have read all your details included in the past posts and there is an almost identical situation re the finances. The big difference is i have no property. I once did of course and it was a nice house in Wimbledon, in the years when i spent my summer hols in Glen Isla, renting a house from Lord Inchcape! Things went pear shaped, as they say, when my first wife and i were divorced and the house ( a few years later to be sold by her for just under 1 million pounds) went to her.

I have lived the rest of my life abroad. 17 years iin France, 5 years in the middle east (where i met my present wife) and 2 years in the Philippines. It is during the last two years that i have been slowly relieved of any savings i had. Partly because of the exchange rate which was 87pesos to the pound when i arrived here.

On reading all that has gone before, it is very evident that i shall not be able to get my wife into the UK. I suppose that France is a viable alternative as i once had my carte de sejour there, and i think they are not as ruthless over the visas, as they are in the UK. The language may be a problem for my wife at first, and i would not get some benefits that i would be entitled to in Britain. The quality of life there is however very good, but i digress!

So it seems i have to go over to GB, get myself settled into a rented house, find some work and stick it out through thick and thin, until i am better off financially. We must not forget that our little girl Chloe, is a British citizen, and i have already been given a pension rise for my wife with her accompanying NI no for what it is worth. There seems to be nothing wrong (in my simple mind) in my being given housing benefit at first, as long as i had got off it by the time we were able to apply for the settlement visa. I would send her sufficient funds each month, which would be recorded and go some way to proving that i was able to support her as well as myself, at the same time cementing our relationship even further surely. If i was also able to secure an offer of a job for her, then i believe that would be another plus.

I must say how kind you and Keith have been with your concern and help, This must be a totally unique forum! It is so sad that things are the way they are, but upwards and onwards i suppose.

Arthur, do i assume the final outcome for you was a success, and was it because of your house? The thread seemed to stop before the end of the story, if it has ended that is!

I must stop prattling on now, but i think by doing so i may have clarified my siuation somewhat.

Thank you Keith, and thank you Arthur once more.
Best regards
John

[joebloggs]

I have lived the rest of my life abroad. 17 years iin France, 5 years in the middle east (where i met my present wife) and 2 years in the Philippines. It is during the last two years that i have been slowly relieved of any savings i had. Partly because of the exchange rate which was 87pesos to the pound when i arrived here.

On reading all that has gone before, it is very evident that i shall not be able to get my wife into the UK. I suppose that France is a viable alternative as i once had my carte de sejour there, and i think they are not as ruthless over the visas, as they are in the UK. The language may be a problem for my wife at first, and i would not get some benefits that i would be entitled to in Britain. The quality of life there is however very good, but i digress!
John

do you have french residency/passport ?
it might be possible for you to use the EU route using a EEA family permit for your wife, cost nothing and difficult to refuse compared to a spouse visa and bring your wife to the UK that way

http://www.visabureau.com/uk/family-permit-married.aspx

even if it's not possible now, if you could go and live in a European country for a few months and then try the Surinder singh route and bring her to the UK ..

http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/fil...ews17/don.html

[IainBusby]

do you have french residency/passport ?
it might be possible for you to use the EU route using a EEA family permit for your wife, cost nothing and difficult to refuse compared to a spouse visa and bring your wife to the UK that way

http://www.visabureau.com/uk/family-permit-married.aspx

even if it's not possible now, if you could go and live in a European country for a few months and then try the Surinder singh route and bring her to the UK ..

http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/fil...ews17/don.html

From what I've read after following your link above (Surinder singh route) it looks like Ireland might be about the best option for him, it's near enough to nip over to the UK now and then to make other arrangements and they all speak English so his wife won't struggle with the language. If he can settle there and get accomodation, employment etc, from what it says there he could justifably claim that he had exercised EC Treaty rights to work in another Member State as he did when he lived in France. Of course after that uncertain, unstated period of time when it comes to making an application to move to the UK from Ireland, the same rules with regard to finances and not becoming a burden on the state will still apply.
Iain.