CFO........... Commission on Filipinos Overseas...

I completely agree with that when no UK citizen is involved; say if a Russian UK resident wants to bring his Filipino wife over, or a Filipo student wanting to study in the UK.
But if I was a UK citizen, I would expect to have the right to bring my wife over without so many difficulties and expect the government to pay for whatever checks it deems necessary. That's just me though...

For "Hot Potato" read Racist

£423 to be precise

Guardian analysis of Home Office figures on the fees for applications shows a vast discrepancy between how much it costs the government to process each immigration application and the fee it charges applicants.

For example, since April the fee to apply for indefinite leave to enter for a vulnerable adult dependent relative has been set at £3,250. Its costs the Home Office £423 to process the application.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ce-makes-800-profit-on-some-visa-applications

And is it right and proper to have kids for the taxpayer in the UK to support?

That's a perfectly reasonable expectation and might be the case but for decisions made and actions taken by the party that governed the country in the early years of the current millennium and which directly led to immigration becoming such a contentious issue. Just prior to that, a spousal settlement visa cost about £100 which was paid to the local Embassy and consular officers decided applications within hours; happy days. But since then, "events" such as people trafficking, arranged marriages of unseen brides and terrorism have been on the increase and it is the government's principal responsibility to protect its citizens. And it costs money, lots of it, to do that. For now, it is the applicants who pay that cost but that could all disappear with a change of government to one which promises to abolish all immigration controls.

So Russia, China, Vietnam and North Korea must also be racists since they all have strict immigration controls - as do America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa ...

I already mentioned that the fees are set a levels sufficient to restrict the number of applicants. However as the Home Office's sole answer to curbing non-EU immigration, it is bankrupt. It should reverse that trend by reducing spouse and fiancée settlement visas to, say, £450, but also charge each Family Permit applicant exactly the same amount. Now that would be fair - "for the many, not the few" - I'm sure you agree!

But I am a taxpayer and have been for the last 50 years. Not that it's any of your business but I pay more tax annually than my kids receive in Child Benefit. Are you as equally questioning of EU nationals claiming Child Benefit in the UK for their kids who are neither British citizens nor are residents of the UK? According to EU guidelines, we should be claiming Child Benefit from the Maltese government but I think that is wholly wrong: I don't pay tax here and have never paid tax here, why should the Maltese taxpayer help support my kids - that's a far more valid question to the one you pose.

But fear not, there's every chance your party will soon be in power and you can press the comrades to stop all pensions and benefits being paid overseas and especially to those who oppose your party!

The German foodbanks are now racist also https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...p-accepting-new-migrant-clients-idUSKCN1G72D2

This raises an interesting question...

Can the Applicant attend the CFO before receiving the result of the Visa application, then just return with their passport to get the relevant authorisation, or is this just another way to shorten the 6-month validity period for a Fiance(e) Visa? I have seen reports online of waiting times for a CFO appointment of more than 1 month - precious time wasted!

CFO and the ridiculousness of the Philippines goes on.
Wifes spouse visa valid from October 2017.
Travel vingette (30day) Valid from 23rd April 2018.

Went from Davao today to Manila for the blue stickers 1 for her and 1 for our daugther.

Was told by the person on the counter because it's not the 23rd of April 2018 she cannot have a blue sticker.

My wife asked to see a manager.

He did not want to give the blue sticker, then read the entry letter which was date 28th February 2018.

Then gave the blue stickers.

Unless it's happeneing to you, you would think someone was making it all up!

Crazyness

Yes you can do the seminar and return once the visa is valid for the stamp

Hi everyone,

I've got some good news on the CFO front, so I thought I'd let everyone know in case it's useful to other people in the future. My wife just got her CFO sticker!
Turned out what the HK consulate told us about CFO requirement was utter rubbish. We got the Report of Marriage from the consulate within a week (on regular, non NSO-paper, but with the consulate's stamp), and it was accepted without any questions by the CFO office in Cebu. So there was no need to wait for 3-4 months for the DFA to register the marriage in Manila. Thank God for that!

With this we've got everything done, and my wife can finally join me in the UK next week!

Thank you all for your help!

Hi all! I just want to clarify things.. I attended the gcp seminar at cfo last year and received a certificate. Now that I've got my spouse visa, do I need to register an appointment at cfo prior to obtaining the sticker or should I just go there and ask for the sticker to be placed in my passport?

My experience might be outdated but if you already had the seminar, there is no need to book an appointment to obtain the sticker. They don't provide you one before your visa validity date. Would be best to give them a ring?

My wife just went to the CFO office where she did the Seminar and they issued the sticker. She waited about one hour no appointment needed. Get there early if you can to avoid waiting longer.

Thanks for your help, Jim! I'll be getting the sticker in the morning before my flight

Thanks for the reply, Anne

Hope everything goes well. Have a safe flight!

You can get it at the airport they have a desk there! I think it' a bit risky though

Very Risky...

However, my wife attended to get her CFO sticker 4 weeks ago with her UK settlement visa. because she had visited the UK 3 times previously and had been a OFW in UAE for 7 years orior, she did not have to do the seminar... just paid the 400 peso and the sticker was placed (taking up a whole page in the passport so be warned)

Im staying on point here on this thread about CFO... will wade in on the visa fee elsewhere.... IMHO for now it is enough to say i find it HORRENDOUS to have paid what we have so far, with yet another £6000 further down the line -

yet half of Romania (etc etc) walk in free, trash the place, take up all the school places and hospital waiting areas, claim benefits and who's children are already seriously over represented in the numbers of children being looked after by the state. Its a joke and it is not good enough that those of us with the balls to stand up and point it out are castigated as racists and not internationalist

Non EU Migration, controlled, is not the problem. (though shutting down the marriage scams and trafficking will continue to increase cost)

MIGRATION from the EU is the problem -

Including the now rampant method through which illegals are buying citizenship in countries such as spain, potugal, italy and greece and entering the UK via this route.

Yes, a very frequently discussed topic across forums. . It’s also interesting to see how little the costs were, not that long ago. The figures are becoming eye watering and you have my sympathy. I am sure the sums of money are becoming unaffordable for some.

and just wait till you find out any of these EU nationals can bring in a future wife from a non EU country ( like the philippines)---and do NOT have to meet the UKVI visa requitrements--and fees--that us Brits do.

True but don’t forget it is reciprocal in other EU countries of course.