Best Posts in Thread: INVITING MY SO TO MY HOME COUNTRY UK

I think it's fair to say that being able to talk Tagalog will make you most popular with Filipino's
Filipino's living in UK usually get on well in UK, if they choose to mix with other nationalities and speaking in English.
However for a Westerner who doesn't speak Tagalog in Philippines, after pleasantries are exchanged at functions, you will feel a little left out of things in my experience.
I must also admit to sometimes making excuses and leaving parties/ get-together's in UK when people start to converse in Tagalog and you are left twiggling your thumbs, I find very few Filipino's mix outside their fellow countrymen in their leisure time and presumably the same goes for other foreign nationalities too . Unless people are willing to intergrate into the local communities there will always be a distancing and culture difference.

 

I know the UK Visa system for partners (usually females) can be difficult and made unpleasant by immigration rules - the UK government treats it as a cash cow. Of course it is extremely easy to get in if you are a Russian crook because cash speaks very loudly to Tories.

However, it is possible (I did all 3 Visas for my wife and did not need legal help - they try to make out it is necessary, of course!) and so anyone who desires a partner with them should not be deterred.

But never start out on a lengthy, and potentially expensive, process without knowing all the facts first and having the finances - no amount of switching money around or other such loopholes will work. I knew foreign students back in the very worse times for immigration (2010 onwards) who took a small amount from their bank account for a single day and then replaced it - that meant they failed the financial requirement and were usually deported. At that time colleges were texting students at the airport in Manila to tell them not to board the plane because the rules had changed overnight.

If the case is sound in all aspects then the chances of getting a Visa is near 100% - immigration know that appeals can be made and so they are not going to refuse sound cases (as much as they would like to). If anyone says they were refused then there was a reason behind it; that reason might not seem logical to us but who are we to question!

Btw, make a single error on a Visa application form and there is a risk of refusal and that could mean the loss of the entire application fee! So know the requirements, cross the i's etc. and be determined not to let the bastards get you down!

 

Hey Dave really happy you are taking Marissa and your son home, great news.

Not sure if same in Scotland but in Australia a lot of our friends came in on a study visa with kids as a dependant, Its cheap and fast. Once in the country then apply for a on shore partner visa. My wife was also on a study visa at first.

Good luck.

 

The main obstacle for me was money, lots of it.
I went back to the UK in 2017 as i could get no work this side of the world, as things turned out i gave up the job in 2019 and we returned to PH.
As it was 5 years ago i can't remember the costs of everything but i have to assume it has not reduced.
My wife was in the UK on a 6 month visit visa so we started the application in May 1917, i took one look at the online application form and decided to get the help of an immigration lawyer, we filled out the form in his office and he also wrote a letter endorsing her application, cost around £800.
English test done in Glasgow, around £150, test lasts 5 min.
The application cost was around £1500.
NHS fee £600, this is to cover any medical treatment she might need.
Now this was the one i really could not get my head around, TB test, OK BUT it has to be done in her home country.
The visa was approved in October 1917 but it only lasts 2.5 years then you have to apply again including another English test as if she might forget how to speak English,
this one if approved lasts another 2.5 then you can apply for permanent (hoops unknown)
This was our experience, yours will obviously be different as you have a son so best of luck.

Best send them to France to get one of those small boats across the channel, they will get a free hotel until you can pick them up LOL (Joke lang)

 

My wife and i lived in the UK so i know from experience Filipinos will be treated better there than foreigners' are here, for example white man, long nose or whatever you want to call it tax.
Anybody using such tactics in the UK would be charged with racism.

Foreigners are not given a fair chance to blend in here .

 

Love those pork pies.

 

My friend met and married his wife in Hong Kong although she is Filipna.
They had little trouble in obtaining a spouse visa from there, however it was not an indefinite visa, that came later, then came British Citizenship.
All in all cost an arm and a leg and keeps rising every year. If she has a medical/carer certificate it would increase her chances of obtaining a visa sooner, the NHS is crying out for staff.

 

Hoots Mon Dave, "home" is where the heart is, its not your fault you where born in Scotland, btw you forgot Whisky!!!
Just thinking what England is famous for.....Lancashire hot pot, Cumberland sauages, Wensleydale cheese, Yorkshie puddings, Red Leicester not to mention Cornish Pasties which might cause upset in some quarters.
Can't find the story about a young Alexander Fleming whose education was paid for by Randolph Churchill in gratitude for his help.
Alexander Fleming Scottish of course, went on to discover Penicillin which its said saved the life of Winston Churchill the son of Randolph Churchill

 

In fairness it seems to me that yes there is a risk that bringing your partner to your home country won't be successful in the long run (assuming that is what you mean), just as there are risks with the opposite, i.e. living with a partner in the Philippines as a foreigner.
The difference might be that social acceptance of a fairly large age gap between partners is much less in the West than it is here, which means that social interaction is harder there.
But that doesn't mean that a generalized advice like yours (the "don't") is justified in every situation.
There's a big difference between a situation of a long established relationship and having a child together (like Dave's) and a situation where you basically go from LDR (long distance relation) plus a couple short visits to the girl's country to trying to make things work as a couple in a western country.

 

My wife whose Filipino has thinking about it told me of a friend another Filipino who has children of which I believe one is adopted. She has been turned down a few times, partly because there are a number of different departments that are involved in the process. Also I think she is still married to a Filipino, divorce being not really allowed generally speaking.

Last I heard they had to put a considerable sum for them (£68k is the amount to deter you) into an UK account to cover their living expenses. This is not required if you have a good regular income. However, they are still waiting to hear and I guess with the PP back log in the UK it won't happen quickly or at all if computer says no.

The Philippines in comparison is a breeze IMO.
And I believe the fuel bills in Dumaguete this coming winter will be not increased....