Going for UK visitors visa... I must be crazy right!?

[charlotte]

Hi everyone

This is going to sound strange, but I'm not actually in a relationship with a Filipino - but with a Fijian guy. I've been searching the internet for a while now and have found this forum and just wanted to say how invaluable the advise is

I met my boyfriend whilst I was living in Fiji, and at the time had no idea that it would be so difficult for him to come over for just a simple visit! Before knowing this, we decided we would spend Christmas in the UK together - and he booked his flight which was over £1,000!

Now I am wishing he did not do this! It was not until I got back to the UK and started researching that I realised how difficult it was for him to get over here on this visa.

We are both young.. 21, and 23 so do not yet want to apply for the fiance visa although we are very serious about each other. We would like to do so in the next 4 yrs if we are still together, but right now the Visitors visa really is our only option. If it is refused, will it affect any possible visa we may apply for in the future if our relationship progresses?

I am blown away by the knowledge of some posters on here. Out of interest, what are my chances? Here is some back ground info..

1) He has enough money in the bank to support his 6 week stay in England, I will just be providing him with accomodation - do I still need to sign the sponsor's declaration form even though he is supporting his own travel, food, shopping, etc. Worried if i do this it will go against me they will want to see my bank statements - I will only have £1,500 max saved as I will be a training to be a teacher. I have also only had a summer job and will not have 6 months worth of pay slips to show. My Father owns the house, and I am getting him to write a letter to say that we can stay there rent free, and I will also try and find a housing report to show we have enough space for him.

2) BIGGEST concern by far, and the factor which will probably see his application rejected, is the fact that he has never worked in Fiji. Although he studied, he dropped out the course because he did not like it. Therefore for the past 6 months his mum has been giving him monthly deposits. Therefore he has 'no reason to return' right? He is applying to study in Australia soon, at the time of applying for the UK visa (late oct) he may not have confirmation of his place at uni yet. Even if he does have this, I am pretty sure the Australian Visa to PROVE he the has the right to study there will still be being processed. I heard it can take 2-3 months. AGH. If worse comes to worse and we have no confirmation of his place in time for the visa, I ask.. would correspondance between him and the uni - aka - emails enquiring about the course, proof that he meets the entry requirments, and a copy of the application form - be enough to show intent to return home? I am really worried that they will see a young, unemployed male comign to see his girlfriend and just say NO.

3) He has family in Fiji. Would a family tree help? Surely they are enough reason to return home?

4) He has travelled abroad before - to Australia for 2 weeks. Here he adhered to his vistors visa requirements - a benefit? Could it be worth showing a copy of his Australian stamp in the pass port?

5) He is coming for a REASON. His Brother lives in Southhampton and so do his nephews and nieces that he has not yet met. Also, it is the christmas holidays - a reasonable time to meet up? His trip has also been planned to coincide with my birthday and christmas holidays from university.

SO. What do you think? At a glance there seem to be many positives ie. money and previous itnernational travel - yet I am the fact that he may not be able to prove that he has any sort of job, or course to return to is going to over-ride all of these positives? I would love to here from anyone who has been successful in obtaining a visitors visa - or whose gf/bf has.

Sorry this is so long, and not actually about the philipines, but i hope you understand my desperation here and I cannot afford a solicitor!

x

[Arthur Little]

to the forum, Charlotte.

What you've told us makes perfect sense ... and logically, you'd THINK, all things considered, that it's surely not asking too much for the British Embassy to allow your boyfriend to come to the UK for a holiday - especially when, as you point out, he will be financing the whole thing himself, and you will be providing adequate accommodation for him while he's here. However, even taking such factors into account, there are two "sticklers" (that I know of) likely to concern an Entry Clearance Official:

1. Your boyfriend isn't working at present ... so, from what source is the money to support his trip coming from?

2. Because he doesn't have a job to return to ... how can he guarantee he will return home afterwards?

These, then, are the stumbling blocks. But, as the cost of a Visitor Visa is [only] around £70, it might well be worth trying for, as it's not a huge sum to lose if it WERE unsuccessful ... unlike the Fiance and/or Spousal Visas, which cost nearly ten times that amount.

And yes, although it's fair to say that only a minority of tourist applications in general are approved, I DO know of one forum member pseudonymn, 'Queenbee' - who was fortunate enough to have been recently granted her second ... ... 'multiple entry visa' (I think!) since she joined us last year.

Another thought that crosses my mind is the possibility of your boyfriend applying for a 'Family Visit Visa' to see his close relatives in Southampton ... although I'm not too clear about how one goes about this. Hopefully, though, someone here will be able to guide you. Good Luck!

[Arthur Little]

Incidentally, be assured ... IF his application should happen to be denied on THIS occasion ... it will have absolutely NO bearing whatsoever on the outcome of any others made in the future ... so long as both of you are completely honest about your circumstances.

[charlotte]

Thank you very much for your reply. It's just good to hear your opinion on my situation as my friends and family think I've got quite mad.. so I'm thankful to be able to talk about it with someone on here.

Well... applying for a visitor visa did cross my mind - and sounds like a far better idea. However, his Brother is in the British Army and there is talk of him being posted to Ireland by the end of the year, so it's all a bit unreliable. He also is quite slack at keeping in touch with his family in back Fiji so to expect him to provide all the paper work required to sponsor someone, adequately and on time, might be a bit of a risky! Techniqually if you apply for a family visa I think the applicant is expected to spend the duration of the time WITH that family member. The reality is he'd be staying with me which is no where near his brother's house. Pretty sure it'd be classed as deception if we were caught and then that really would buggar up any long term plans which are the most important. A holiday for him to the UK was once something we thought was going to be pretty definately, and now it looks like it'll simply be a nice suprise/bonus!

Like I said before there is a glimmer of hope in that he may have all the paper work together to prove that he has a place on a course at a university in Sydney. But as he cannot apply until Sept/Oct I'm not sure the confirmation of these plans will be back in time. I said that should we wait as long as we can for the paper work to come, and then if it hasn't arrived a month before the flight date just apply anyway - as his flight is probably non-refundable we may as well! Or perhaps change the date of the flight in correlation with the university paper work arriving! Agh.

The money used to fund his trip is from an inhertiance fund. It was given to him in April so the relevant paper work should be around to prove this. Just one thing that I've been thinking about today... even if he did had a job i'm not sure how much they'd take that into consideration! When the rate of pay in Fiji is just 60p an hour, can that really be classed as a 'reason' to return? I honestly don't think substanstial leave from any job in Fiji would be given to him anyway to enable him to travel to the UK; or if leave was given I do not think it would be for a week or so - hardly a suitable length of time to justify him spending nearly a years wage on a flight! He reality is his Mother is very lucky and has a well paid job, she gives him money - which although is not a lot - is tripple what he would get if he found a job. I think that a place on a university course, with the fee's paid, would be seen as a higher incentive for him to return home. I also hope that a reasonable amount of money in the bank will also stand as a 'reason to return'; as it suggests that he is not trying to 'escape' to the UK from a life of poverty. Infact because of the exchange rate he will probably have a better standard of living in Fiji than the UK. HE JUST WANTS TO SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH ME!!

The whole thing is really starting to get me down now. One minute I'm positive, the next minute I'm like.. who am I kidding - they'll see a single, unemployed, 21 year old male and stamp a big rat REJECTED in red.

Either way, now I know a rejected visitors visa isn't going to affect a fiance/spouce visa he will definately be applying anyway. There isn't really anything else we can do apart from collect all the relevant paper work and PRAY. haha

[gWaPito]

You mentioned queenbee, Arthur, I think one of the reason she has been granted a second visa without trouble is because she is leaving a Son behind in the Philippines.
She is hardly going to abandon him.

The guy in question is coming on a tourist visa and by what the lady explained, he will be visting family which is more than I can say for the vast amount of tourist visa's being granted.

From what I see, tourist visa's are being granted to people who are already playing house with there boyfriends and still are undecided. hardly being a tourist

The lady in question is right, she does not want to rush into the fiance/spouse routine so, perhaps there should be another visa under another name?