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UK Gent Engaged To Filipina Lady, Advice Needed Please

13K views 83 replies 15 participants last post by  bigpearl 
#1 ·
hi,

i met my fiance online and spent 3 month video chating before visiting for 2 weeks.
thankfully we get on really great and have decided to get married in the near future.

in a few weeks i will be going back to the philippines to visit again but looking for advice on which way to go next, like where is best to get married, there or the uk and then how do i go about getting her to be able to live with me in the uk although after a few years we might both move back to the philippines.

i'm a homeowner and drive coaches for a living so meet requirements for housing and providing for her but i'm unsure as to what else i'd need to do, how best to go about it and around what time frame it would all take so any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks :)
 
#4 ·
If you are planning to bring her to the UK why not do that before you get married?

Getting a Filipina over to the UK is quite complicated, and being married does not in fact make it any easier.

You need to think of the worst case scenario. For example if you get married but can not bring her to the UK, what will you do?

Also bear in mind that video chatting is a lot different from living together, especially if one of you will be living in a foreign country. This can put strain on a relationship - e.g. if she wants to return to Philippines but you want to stay in England.

You should put off marriage until you have lived together for a few years. By that time you will have been through a lot of ups and downs (if only with immigration, getting used to a new country, etc), and you will know each other a lot better.

Also bear in mind if you marry in the Philippines there is no divorce here so you would be making life very hard for your partner if in the future the relationship does not work out.
 
#6 ·
hi, thank you for your reply,

to be honest the date for us to marry and location has not been set, from what i have read it looks like getting a visa to stay here in the UK or in the philippines can be a lot of hard work.
as much as we both really want to spend the rest of our lives together, i really don't like the idea of us being apart most of the time as visits to and from can soon start to add up and i don't really fancy selling my house to fund the start of our relationship when we will need it for our home together.
 
#5 ·
Howdy Mbeast And Welcome,

You are going to get enough replies to your post to fill a large book without doubt. The replies you get may not be what you want to hear but are from experience from members here including me.
I'm married and have lived here in the islands for 15 years now and have (through friends) seen just about everything both good and bad. Anyway, again, welcome. I'll probably chime in later on.


Asian Spirit
 
#8 ·
Oyy, I really urge caution, for your sake. You haven't shared many details about her, your age gap, where she's from, etc.. but in this country two weeks simply isn't enough time to make a decision like that. Things are often not as presented.. Of course I understand from personal experience that one gets knocked over by these beautiful, friendly and (sometimes) caring women.. but all is not always as it seems. There is no woman more efficient at extracting support than a Filipina.

Just as an example, do you know for a FACT that she is not previously married? Many Filipina's will claim to be single (and are for all practical purposes) but upon further investigation are actually previously married and since there's no divorce, the man either has to try to get her previous marriage annulled or give up bringing her back home. Or in a worse case scenario, the husband or local boyfriend is hiding in the background. Ask to see a CENOMAR (certificate of no marriage). There may also be children, whether or not she's married. I'm not trying to scare you but these things happen all the time.

As I said I have no knowledge of your situation but simply urge caution. And I wish you the best. I hope it works out.
 
#9 ·
Just to straighten out a couple of facts given incorrectly. Get married in the Philippines or get married in the Uk makes no difference, you can still divorce in the UK. You can try and bring her here on a fience visa but you will need to marry within 3 months so you can't just live together for a couple of year to see how it goes. You would need to go to the Philippines to do that. If you arn't able to meet the visa requirements for a fiance vise you won't be able to meet the spouse visa requirements. I think you need 3-4 trips before you are anything like ready for a commitment.
 
#10 ·
Apply as a partner or spouse
To apply as a partner, you and your partner both need to be 18 or over.

Your partner must also either:

be a British citizen
have settled in the UK (they have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ or proof of permanent residence)
have refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
You and your partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK after you apply.

What you’ll need to prove
You must be able to prove one of the following:

you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving
You also need to prove you:

have a good knowledge of English
can financially support yourself and your dependants
If you don’t meet these requirements you may still be able to apply for a visa or extend your permission to stay if:

you have a child in the UK who is a British citizen or has lived in the UK for 7 years and it would be unreasonable for them to leave the UK
there would be very significant difficulties for you and your partner if you lived together as a couple outside the UK that couldn’t be overcome
it would breach your human rights to stop you coming to the UK or make you leave
If you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner
You must prove that:

any previous marriages or civil partnerships have ended
you plan to marry or become civil partners within 6 months of arriving in the UK
You won’t be able to work during your engagement.

How long you can stay
You’ll get permission to stay for 2.5 years, or for 6 months if you’re applying as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner.

After this you’ll need to apply to extend your stay.
 
#11 ·
hi simon,

i'm not sure i understand the prove part....


What you’ll need to prove
You must be able to prove one of the following:

"you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving"

does this mean we have to date for 2 years before we can apply for a UK visa or just prove we are or intend to marry?
also how do you mean permission to stay for 2.5 years or 6 months?


thank you for your help :)
 
#15 ·
hi simon,

i'm not sure i understand the prove part....


What you’ll need to prove
You must be able to prove one of the following:

"you’re in a civil partnership or marriage that’s recognised in the UK
you’ve been living together in a relationship for at least 2 years when you apply
you are a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner and will marry or enter into a civil partnership in the UK within 6 months of arriving"

does this mean we have to date for 2 years before we can apply for a UK visa or just prove we are or intend to marry?
also how do you mean permission to stay for 2.5 years or 6 months?

thank you for your help :)
I took the text from gov website. I think it means you must either a) be married abroad, b) have been living together and in a relationship, or c) be intending to marry in the UK.

If a or b the partner can stay for up to 2.5 years but if c only 6 months. This means if you are intending to marry you get 6 months. Once you are married I guess there is another visa that you would be apply to apply for in order to extend. They are just saying you cant come over saying you'll be getting married in the next 2 years - should be within 6 months.

It's easy to extend your tourist visa if you want to stay in Philippines for an extended time.

Also worth looking at a tourist visa for your partner. A short stay visa to the UK is valid up to 6 months, which is definitely long enough for a first visit.

Why not stay in philippines a couple of months then apply for her to come to UK for a month or two? The problem is the tourist visa is just as strict as the longer term visas, especially if your partner doesn't work and has few ties to the Philippines (property, business, etc)
 
#17 ·
We had to prove we had been living together in a de facto relationship for 12 months, condo lease in both names, joint bank account, mail addressed to both of us or individually but to the common address, photos over that time with friends and family, 2 preferably 3 sworn affidavits (888 form) from Australian citizens declaring our relationship as bona fide, my flights in and out of PH.

Then it gets interesting, extracts from our social media. FB, Messenger, Emails for the prior 9 months to us living together, some 350 pages printed off to add gravity to our application. Plenty of other bits and pieces as well. Then the fees, Now I believe in the vicinity of AU $ 7,000.00 plus a migration agents fee if you go that way.

This was a partnership visa and for Oz, not sure about the fiancé visa requirements nor how different things are in the UK but I am sure there are other contributors here that have done this and can offer correct advice and procedures.
As others have suggested take your time with this relationship, slow and steady wins the race.

BTW, welcome to the forum and good luck with your endeavours.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#18 ·
which is totally outrageous...Aint many filipinos earning anything close to that...typical as they inherit everything they get,14 yrs there,,not worth it! Saw americans ripped off time and again in the military,,then u pay to get them overseas and when the money is exhausted they divorce and run for another...
 
#22 ·
You know my dearly loved but departed dad always said "God helps those that help themselves" the twist to that is "and Christ help those that get caught".
The OP clearly seems to be relying on feed back from this and possibly other sites, perhaps I am wrong, maybe this can be clarified?
I certainly ask lots of questions here and other sites but I usually consult my best friend "google" for a bit of an idea and perhaps facts (though confusing at times especially government departments) and information before I ask the learned.

For our OP I simply typed into google " Fiance Visa from Philippines to United Kingdom " and got over 120,000 hits, then I typed in partnership visas and got nearly 1.5 million hits.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating and while I and others hear your heart/the love strings softly playing the reality is simple. Walk softly but always carry a big stick.
While lefties and others opinions may appear cynical I see they are quoted from experience and the realities of dating and experiences in a third world country, most have been there, we are going back to live soon. Your wish is achievable as ours was, Bengie is a permanent Australian resident, has worked here for nearly 4 years and will maintain his residency in case I kick the bucket, better life and options for him, me also.
While wholesomely difficult to secure, marriage and living in the OP's country has a many fold effect and one I am glad I/we pursued for the betterment of our relationship in Australia. My better half has blossomed.

mbeast, if this is what you want and where your heart is (as long as the other brain is not making the decisions) then there is no hurry, relax, enjoy as you may have the next 30/40/50 years together. Scour the net, sure ask questions here but best to thoroughly read the law with your countries immigration policies. Do yourself the cutesy of simple education with the law and spend more time in the Filipino culture, some hate, most love.
Again, good luck.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#23 ·
you hit the nail on the head, whilst google can help, it is a minefield of what is useful and what is outright fiction and with so many hits when searching it sure takes a lot to go through.
Via my search i found this forum which i thought would be the best place to talk to people that have already made the move to getting to know and marry a filipino women and bringing her to live with him in the UK :)
 
#24 · (Edited)
Mbeast I'm not familar with the UK and I've never been there but have you tried to meet Philippine or Asian women in the UK? This might sound like a silly question but as an example I met my wife in the US, the Asian women have spots where they hang out or meet up and usually they are bars but not always, maybe church activity such as Ingesia ni Christo or Mormon.

JRB_NW mentioned make sure she's not married, this is a real concern and especially if she has kids, you'd be surprised how fast your world can be turned upside down and get even more complicated, you don't want to mess with lawyers or Immigration here.

I had a long rant on what I've experienced, seen and read on these expat forums from guys that bring their bride to their countries, but I'll shorten down to you'd be better off if your an older gentlemen retiring to the Philippines vise bringing her to the UK so If not possible I wish you well with perseverance you can make it happen.
 
#26 ·
hi,

in a few weeks i will be going back to the philippines to visit again but looking for advice
I recently posted how my neighbor down the street who operates an Internet Cafe found a sucker (American) via chat. He also visited for 2 weeks while her husband hid in the neighbors house. The American is sending wheel barrels full of cash to build their 3 story apartment building where the American thinks he will retire with her next year. Her Philippine husband has other plans to tell the American to beat it.
I frequent Angeles City and sometimes go into the Internet Cafes to use the Internet. One can see the girls, some with 6 chat sessions going on with Foreigners from all over the planet. They laugh and will boast to you that all are sending them money. The crowds at Western Union and other places don't dispute that.

I know of a girl who is milking a Brit right now. She has a large scar on her cheek. She used to work in the Bars, eventually married a local security guard, has 2 kids to him. Spends her time now ripping off foreigners via internet chat. She is very beautiful and clever. When the Foreigners visit, the husband lets her spend time with the foreigners. The husband just wants the cash. One Foreigner tried to break off the relationship after he found out she had kids, she had her husband call the foreigner, said he was a Doctor, needed P20,000 to do emergency surgery to scrape her belly lining because she took poison because of the break up or he would be liable. The foreigner saw her dancing a week later, no surgical scar, only the stretch marks from her kids.

Here is some advice: If she has a "legitimate " Job, and you are not supporting her then "perhaps" she is legitimate because she had to go through NBI/Police/Barangay Education level clearance to get the legitimate job.

If she is jobless, has stretch marks, and you are sending her money, Don't spend another centavo on supporting her until you have a private investigator here provide you details on her background.
 
#36 ·
I welcome you to the forum also. These types of posts are regular occurrences here and other similar sites.
I am married to a Filipina but took over 12 months to make the committment for all the reasons and more stated in the replies you have received to date.
Some sound advice here, I hope you take it into consideration. Otherwise you may regret it.
 
#37 ·
Hello Everybody, I am english lived in aussie for 47 years. Married philippino 37 years ago we have 2daughters and grandchildren. I met my wife as a pen pal ,went over to philippines after 1year for weeks then went back again after 6 months and got married. It is all a matter of luck even if you make all the investigation you like you are likely to have a failed marriage. onthe other hand you could be lucky like me, Do you feel lucky?
 
#38 ·
back from a lovely few weeks in the philippines.
i'm more sure than i was my ex wife that this is the women i hope to spend the rest of my life with :)

now the pain in the A$$ part....
passport and visa to the UK sure seems hard for her to get any time soon :(

looks like it would be easier for me to fly over and then keep extending my visa every 2 months but surely there has to be a limit to this and I really don't know how long to expect it to take to get her passport sorted and then apply for a tourist visa to start with.
 
#45 ·
Getting a Philippine Passport not difficult. Requirements are here: At her appointment, she can pay an additional Fee to Expedite the passport.
https://consular.dfa.gov.ph/passport/10-passport/61-passport-requirements-new-adult

Is she hesitating to get a passport? Why I ask is I know an Expat from my area who moved here a few years ago from Thailand. He hooked up with a girl, she moved in with him. He kept asking her to get her passport because he wanted to take her to Thailand for a vacation. He finally got wise and hired a private investigator who after a few days found out she was married and he immediately evicted her.

Had she got her passport, it would have revealed her married name versus her birth record name.
 
#39 ·
i know it is going to take time etc but the fact that so many people have already managed to get their lady into the UK from the philippines show that it is possible.

I'm sure my lady is worth the wait but I really have no idea what to expect along the way and how best to deal with this to make this as pain free as possible.
 
#40 · (Edited)
Congratulations for sure. Yes it will take time but usually not too bad. Visit with your immigration office there where you live and they should be able to give you a time frame.

In the US, a fiancee visa usually takes between 3 and 5 months to get done. In the US they look at the previous two years of income and makes no difference how long you have known each other. Mostly through letters, emails, photos together, receipts from expenses here they just want to be sure you have a true working relationship.
You might decide to move over here and stay also. Cost of living here is much lower than your home country and none of that cold fog all the time.

Again, visit or call your immigration service there to get accurate requirements and other information.

best of luck for sure..
 
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#47 ·
It is wise to know what her exspectations are after you get married. You will be expected to look after her family in the philippines and may be asked to also help family members to also join you in england, Most philippino families are expected to all help each other, it is not easy being married to a girl from another country, the cultures are different. I speak from experience. I do wish you all the best.
 
#49 ·
Yep, those can be true words or no. Really depends on your partners views, your views and striking an agreed balance from very early in the relationship, be a hard ass like me, we do help mum and dad but to a limit set 5 years ago, we have helped others as well but not for years.
We were back with family visiting for a month recently, staying in our own accommodation as their house is too small. The day we arrived the first thing discussed and brochures produced on A/C units, this one is 40K that one is 34K,,,,,,,, and? Well as we are getting older we are feeling the heat, yep sure I understand that but I pointed out to them that installing an A/C unit also costs money to run, say 1K per month, can you afford that? Never heard boo after that.
Today Ben and I were talking about businesses in PH. He mentioned that his mother had asked him a few times, son why are you not buying tricycles and licenses and contract them out? The figures look good, about 15% return and still holding the bulk capitol for the license. He simply told his mum that yes while we make good money in Oz it is also very expensive to live there and we don't have that kind of money to risk when we are not there in control. The family knows we have a few dollars but also now understand that we are not stupid and wish to maintain our lifestyle when we move to PH. and realise now that we are not the cash cow. One just has to draw the line/set the boundaries that you are both comfortable with and don't waver.
Building a trusting and loving relationship takes time, lots of patience on both sides and the willingness to be humble when needed but also strong are prerequisites to say the least. Trust and honesty first or you will sabotage any chance of life long partnership.
Sorry for the rant and hope it's not really off topic.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#50 ·
The Uk applications for spouce and fiance are all done on line now and handled by an agency on behalf of UK gov. You need to earn something like £18000 per year now to sponsor a spouce. You shouldn't need an immigration advisor but if you think you need the help I could pm you the name of one in the UK both partner of which are married to filipinas. Immigration advisors don't have any better success than a personal application, they don't get any preferable treatment. What they can do is make sure your application is all in order.
 
#51 ·
Good and true advice Gary, there is no favouritism with an immigration lawyer when it comes to border control but when these guys do their job properly the only downfall will be on the applicants side for insufficient or inaccurate submissions/information. The info given to the specialist has to be vetted by them, I remember that in our application one of the many documents required had a spelling mistake in his name,,,,, a hyphen was missing and while frustrating had to be corrected as inaccurate info can not be submitted, something we would have missed in a multitude of paperwork was picked up quickly by professionals.
Good point you raised here was that the immi lawyers you mentioned have Filipino wives, they are most likely well versed in UK/PH immigration law and definitely would be my choice as was our choice with an Aussie immi specialist married to a Pinay running their business out of Alabang in Manila and specialising in partnership/fiancee and marriage visas.

Remember that if you take this on yourself and it fails it is very well recorded and the second application will be scrutinised to the max. Do it once and do it correctly.
I recall that a failed application had a waiting time of 12 months from memory before reapplication could be submitted, mind you my memory is not what it used to be.

Again as said there are plenty of immigration companies out there that will give a free appraisal of your situation "Google as I did for UK immi" and advise accordingly, remember no lies or embellishments.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#57 ·
I saw the same thing also. Just a glitch I guess. When signed in open page 2. When there the rest of the pages should be visible. Hopefully It will work when you try.
 
#62 ·
Guys you are giving him very good information but its clear he isn't here to listen, he keeps skipping over all of the posts where people post warnings or doubt and only replies to the immigration posts. it's clear he is in love and blinded by it, which happens to alot of foreigners in the Philippines. Let him find out the hard way.
 
#69 ·
My wife had a problem with her birth certificate, basically she did't have one. The mothrr in law took the certificate given her by the midwife and kept it instead of lodging it with the municipal hall to produce the birth certificate. We had to go to her place of birth, General Trias Cavite
to get an affidavit sign by someone who remembered her birth to get a certificate issued. Luckily the young secretary remembered the event with remarkable clarity. Also with luck my wife's family have moved to Bataan so we didn't have to fly in from Dumaguete.

Another common problem is when a birth certificate is produced they find the name they have been using all of their life is not their true name. It is common in the Philippines to change the name of a sickly child because they considder the old name to be unlucky.

Spelling mistakes are common and getting the sex changed can be a big problem, yes they do get it wrong more often than you would hope.
 
#72 ·
spelling mistakes was the problem she has and also her birth certificate she has is in her mothers name, she has now found out she can be registered in her late father's name with all the paperwork she has but has been told in dumaguete she needs to go to manila to do it.
 
#80 ·
I posted this 5 days ago:

Good info Joe, interesting story also.....busted.
You can also find out if your lady or man is married without going through the hassle of engaging an investigator.
But you need to have the following info set out here:

https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration...cument/cenomar

Then the application and fee of PHP 415.00 here: Click on CENOMAR not marriage.

https://m.nsohelpline.ph/order/type

Cheers, Steve.

I stand corrected as the fee appears to be PHP 465 now.
Regardless of this post and your post joe I doubt the OP will have enough information to apply for this as he will need info from his lady and could be told many or any thing that suits.
I think as the OP has looked into a PI then perhaps his answers will come that way whether good or bad, it is then his decision.
A difficult situation as only the OP knows all the info with regards to his lady and shares little of that knowledge with this forum or appears to be somewhat guarded.
Good luck with the PI mbeast and I do hope all is good, I am also glad that you have pricked your ears after all the replies here.

Cheers, Steve.
 
#81 ·
i'm going back in 4 weeks for a month and informed my lady i could extend my visa to stay a year which she is delighted about even though i've told her we would have a strict budget and hopefully i will then know everything i need to know and have everything sorted so i can get her a visa when i return home and have proof of our relationship etc.

sorry if i've seemed a bit guarded, to be honest i don't know what information would help to give on here that would also help.

regards
mark
 
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