It might be common knowledge and not new, but I found out only today. If/when your Filipina GF/Asawa/other family members wish to apply for a Schengen visa, they do not need to show up in person at VFS (the visa service organisation) in person IF they applied for a Schengen visa in person less than 59 months ago already and had their fingerprints and picture taken at that occasion. In that situation, you can then use the services of an agent to apply. Saves a lot of money and hassle I would assume, not having to fly to Manila, stay at hotel etc. So next time I'll bring the family to Europe (hopefully next year) the visa application should hopefully be a lot smoother.
I tried that lark and they nearly rapxxd me for fees, only certain agents for certain countries embassies, so do yourself a serious favour and choose an embassy in Cebu (there are a few there )and show up yourself, and only those who have had previous in 35 months don't need to show up and only your wife can join you on a spousal visa, the rest on Schengen visa, but a few countries locals can go visa-free Georgia， Serbia and a few more over that neck of the woods.......the big thing about Schengen is the mandatory insurance and its gotta be six months after return to the Philippines
I tried getting a Filipina a visa to visit Georgia before and was turned down. The reasons for denial given were unclear. The fees, though reasonable, were not worth a second attempt and decided to take my money elsewhere.
As you will know, immigration departments in developed countries are worried that people from developing countries will not leave at the end of their Visas. They have this strange idea in the UK (and probably elsewhere) that one test of the applicant's likelihood of returning home when the Visa expires is if the person has property in their home country. It puzzles me why they think someone cannot just leave it to the family to use or to rent it out while they remain an overstayer in the black economy and sending home £1000 or more a month for the family. Many would be perfectly happy to retire back-home years later to the property they already own.
some of them are visas on arrival and others are visa-free and if you can score an American travel/holiday visa sticker then that too will allow her to apply for some countries E-visa that Filipinos independently are not entitled to eg Filipinos cant get E-visa for turkey but if they have a valid visa sticker from most western countries then they can get it. The same was for Egypt when we went there
The purpose of the travel to Georgia (along with travel to other developing Asian countries) was to establish a history of leaving the Philippines and returning to improve the chances of receiving a US Visa. It is better to get a US Visa first to improve the chances of getting a visa to countries the like of Georgia? Seems @ss backwards.
My wife applied for a visit visa to the US two times and was declined both times. We didn't try for the third time because there's a rumor that there's a secret "three strikes policy" which I don't know whether or not to believe. She's now on to her green card and we'll be picking that up in October this year. I think having a job in the Philippines, with permission from the employer to leave, is a big part of any successful visit visa attempt.
1. Schengen visa applications for just about / probably all member states are handled by VFS in Manila, not by embassies/consulates. 2. There are no embassies in Cebu, only a few consulates. 3. No idea where you found the 35 months, but the 59 months I mentioned in my post is found here (last point under "what do I need to do") https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl...ravel/applying-for-a-short-stay-schengen-visa What I don't know is whether the 59 months applies to all Schengen countries. 3. For tourist (short stay, 90 days) purposes there's no spousal visa for Schengen. 4. Yes there's mandatory (health) insurance for the Schengen area, but only for the duration of your stay there. Cost is about 1€ per day per person.
I think, along with owning property, this is also the case in the UK. Again it puzzles me why a Filipino earning 10,000 pesos a month would return to that job if overstaying in the foreign country and earning 140,000 (equivalent), or more, a month is possible. If immigration looks at the Philippine income and does that same evaluation, then how many jobs here would be at 140,000 or more per month? As they say, it is a no-brainer.
By far the easiest way to get a tourist visa application approved for your wife/girlfriend/fiancée and her minor children is if you have a family member or friend who is a resident in the country you wish to visit and is willing and capable of being the guarantor for your girlfriend/fiancée. The reason for this is it largely removes the risk of overstaying for the visited country, including the financial part of deportation (because that's where the guarantor will come into play). Visa applications get progressively more difficult without a guarantor, when your travel companion is not your wife you'll need to provide ample proof of a long term relationship, besides assuring the country's local representatives of your satisfying finances. Even if it discriminates, a largish age gap between expat and partner will set off some alarm bells about the seriousness of the relationship, and increase the risk that the application gets denied. To minimize that risk people add proof of ties to their home country when applying, like declarations from school, employer, barangay, proof of owning a house, anything that can serve as (strong) indication that you intend to go home again after your vacation.
