some advice please

[cardiffian]

i have been in contact with LAnie in the philippines for a couple of months now and i plan to visit her in december,i have a son from a previous marriage who i bring up alone.I am sending money to the philippines every month on my insistence by the way and we email each other everyday and speak on yahoo messenger every weekend,please could you advise me what records i need to keep for any visa applications and is it better to apply for a visiting visa before getting married,i know this is jumping the gun having not yet visited her but i am dead serious and would just like to be prepared jeff

[Eljohno]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cardiffian &#064; May 20 2006, 05&#58;55 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
i have been in contact with LAnie in the philippines for a couple of months now and i plan to visit her in december,i have a son from a previous marriage who i bring up alone.I am sending money to the philippines every month on my insistence by the way and we email each other everyday and speak on yahoo messenger every weekend,please could you advise me what records i need to keep for any visa applications and is it better to apply for a visiting visa before getting married,i know this is jumping the gun having not yet visited her but i am dead serious and would just like to be prepared jeff
[/b][/quote]




Hi Jeff,

it is probably best if you do visit before making a life changing decision and you will need to do that anyway before you apply for the visa. You need to keep most of your yahoo chats, phone cards, letters (You will need to start writing to each other) then airplane tickets and any receipts. Spend more time looking through the forum as many of us have been through it all and all or most of the info you need will be on here. Remember to keep all receipts of any money you send and all the best for your future plans.

[cardiffian]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eljohno &#064; May 20 2006, 06&#58;06 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Hi Jeff,

it is probably best if you do visit before making a life changing decision and you will need to do that anyway before you apply for the visa. You need to keep most of your yahoo chats, phone cards, letters (You will need to start writing to each other) then airplane tickets and any receipts. Spend more time looking through the forum as many of us have been through it all and all or most of the info you need will be on here. Remember to keep all receipts of any money you send and all the best for your future plans.
[/b][/quote]
thanks for the advice please can you tell me how you keep records of yahoo messenger chats thanks jeff

[ivor&mel]

thanks for the advice please can you tell me how you keep records of yahoo messenger chats thanks jeff

Hi Jeff,

You need to make sure you are saving the history logs first! From the main Yahoo Messenger window, click on Messenger in the menu (top left) and then Preferences. Then select Archive and select Archive all messages.

You can view the Archive in several ways, e.g. right-click on the name in your contact list in the main window and then select Message Archive: you should see all the messages organised by date. What I used to do was save each day's conversations to a separate file, in a folder where I could easily find it, and with a filename of the date in yyyy-mm-dd format (e.g. 2006-04-30.txt). Then, you can edit the TXT files in whatever way you want using Notepad or whatever and print them off. It's best to edit out any fruity bits before you submit them to the Embassy :)

Apart from that, I'll say what John said: collect as much communication as you can, plus lots of photos of the two of you together of course (your lady, not John :)) and with her family members if possible, in as many different locations as you can realistically manage.

Ivor and Mel

[ivor&mel]

Hi again Jeff,

Just re-read your post, and I'm not sure what sort of visa you are considering applying for! Am I right in thinking you are considering a Visitor's Visa? If so, I would think again if I were you: the success rate for a Filipina getting a Visitor's Visa is extremely low, so the chances are you would be wasting your time and money. The only sensible choice you should be thinking about is whether to apply for Fiancee or Spouse Visa. And for either, you need to have known each other for at least a year and met for real at least once: the longer and the more times the better as far as the Embassy is concerned.

Also, as regards documentation, start hanging on to your wage/salary slips, bank statements, savings account statements as you will need to provide probably 6-months' worth of each to accompany your visa application. And you will need proof of suitable accommodation in the UK for Lanie e.g. proof of ownership if you own your house, or written permission from your landlord if renting. Finally, give thought to writing a cover letter to accompany your application. All these things have been talked about on this Forum and on Pete's site (http://www.british-filipino.com/). Anyway, you have lots of time to prepare :)
Ivor and Mel

[Pauldo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cardiffian &#064; May 20 2006, 05&#58;55 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
i have been in contact with LAnie in the philippines for a couple of months now and i plan to visit her in december,i have a son from a previous marriage who i bring up alone.I am sending money to the philippines every month on my insistence by the way and we email each other everyday and speak on yahoo messenger every weekend,please could you advise me what records i need to keep for any visa applications and is it better to apply for a visiting visa before getting married,i know this is jumping the gun having not yet visited her but i am dead serious and would just like to be prepared jeff
[/b][/quote]
Hi Jeff, welcome aboard.
Two months is indeed a very short time to decide that you want to commit to a girl for life. So, do your homework on the girl and make sure her story gels in all aspects, you need to know she is genuine before committing your self emotionally and financially. Ask gentle questions about her life, and family etc, make sure the answers gel. There are plenty of unscrupulous girls out there looking to make a buck or just have fun for a while. Better safe than sorry.

It is a long term thing you are getting in to and I&#39;d suggest meeting her at least a couple of times before even thinking of tying the knot and bringing her to the UK. Assuming she actually wants to come here that is.

As mentioned already by Ivor, visit visas applications seem to be fairly unsuccesful for some reason, so marriage might be your best bet. You have a long rocky road ahead of you, so save everything she sends you, and send her lots of bits and pieces, cards, snail mail letters, photos, get her to send the same to you too. If you go to visit her take a good camera and record everything you do together.

If and when you both decide you want to take it a step further, marriage, visa, she will need to start getting her house in order and make sure she has a passport, a CORRECT birth certificate and various other things. Incorrect birth certificates seem to be a hell of a stumbling block with visa applications.

Treat it like a court case, where she has to PROVE her worth to the UK Embassy in Manila, because that is basically what happens when she applies for the visa.

Anyway, have fun, be careful, don&#39;t let your little head rule your big head, if you know what I mean style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif

[cardiffian]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ivor&mel &#064; May 20 2006, 07&#58;16 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Hi Jeff,

You need to make sure you are saving the history logs first&#33; From the main Yahoo Messenger window, click on Messenger in the menu (top left) and then Preferences. Then select Archive and select Archive all messages.

You can view the Archive in several ways, e.g. right-click on the name in your contact list in the main window and then select Message Archive: you should see all the messages organised by date. What I used to do was save each day&#39;s conversations to a separate file, in a folder where I could easily find it, and with a filename of the date in yyyy-mm-dd format (e.g. 2006-04-30.txt). Then, you can edit the TXT files in whatever way you want using Notepad or whatever and print them off. It&#39;s best to edit out any fruity bits before you submit them to the Embassy style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

Apart from that, I&#39;ll say what John said: collect as much communication as you can, plus lots of photos of the two of you together of course (your lady, not John style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif ) and with her family members if possible, in as many different locations as you can realistically manage.

Ivor and Mel
[/b][/quote]
thanks very much for your advice jeff

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pauldo &#064; May 21 2006, 01&#58;30 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Hi Jeff, welcome aboard.
Two months is indeed a very short time to decide that you want to commit to a girl for life. So, do your homework on the girl and make sure her story gels in all aspects, you need to know she is genuine before committing your self emotionally and financially. Ask gentle questions about her life, and family etc, make sure the answers gel. There are plenty of unscrupulous girls out there looking to make a buck or just have fun for a while. Better safe than sorry.

It is a long term thing you are getting in to and I&#39;d suggest meeting her at least a couple of times before even thinking of tying the knot and bringing her to the UK. Assuming she actually wants to come here that is.

As mentioned already by Ivor, visit visas applications seem to be fairly unsuccesful for some reason, so marriage might be your best bet. You have a long rocky road ahead of you, so save everything she sends you, and send her lots of bits and pieces, cards, snail mail letters, photos, get her to send the same to you too. If you go to visit her take a good camera and record everything you do together.

If and when you both decide you want to take it a step further, marriage, visa, she will need to start getting her house in order and make sure she has a passport, a CORRECT birth certificate and various other things. Incorrect birth certificates seem to be a hell of a stumbling block with visa applications.

Treat it like a court case, where she has to PROVE her worth to the UK Embassy in Manila, because that is basically what happens when she applies for the visa.

Anyway, have fun, be careful, don&#39;t let your little head rule your big head, if you know what I mean style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif
[/b][/quote]
again thanks for the advice jeff

[cardiffian]

me again,i have just changed my setting&#39;s on messenger so i can use them in the future if i need them,as i wrote at the beginning of this tread, i am just starting out so any advice is gratefully received from the experts on here.I got married to a Thai girl in 1990 so i know things can be difficult and there will be a rocky road ahead for me,she left me after 5 years and now is back in the land of smiles,leaveing me to bring up my son alone,i have been single for 7 years so perhaps i am wanting somebody in my life,please don&#39;t judge me ,i hope to make friends on here in the future,is there any body out there in the Cardiff area,one last thing, is there a problem,as i first contacted Melanie On Filippinoheart,i was thinking of the visa in the future, thanks evryone jeff

[ivor&mel]

one last thing, is there a problem,as i first contacted Melanie On Filippinoheart,i was thinking of the visa in the future, thanks evryone jeff

Bit of a concidence here! I first contacted Melanie on Filipinaheart too! But mine is sitting here with me right now :)

It's no problem about meeting on a website: the Embassy are likely to ask questions about it if she has to go for interview, but if you read the transcript of an interview session on Pete's site (http://www.british-filipino.com/) you'll know the sort of question she is likely to face. Our situation was similar to yours in that respect, and it was no problem.

Ivor and Mel