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HOW TO JOIN YOUR FAMILY PERMANENTLY LIVING IN THE UK

7/26/2016

In order to be considered as qualified to join their families in the UK, an applicant for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa must be any of the following (as indicated in the UK government website):

Married or civil partners of the person permanently living in the UK
Living together with the person permanently living in the UK for a period of at least two (2) years
Engaged to be married or scheduled to be registered as civil partners with the person permanently living in the UK

ECO-Friendly would like to stress that in order to prove these circumstances, it is very essential that the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa must present proof or evidence that will show this relationship with the UK Sponsor, who may either be a British national or a sponsor who is permanently residing in the UK.

Samples of supporting documents which will corroborate their claim of relationships would be:

FOR SPOUSE VISA:

Marriage certificates duly issued by the authorized government entity
Photos of the wedding which was celebrated either in the Philippines or any other country
Internet communications between the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa and her British sponsor

FOR UK FIANCÉE VISA

Proof of the impending marriage which is scheduled to be celebrated in the UK
Proof that both parties (UK Fiancée Visa applicant and the British sponsor) are both free to marry
Proof that both parties (UK Fiancée Visa applicant and the British sponsor) have personally met
Proof of engagement

ECO-Friendly would like to reiterate that the abovementioned lists of supporting documents are not complete and not sufficient to warrant a positive and favorable decision, said documents merely some of the basic and most essential papers to prove relationship or marriage between the parties.

It is likewise very vital that if one or some of the documents which are required to be submitted to the Entry Clearance Officer cannot possibly be attached with the application, to explain the reason why said document could not be furnished by the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa applicant.

THE UK Embassy has always been clear with their rule that it is better to explain the absence of a certain document than to furnish the embassy with a fake or forged document.

ECO-Friendly would like to remind applicants that violation of the rule on authenticity of documents renders a penalty of around ten (10) years or lifetime ban.

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Difference Between Annulment and Nullity of Marriage

7/7/2016

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Before an applicant for a UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa, or any other UK Settlement Visa can receive a favorable decision, they must prove that their relationship with their British sponsor/partner is genuine and legitimate.

For an applicant of the UK Spouse Visa, the best evidence of their relationship with her British sponsor/partner is a valid marriage certificate duly issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) formerly known as the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Thus, as long as the UK Spouse Visa applicant is able to show a valid Marriage Certificate, it is legally presumed that her relationship as the spouse of the British sponsor is genuine and legitimate.

ECO-Friendly explains that the setup is completely different in the case of a Filipina who wants to apply for a UK Fiancée Visa who, while already separated from her Filipino husband, is still married with the latter.

In the case at bar, since the marriage in the Philippines has not yet been officially nullified or annulled by the Philippine courts, the marriage with the Filipino spouse is still binding and therefore there can be no marriage between the Filipina fiancée planning to apply for a UK Fiancée Visa and her British boyfriend either here in the Philippines or most especially in the UK.

Under an application for a UK Fiancée Visa, even if the relationship of the applicant with her British boyfriend is genuine and legitimate and they have serious plans of living together in the UK as husband and wife, the application for the UK Fiancée Visa will most likely be refused as they are not qualified to marry since the Filipina applicant’s marriage with her Filipino spouse is still valid and binding.

Since there is no divorce in the Philippines, the applicant will need to have the marriage nullified or annulled by the Philippine court which has jurisdiction over the case.

Under the Family Code of the Philippines, the Filipina applicant who plans to apply for the UK Fiancée Visa but whose marriage with her Filipino spouse had not yet been legally severed by the competent court having jurisdiction over the case need to file either of the two cases:

PETITION FOR THE DECLARATION OF ABSOLUTE NULLITY OF VOID MARRIAGE
PETITION FOR ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGE

ECO-Friendly reiterates that the two actions are completely different and distinct from each other not only with respect to the grounds but also with respect to the prescriptive period.

Under the PETITION FOR THE DECLARATION OF ABSOLUTE NULLITY OF VOID MARRIAGE, marriage is considered to be void from the very start and therefore it is as if no marriage ever took place at all. Thus, either of the parties (husband or wife) may file for the petition at any point or phase of the marriage. There is no expiration date on when the petition to nullify the marriage may be filed.

On the other hand, under the PETITION FOR ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGE, the marriage is presumed to be valid at the outset of the marriage and therefor if a petition to annul the marriage is not filed within the prescribed period fixed under the law, the marriage will be deemed valid and can never be questioned by the parties after the prescriptive period.

The Family Code enumerates the grounds for which the marriage may be considered as “voidable.” It is very important, however, that the grounds for the annulment be raised within five (5) years from the time when the actual voidable ground was discovered.

ECO-Friendly stresses the importance for the applicant to consider these issues before finally deciding on whether to apply for a UK Spouse Visa or a UK Fiancée Visa.

Feel free to contact us for more information on the difference of the proof required for an application for a UK Spouse Visa as against the UK Fiancée Visa.

Just click the ECO-Friendly contact box below to get in touch with our ECO-Friendly consultants.

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NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS

7/2/2016

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Most applicants for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa are aware of the principle of the Minimum Income Threshold.

ECO-Friendly explains that under this requirement, it is obligatory for the British sponsor to earn an annual income of at least £18,600 if he wants his partner (spouse, fiancée, etc.) from the Philippines to become eligible for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa which he or she is applying for.

Income, under this requisite may be in the form of salary or non-salaried employment, non-employment income (rentals from properties being leased by either the sponsor or applicant), cash savings, pension, or income from self-employment.

ECO-Friendly would like to stress that the main purpose of the Minimum Income Threshold is to ensure that if and when the applicant’s application filed in the Philippines is successful, and later the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa is issued, and the Filipino partner enters the UK, he or she will be adequately taken care of by the British sponsor, especially with respect to their financial needs.

It is thus, very essential that the income of the British sponsor is sufficient for both the UK sponsor and the partner to live in the UK without being a burden to the UK government.

And this is where the phrase “NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS" come into play.

As a general rule, qualified citizens, among them people with low income are allowed to claim several benefits from the UK government such as, but not limited to the following:

income-based jobseeker’s allowance
income support
child tax credit
universal credit
working tax credit
a social fund payment
child benefit
housing benefit
council tax benefit

These public funds are provided to the low income earners in order to assist them with their daily living and ensure that they at least live a comfortable life.

For applicants of the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa, or other UK Settlement Visa, the rule states that they shall not have recourse to public funds.

A common misnomer is that if a British sponsor receives public funds, he or she is automatically and perpetually disqualified from becoming a sponsor.

Under this scenario, the British sponsor is left with no choice but to either let go of his Filipina partner for reasons that he is forever banned from taking her to the UK because of the public funds he receive, or just decide to reside and settle in the Philippines to be with the one he loves.

ECO-Friendly would like to emphasize and reiterate that this is not the case and there is hope of the couple settling in the UK after all.

To clarify, under this rule, there shall be no disqualification if the British sponsor is in receipt of public funds at the time the application for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa or any other UK Settlement Visa is filed.

According to a UK government website, “There is no objection to the British citizen/settled sponsor receiving any public funds to which he/she is entitled in his/her own right.”

“The fact that an applicant may not be eligible to claim public funds is not in itself sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Rules.

“An important factor to consider is whether there will be a need for the sponsor to claim additional public funds to support the applicant if leave to enter was granted.”

ECO-Friendly therefore explains that the fact that the sponsor receives public funds from the government is not per se an automatic disqualification of the application for the UK Spouse Visa, UK Fiancée Visa nor the UK Settlement Visa.

And it is up to the applicant and her British sponsor to show proof that they can live in the UK and not depend or ask financial assistance from the government in the form of PUBLIC FUNDS.

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