javsezlol

Hi im a young 22 year old wanting to move to the Philippines to be with my girlfriend.
I understand that i cant get a permanent stay as we are not married YET.
my plan is to go out there get a job and work visa and work there for a year or so and marry her if all goes to plan But im unsure on a lot of things like what paper work i need to do here in the uk before i go what paper work to do out there ... im basically clueless with what i need to accomplish this.
i just need a list and ill do it
it sounds like a bad idea as i dont know what i need but ive been there 3 times once each year for the pst 3 years i have my heart set on that place and my mind wont change. ive never been good with legal requirements and just paper work in general to me its nonsense but this is what i want can any body help ?

Simon1983

The paperwork is the least of your problems.

You can fly in without a visa (making sure you have a ticket for a flight out). You can then extend your stay by going to your local bureau of immigration office while you look for work.

IF you can find work, you will need to make sure the employer sponsors you for your 9G work visa, and you will need a work permit.

Your salary here will be nothing compared to what you could earn in the UK and the hours will be very long. On the other hand, if you like Filipinos and want an experience maybe you will enjoy it.

What kind of work are you planning to do here? There are not many jobs that foreigners can get hired for. Mostly they are in BPOs/call centers and a few jobs in the tourist areas.

Don't expect you can just get a job in a local company that has local customers - you need to be dealing with British customers otherwise no one will hire you.

Is your partner working? Where are you planning to stay? Will you be with your partners family?

javsezlol

Hi thanks,
I will be staying with girlfriend and her family until i have work. Im going for a job in graphics anything from photoshop to video editing. She currently is working, im not sure what here full job title is but she does PowerPoint presentations for American companies and this is where i plan to work aswell as the minimum wage in the Philippines is 10000php a month and she is earning 25000php a month and if i get the job there ill earn roughly 28000php a month. I know the wages are nothing compared to here but then the living expenses there are nothing too, I am self taught in everything i know no body gives you a second look here in the uk where as over the its more of a prove you can situation which appeals to me more.
I also love this girl and its getting harder and harder to immigrate to the uk, and this is good a chance for me to start again

Simon1983

You sound like you have more of a plan than most people who come here. Make sure you have some money tucked away in case you need to leave quickly. Don't let your savings run out otherwise you'll be stuck here if things go wrong.

codermonkey

You could get her into the UK with a fiancee visa, but this means you are getting married within 9 months typically.

Even with the fiancee visa it could take around 1 year to get her into the UK.

In the UK you can both earn far more money so financially this is the best option.

The visa will cost around £1500 to sort out if you do it yourself.

Like yourself I've only visited the Philippines but I do intend to retire there on an SSRV.

When I spoke to filipino's looking for work they mention work papers, so it may not be easy to pick up work without the right paperwork. It's possible you'd need to look into running a small company with your partner if you emigrate.

I certainly wouldn't got there with less than £10,000 in savings and zero debt.

quiltman

Good on you for at least asking for help BEFORE you take the plunge. Life here is not that easy for foreigners though! you don't say whereabouts in the Phils you are looking at coming to? Let us know as location can affect what is possible.
1. the good news is that when you arrive on a tourist visa - 30days free at arrival - you can renew it regularly for up to 3 YEARS then you have to leave the country for 24hrs and on return the 3 years starts again. Not cheap but many expats are living here under this regime.You cannot work on a tourist visa and if caught you will be deported.
2. You cannot just get a job offer here.YOU cannot apply for a work permit yourself, unlike say Australia. With a very few exceptions , your prospective employer will have to apply for an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) for you and this requires an advert in the local papers which states what the job is, its needed qualifications and the salary. Sounds straightforward? Ah, there is a sting in the tail! The bottom of the advert has to state that any Filipino who considers themselves able and qualified can also apply and if they meet the criteria they will get given the job! This means AEP job specs have to be precisely written - such as "Must speak fluent Japanese, Have 10 years postgraduate experience," or something similar to avoid a local being able to meet the specifications. As you say you have no specific qualifications then you may struggle as even to flip burgers in jollibee you need at least 2yrs college and often a degree! It's not impossible, but it all takes time and money. There are loads of locals who are skilled in graphics/web design and similar trades so you would need to offer some exceptional talent lacking in local applicants. I don't mean to dissuade you only wanting to point out the potential pitfalls.
3. 25K a month is not a bad salary here, especially if the company also offer perks such as health insurance etc. Some call centres offer shifts to foreigners under a form of overseas employment contract which gets around some of the work permit rules but they are few and far between and mainly in Manila.Again, how far this goes depends on where you live. In Manila you would struggle but here in Cebu you could survive. If you are living with future in laws then , yes, you could probably manage but be aware that here you would be expected to help support the extended family.

there are other areas you could stumble over and my suggestion would be to come over, have enough money to live for a year or so,look for a job where the employer will apply for the relevant permits and see what happens. alternatively, if you have a good job in UK then as others say, apply for a marriage visa, get married in UK -then apply for a spouse visa for your wife to live with you in the UK. Once you are married, you can come here, get a 12month Balikbayan visa, then your wife can sponsor you for a 13A visa and after a year she can apply for it to be made permanent. Be aware there is NO divorce here - that's why getting married outside the Phils is better , and if you split up (heaven forbid), your 13 visa can be cancelled and you'd have to leave.

Sorry for the long post but thought it better for you to have an idea of the pitfalls before you commit. Do some research on visas - google Philippine bureau of immigration visas-and read what it says for each type of visa so you have an idea of what is involved. Ask any other questions you come up with and members will do their best to help.

Good luck and I hope it all works out for both of you!

javsezlol

hi, thanks for all your replies and advice is greatly appreciated. i have thought about this a lot its definitely what i want and ill be happy there. i am not a lover of money at all and nor is my girlfriend, which is odd for a filipina ive a few before that are just interested in money or a visa so i left the instantly this girl is definitely the one and im more than happy to take the gamble if it doesn't work out ill just come home im living with family still anyway. my main concern is what do i need to take I.E birth certificate passport utility bills ect as i do not want to make 2 trips....
from what ive read and researched everything can be done in that country and i do not have to come back as-long as i take the correct paperwork

Pollyana

He would have to meet the financial requirements to sponsor her into the UK though. Income of $18,600 or savings of $62,500.......

javsezlol

okay on paragraph 2.) you say it HAS to be a add in a paper.... im not sure i understand that and if say i was to apply and a Filipino applied same job every thing the same only difference is that im from abroad they have to choose the Filipino is that what your saying ?. secondly what if i was to work from say home like a internet job teaching English or something that was a idea we had too. would that be possible and what would i need? im sorry for the amounts of questions ill keep asking till im confident to make my move

Stokkevn

Correct. Reading the posts on this site you will find that most of us, including me, arrived on these shores, followed a few weeks later by WTF, then HELP and then followed by employing a fixer to catch up on all those things you should have done before leaving the UK. I wish I had known this site before yanking anchor and heading this direction.

codermonkey

The laws are heavily biased to Filipino citizens, you wont be a citizen so you will come in last for all jobs that a citizen can do. There are millions of Filipinos and some will be well versed at graphic design.

Giving yourself a job without offering it to Filipinos may land you in big trouble.

This is why I mentioned that running your own company may help, but you'd probably need a lawyer to be on the safe side.

You will need a visa to be in the country, typically for young people this will be a tourist visa. In most countries its illegal to work on a tourist visa.

To work you would then need a better visa or a work permit, this can be a difficult, time consuming and expensive proposition depending on the country. It took me over 2 years and £2000 to get work visa for another country. Your best bet would be for an employer to obtain this for you, however they typically only do this for highly skilled workers.

After the age of 35 you can get an SSRV and reside permanently or you can get a marriage visa after marriage.

You can view it all as nonsense, but without the right paperwork you wont be able to get a job or you risk being deported and banned from re-entry.

You may not like being in the UK, but being a UK citizen gives a lot of benefits, if you can't make money in the UK, you have zero chance of making money in the Philippines.

The girl and family may be really nice and not care for money, but nobody is going to let you live in their house indefinitely without you paying your way. So you will need to have an income from somewhere.

Many people retire to Philippines and live off a pension from their home country, you will have built up no pension. So you will need a perpetual income stream from somewhere.

javsezlol

okay i understand that and i plan to pay my way, the job my girlfriend works at you need to be able to speak English and well not just average because they deal with american companies i was hoping that that may be of some help. I also was thinking about online teaching would it be possible to do that and if so do i need a swp and/or some form of work visa or could i just do it and keep renewing my visa while im there i need to have a good idea on everything before i make a move. so can i ask just these questions and im grateful for all the help i genuinely, didnt expect any replies thanks guys
1.) the job requires a high level of English speaking. if its me versus a native whos skills are the same as mine except my English is to a higher standard than theirs would this help?
2.) if everything goes tits up and i dont find work is it possible to work online in that
country?
3.)if we got married would this have any affect on being able to get a job?
4.) what exact paper work should i take in the hopes everything went smoothly?
5.) i see alot of indians in the philippnes how are they getting work?
6.) what jobs is it easier for someone from the uk to get. i have a huge skillset in i.t everything from 3d art and animation, music production, video editing and special effects to programming and databases but i am self taught would this help?

javsezlol

sorry what do i need to do i the UK thats exactly what i need to know

codermonkey

Most educated Filipinos under the age of 30 will speak English fluently. In most of Asia you can become an English teacher, the same opportunities are less likely in the Philippines unless you have prior English teaching experience.

You could look into getting TEFL or teaching experience in the UK.

Yes you can work online, but making money online can be easy or impossible depending on who you are.

Look at the visa pages on the Philippine immigration website. They will explain the options, a marriage visa is prob the easiest visa to get, but marriage is a huge commitment and the Philippines have no divorce.

Paperwork depends on your plans, speak to the Philippines embassy after reading their website. You will need passport, drivers license, references, CV, police check report, some of these must be notarized.

You may be able to get a programming gig, I've been programming for 25 years and I wouldn't fancy it, but that is just me. Being self taught is probably going to be a hindrance in the Philippines, they will want evidence of prior experience and qualifications.

codermonkey

Things to do in the UK :

1. Accumulate £10,000 in savings
2. Create a business that can be run online or remotely that generates at least £3,000 pa profit.
3. Get more qualifications, experience, references and skills from working in UK and taking recognized training courses in UK.
4. Speak to the Philippine embassy staff or an agent about how to go about emigrating.
5. Join Asian Job sites and ask agents what type job you can get.
6. Write to schools and ask what qualifications they expect for their teachers.
7. Before you leave get a criminal record check from police.