Hello everyone, from Dale and Vanessa, a married couple from UK and Philippines respectively. We met on a chat site (2009), and tied the knot over there last year, So far I've been to Phili 5 times but we've not been one of those very lucky couples to get a UK spouse visa as we don't meet the financial requirements. We've had a visitor visa application refused

I gave up my moderately paid job here in may, with the intention of moving there, initially for 6 mths but I came back after only 3 weeks as the realisation of having no job and just living off savings was too daunting. However, I'd certainly consider going to live here again (and staying this time) if we could find a real source of sustained income.

We're open to any offers/suggestions as to how we can be together rather than just Internet chats and short visits...
Thanks for reading

Depends greatly on what sort of life style you want to live.
There are numerous ways to earn some money without going to a lot of expense.
Where is your wife based?

my husband in chester uk, i'm in las pinas city metro manila. any help pls for us to be together?

Thanks desertrat for your post. To explain, I created the thread and then it was my wife who logged into our profile today and typed that she lives in Law Pinas presently. I'm back home in Uk and missing her... We've stayed twice in Makati and really like the place.

Hi Dale,

I am suprised you had a visitors visa declined.We had a simular experience when trying to obtain such a visa for our niece (20yera old).it was decined on the grounds that the UKBA thought she would not want to go back to the Phills.
We appealed and went to a arbitratuion tribuneral.After the tribuneral getting the visa was no problem.Since then we have got visitors visa's for my wifes sister and amother niece we got a three year student visa.You might try to ask your local MP to intervene.
Regarding your desire to live in the Philippines, I have travelled there over 25times and indeed have bought a large house in a sub-division ready for 'retirement'.
There are many things that you should be aware of,especialy as you have only been to the Phills a small number of times.Can I suggest that you view the sites 'living in the Philippines and Yahoo groups (living in the philippines also)which are full of information they you would need.Both these sites are written by ex pats who live in the phills.
If you need any advice you can always call me.

PS. We will be in the phills December this year.

Thanks Mike for reading/posting...
Since making the family visitor application, I've learnt that all get rejected when the Uk citizen is applying for his foreign spouse. I also went to an appeal tribunal but the home office representative there made a recommendation that she'd not return after the 6 mths, just like your niece. We could have then tried the upper appeal tribunal but my wife felt it was already hopeless. Her mother lives here and has dual nationality, also she (naturally) wanted to bring her daughter therefore they thought we we're trying to get her over here on the cheap rather than apply an expensive spouse visa.

Despite only visiting Phili 5 times so far, I've seen enough of Metro Manila's poverty etc. to know that a life over there (without a big money) would be far from a bed of roses but we don't want settle for just me visiting her once/twice a year and our daily online chats either. Just like you, I have a plan to go in Phili again for my first Xmas there and with my wife.

Hi Dale,

I assume that your wife resided in Manila ? My wife has relatives in Manila and we 'stop over' before heading North to Pangasinan where we have our house.Our house is 2kms from the sea and is very privite.
I would suggest that you visit other parts(provinces) of the Philippines to get a 'real' angle on life over there. Manila is certainly not for us,and many ex pats live in the LA Union province owing to it being close to the sea (no polution,traffic,over crowding etc etc) and considerably cheaper than Manila.
We have a UK friend who is married to a Pinnay and owns a very succesfull eatery in Mangalden,Pangasinan which is 5minites from our house.They live in the Uk 7months and Mangaldan for 5months of the year.They are very lucky in that they have a very good business run by the brother in law.Most business's set up by ex-pats fail.
If you want I can give you our friends phone number (he has just arrived back from the Phills) and could possibly give you some needed advice.
What is your age ?


Mike

Travel about and find a place you like. The Visayas are peaceful and reasonably cheap.Plan on working half a year and being in Phils for the rest.

My wife is dreaming of Baguio lately as she said it's cool there and has many palm trees and strawberries

Hi... I may be able to offer you some advice. Although my situation is completely different, there are similarities. I'm from N Wales originally & my wife is Filipina.

She already had her own home in Calamba, Laguna (one hour south of Metro Manila). We met online in 1999. We met in person in 2000. I visited there many times (30+) up until 2003 when when she came to the UK on a Fiance Visa (having been refused once before & refused a tourist visa also). Six months later, we got married in the UK. She is now a UK citizen.

She fell pregnant & lost the baby. She was told that she probably wouldn't be able to conceive again. So we decided to adopt, but we decided to adopt locally in the Philippines because there are so many unwanted children & the system is a little easier (or so we were led to believe!). Anyway, to cut a long story short a friend of friend became pregnant and gave birth in December 2009. Her husband worked overseas and knew nothing about her illicit affair. We decided we'd adopt the child. So we went there in Jan 2010 and she hasn't been back to the UK since.

We moved back into her old house and a month later (having fell in love with our new son) I had to go back to work in the UK. I was devastated! They were in the Philippines & I was earning money in the UK to keep us all fed & clothed. I had to live in Philippines for the purposes of adoption but I had to earn money (NO chance of earning the same amount of money in a Philippine job). I could see no light at the end of the tunnel & became thoroughly depressed.

In the end (6 months later) I was at breaking point. So I took a HUGE HUGE gamble against my wife's wishes and everybody's advice & I declared myself bankrupt (we had run up some pretty big debts over the years - mainly from travel to Philippines & supporting her family), quit my job, rented the house out & moved over there with a grand plan of starting a business. I'm an automation engineer & I have quite a lot of contacts. I have travelled the world over the last 12 years for my former company & a lot of the work I've been doing is in Australasia. I figured that I could do the same thing but working for myself & based in the Philippines.

18months later & I've never earned so much in my life! I'm writing this from Australia. I go home tomorrow for a few days & then I go to Thailand for a week. The first 6 months were incredibly tough, waiting for work to come in & then waiting even longer for the money to follow. But it can be done! Of course, an awful lot depends on your skills, contacts and the size of your balls! What I would say though is visiting the Philippines & living there are two VERY different things... even if you are reasonably well off.

If you are poor, you'll live like a local & I don't know many expats that could handle that. The cost of living there is not as cheap as you think. There are a LOT of hidden costs & a LOT of inconvenience & a LOT of red-tape. If I were you, I would pursue getting her to the UK. Could move there for a year & build up a case for coming to UK (prove that you're living together etc.)? If you decide to do this, you'll need to register for an ACR-I card (alien certificate of registration). Without this you will not be able to open a bank account or get your name put on utility bills or even get a mobile phone on contract. This ACR-I card is not that cheap (I forget exactly how much) but the real killer is the bull-shit that you have to endure to get it. You can't do anything online or by post in this country - everything is face-to-face. In most cases, you can't even make an appointment - you just have to queue up around the block from 5am and wait and wait... and then when you finally get to see someone, you're told that "you haven't got all the requirements" or "the person who deals with this is not here today". When you ask when that person will be here you're just told to come back again tomorrow and queue again! Most Filipinos just accept this because they're used to it. Foreigners find it hard! So, unless you are super-rich & can afford to pay somebody to deal with all the shit & bribe all the officials, the Philippines is certainly not a bed of roses.

Regarding places to live... Baguio is not like it was a few years ago. Yes, it's a cooler climate BUT it's become really overcrowded & polluted. If you have savings, live in the province where people are more genuine & cost of living is cheaper. Metro Manila is expensive. Sure, you've got everything on your doorstep (including all the bad stuff) but it's overcrowded & polluted. The traffic will drive you crazy. The Visayas would be my choice - IMHO Visayan people are more friendly, genuine & I've found that they are not so shy to speak English! Cebu is OK, but again it's a big city with lots of people & pollution. I would choose to live in far-suburbs of a Visayan city.

If you really can't get your wife to the UK & you can't work for yourself in some sort of consulting capacity, my advice would be to bit the bullet & just move there. You'll need at least moderate savings & you'll need to be really careful (live like a local - but it's harder than it sounds) until you can figure out what to do for an income.

Another problem you'll encounter is that most Filipinos will see you as a walking cash-machine. You need to be very aware of this & remember "charity begins at home". Filipinos love to eat so perhaps an eatery of some description might be a good start-up business. You're not going to get rich, but it might pay the bills & put food on the table. I don't know what you do for a living now & how that may help you in the Philippines but bear in mind that there is a small percentage of grotesquely rich people there. These people love to flaunt their wealth by showing off the latest gadgets, fashion, cars, houses, furniture & art etc. Is there some way you can cash in on this wealth & vanity?

Until you get established (and it may never happen), don't even think of living an ex-pat style life... you'll blow your money away. Believe me, it's EASY to lose or give money away if you're not careful. On the other hand, even with all the hidden extras, it is undoubtedly cheaper than living in the UK. I must admit that, after a very shaky start & dogged determination, I'm now doing OK. Not great, just OK. Let me know if you have any specific questions or need any more information.