We might not be the only people to have thought of this... K and I have friends in Hong Kong and we know the Padre of the Missions to Seamen at the Mariners Club in Tsim Sha Tsui, Stephen Miller, who confirms that he will be happy to marry us in the chapel there. So we were rather wondering if it is possible for K to leave the Philippines as a fiancee and arrive in Britain as a wife? And what visa would this involve?
Seems complicated to me Andrew, she'd have to have a visa in place to travel wouldn't she so that would be on her present status wouldn't it?
I thought Filipinos have 14 day visa free upon arrival in HK? This thread over on GeoExpat will probably explain things better: http://hongkong.geoexpat.com/forum/53/thread10682-2.html with regards to marrying in HK; seems like the info is subject to change.
Thanks. She does not need a visa or a CFO sticker for HK. We were there a few weeks ago. I suppose we go for a fiancee visa and marry on the way, explaining our marriage plans in the appication?
I was told by the visa agency that I used that we should update my wife's visa as soon as we are married as she can't leave and then come back in as a fiance once married. Based on that, I suspect you wouldn't be able to do that and you'd need to apply for a spouse visa after getting married to get into the uk.
You may then discover that you pay 1000 quid for either a fiance visa you can't use or get refused. I don't think you can do it.
I suppose if you get married in honkers and apply for a spouse visa from there, would that work? I suppose it depends on the turn round time of visa applications
So, the feeling of the meeting is 1. Apply on a fiancee visa and marry in Britain 2. Marry in HK then apply for a spouse visa No 2 seems preferable as we have a child involved as well
No 2 seems best to me, plus I believe its easier to get a spouse visa than a fiancée visa isn't it? We actually got questioned on ours because we got married in the phils in the February and the wife didn't come to the UK until October. They wanted to know why there was such a delay, I said it was because of work and they where happy with that. Just blind them with paperwork and when K is in the UK get her bills, bank account etc as quick as poss
My thinking on this and it is only my thinking is that when she arrives as a wife, as you outline, they wouldn't know or need to know. Then when you are in the UK together then process your FLR with evidence of marriage in Honkers. I cant see why they could refuse your FLR application in the UK. All FLR is really is confirmation to the UKBA that you have moved on and married and them extending the visa. It isn't really much more than that at all, even though they sting you for it. However, this is just a guess on my part and I would try and be crystal clear on this before putting it to the test. I would email the UKBA. They do answer eventually. I had a query about the Isle of Man and CNI validity way back before we married in the Philippines. I emailed them and ended up speaking to them on the phone (Isle of Man to Manila) and they helped me with the query. Also, try the points of contact with the UKBA at this end. After all it would be the UKBA / Immigration here in the UK that you would be applying for FLR for. Am not sure how FLR works in the UK (compared to Isle of Man) but presumably you can walk into an office in the region and ask them the question? We can here in Iof M.
I've found this, which is worth reading: http://www.londonelegance.com/transpondia/family-visas/fiance-visa "In 2003, the rules were changed such that switching from visitor to spouse was no longer allowed and this change required a lot more people to get fiance visas, but the question of post-marriage travel was never addressed. Recognizing that these changes left an ambiguity in policy, we (i.e., Transpondia) approached theUKBApolicy unit in 2004 asking for clarification. Their response was unequivocally clear that the fiance visa was not to be used after the marriage because the person's immigration status was no longer that of fiance. Therefore the answer was no, it is NOT ok to travel on a fiance visa after the marriage has taken place. Sadly, this response was never elevated into the guidance, and the ambiguity remains. We have seen cases where sharp-eyed case workers have refused to treatFLR(M) applications as straight-forward where the applicant has travelled on a fiance visa because the applicant has forfeited their status as a legal entrant. This has caused annoyance and upset to both applicants and sponsors. On the other hand, we have never heard of a married person getting bounced for attempting to enter the UK on a fiance visa; and we have never heard of an FLR(M) application being refused on these grounds. So this leaves the worst case scenario as the one where the FLR(M) applicant loses their in-person application fee because an alert case worker questions the applicant's status as a legal or illegal entrant. What all of this amalgamates to is that there is no governing rule or policy that is consistently enforced. Our advice is that fiances should switch into FLR(M) status before travelling. And our rationale is that the person's passport will document them as an EEA/British spouse and this may be important in the event of unforeseen exigencies arising either in the UK or abroad."
