Visit Visa for UK - advice please...

You know what I find hard to understand? The main thing you need for a tourist visa is compelling reasons to return. But then, say for example, you later apply for a fiancee or a spouse visa - then you have given them all those reasons why you are tied to the Philippines - can't they use them against you at that point? They must keep it all on file?

I meant "job related" in relation to what he does now, eg a journalist or novelist might visit a country for research for a book or an article.

That's a very valid point. However it doesn't appear to be the case because I do know of several people who have had visit visas and then gone on to submit an application for a settlement visa. Given the sheer volume of paperwork, I would imagine that UKBA shreds visitor visa applications after a certain amount of time but it probably does ship back to London all the settlement applications, successful or not.

Ah yes, very true!

Hmm he's a website developer - I can't think of any reason he would be coming to the UK for that.

@Markham, following on from what I said about fiancee/spouse visas, I am also confused about this - why is it easier to get a tourist visa once you have met? Surely the person has less reason to go back if they are here to visit someone they are romantically involved with? I would have thought that would make them far less likely to be wanting to return to the Philippines? So why is it easier to get a tourist visa to visit someone you are involved with than it is to get one for a standard holiday to the UK?

Design conferences .... photography of touristy places for a travel web site ...

Having a UK good friend may only be of assistance as a guarantor of financial assistance should his plans go awry but he would still need overwhelmingly compelling reasons to return, otherwise the UK friend may count against him.

But what about after two people have met? Once they are involved? Surely that's when they want to stay in the uk and not go back more? So how are visit visas easier to get once you have a UK bf/gf?

For subsequent visas, that's a bit of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, you'd be able to act as a sponsor - in case his plans were to go awry - but on the other hand, you'd be a very good reason for him not to return home. An awful lot depends on the strength of his application without any mention of you.

Not really. Because one would be applying for differing visas under differing circumstances. So no, refused visit visas wouldnt normally count against you when you apply for a spouse or fiancee visa.

Thank you - you've all been very helpful.

Please give us an update Lisa when you decide which path to take.

Good luck

So we're at the stage of collecting the mountains of paperwork needed for the visit visa application.

I'm still confused about sponsoring or not sponsoring. @Markham I know you said not to but I have read other places that say it's a good idea because they have someone to come down on if there are any problems. AND if I don't sponsor then are we going to risk a refusal by saying he will be visiting me as part of his trip? I sort of feel like we need to mention something about me somewhere. Or maybe not?

Also does anyone know how much of an itinerary he should show?

Also someone said about booking the flight, but on the visa form thing it says not to book anything, so I'm confused about that too.

Can anyone help please? Sorry for all the questions.

P.S. I've just read somewhere that bangs on about honesty being the most important thing. What about saying that he will be meeting me but funding himself, which is the truth. He'll have his own money and pay for his own trip, so I won't be 'sponsoring him' but we will be meeting and spending time together. We'll say he's doing other stuff too (sightseeing stuff, London, etc) - can anyone give any opinion on this please?

Hi Lisa,

I can't advise you about your own application, but FWIW I can tell you my experience of getting a UK visitors visa for my then girlfriend, now wife.

I had met her online and then visited her in the Philippines 3 times during 2011, so it is not quite the same situation as you. At the time she was a full-time nursing student and wanted to come to visit me in the UK during the summer holiday in April and May 2012. So we applied in January, using her status as a student and also the fact that she had the land title of the family house in her name, as her compelling reasons to return. She had no money so I was paying for her trip and all the expenses. This application was refused, the main reason being that we had said we were boyfiend/girlfriend, but had not given any evidence of our relationship or even that we had met. Well that was true because it wasn't clear that we needed to. I had shown my passport entry and exit stamps as evidence that I had visited philippines but no real evidence about us together.

So we submitted a new application, with photos of us together, emails, yahoo chat log excerpts (the clean parts!) receipts for gifts etc. The second application was accepted, and she visited me here for 5 weeks. Soon after she went back home, we got engaged and she gave up her nursing course. Since the visa was valid for 6 months and multiple entries, she came back to stay with me for another 3 months last summer. With the visa she had no problem at all with UK immigration, although they did give her a bit of a hard time at Manila airport when she was leaving. I think that was because they wanted to be sure that she was coming back, as she didn't have the CFO sticker, but it was ok after a bit of a delay.

So I think the important thing is to tell the truth and not to give up if your first application is rejected. I don't think there is any need to book flights. We didn't show them any flight booking or travel plans for either application. We just said she was coming here to visit me, to meet my family and do some (unspecified) sightseeing.

Now we are in the middle of the long wait for the spouse visa.

Good luck.

Martin & Aileen

Thank you for the reply. I think we'll just be honest about the fact that we will be meeting but say that the main purpose of the visit is just sightseeing and stuff. So I won't be sponsoring him but we will mention me. It's just very hard to know what to do for the best.

What's a CFO sticker?

I hope you manage to get your spouse visa sorted soon

Obtainable at the CFO ( Commision for Filipinos Overseas )

http://www.cfo.gov.ph/

Any Filipino leaving the country on a long term visa needs the magic CFO sticker to be allowed to leave the country. You can see many threads about it on this forum, or the official link that JohnAsh posted. But if he only has a short term visitor's visa he won't need that. So no need to worry about it, just concentrate on getting the visa.

The CFO sticker is mainly for Filipino citizens who are married to foreigners and are leaving the country to join their husbands/wives.

Lisa, like what I have been saying here, getting a Visitor Visa is not impossible. I did and know a lot of other people too Se keep your hopes up. I do know of a travel agency that helps people gather their documents and takes care of the mock booking of the airline, hotels, itinerary, and travel insurance. They charge a fee though on top of the visa fee. I can give you their details if you are interested.

Sponsorship wise, I highly discourage you to do it now since you have not met yet. It would sound dodgy and the UKBA might all the more deny his visa application.

As for the monies, it is good that if he has regular money (deposits and withdrawals) in his account for a period of 6 months to one year. This shows that his money is not just for show and borrowed from other people.

The UKBA generally and other countries requiring a visa would highly discourage applicants to purchase a ticket because in the case that they get denied, they can't blame embassy or use that explanation for an appeal. You can call the airline and do a booking, they will give you a due date on when you need to pay for the ticket or else the reservation will be dropped. When I applied for my Visit visa, I purchased the ticket already since I was thinking that there are no reasons for them to deny me (foolish, I know). Good thing I was granted a visa.

Itinerary wise, I just made an excel file where I typed in what we were doing on certain days. I didn't put activities on each and every day because we did want to have some downtime. I also attached bookings to attractions (entrace tickets, theater tickets, etc) to reinforce the itenirary.

And lastly, I know of freelance people that have acquired visas. Just show his ITR (Income Tax Returns), any ongoing projects (through contracts). Aside from an elderly father, he can also show that he has obligations in the Philippines like loans, bank time deposits, insurance policies, etc.

It would be good if he has had some sort of travel experience, maybe meeting in a visa free country would be good? It will show that he has intent in going back to the Philippines.

As for visiting the country, it would be good to do that but make sure that you have yourself covered. Like in any new country, you have to look out for yourself and keep people back home noted.

And like what others have suggested, please please do not send money unless you have met him and established your relationship.

Thank you so much - that's very helpful.

Can you tell me the name of the travel agency? I wonder if he would have a better chance if he used them? I've heard some agencies are dodgy but if you have personal experience of that one then maybe it's ok?

You can contact Aida of Tactours Travel +639178400308. They have a office in Manila. I have used them once before and they're alright, they would need the usual documents from you.

Thank you.