As ECO-Friendly earlier stated in the first part of the article, the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa does have a higher chance of approval since the best evidence that the parties (UK sponsor and the UK Spouse Visa applicant) are truly married is the Marriage Certificate duly issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The downside to this, however, is that if the parties are not yet married, they will have to celebrate the wedding here in the Philippines, which, as all of us know, is one of the countries in the world where marriage preparations usually take six months to a year!
ECO-Friendly explains that there is no problem if the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa as well as the British sponsor are not really in a hurry to fly to the UK. Because in this case, they can just take their sweet time and enjoy the marriage experience, Philippines style. Incidentally, one of the best places to hold a wedding reception is Fernwood Gardens right in the heart of the Metro, but this is the subject of another article Eco-friendly will feature in the future.
Moving right along, what if the parties have other factors to consider and are in dire need to get to the UK as soon as possible? This is basically the downside of applying for a UK Spouse Visa if the parties (British sponsor and the UK Spouse Visa Applicant) are in a hurry and have not yet celebrated the marriage in the Philippines.
If this is the case, the UK Spouse Visa applicant and the British sponsor will have to comply with a barrage of requirements.
There are several laws and procedures which the UK Spouse Visa applicant must comply with which will definitely lengthen the process of the marriage between the UK spouse Visa applicant and the British sponsor.
Thus, if the marriage process takes a long time, definitely, the application process, as a whole, for the UK Spouse Visa will definitely take a long time as well.
One example of the possible hindrance which the UK Spouse Visa applicant will have to comply with is the provision under the Family Code of the Philippines, requiring the Filipino fiancée to ask for the consent of the parents if they are between the age of eighteen and twenty-one.
Said consent must be in writing where the executing party (the parent of the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa) shall appear before a solemnizing officer and attest that he or she is giving consent for the marriage of their child.
If said attestation is not attached in the marriage license of the UK Spouse Visa applicant and the British sponsor, the marriage will be considered as void from the very start, thus lengthening the process.
On the other hand, if the Filipina applicant for the UK Spouse Visa is between the age of 21 to 25, she will have to ask her parents or guardian for advice. If no advice is had or if it be unfavorable, the marriage may still continue provided that the marriage license is issued by the Civil Registry of the place where the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa is a resident.
Eco-Friendly, however, would like to inform the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa that if she does not obtain the advice of her parent, they (applicant for the UK Spouse Visa and the British sponsor) will have to wait for three more months before the Marriage license is issued.
This is because the application for their marriage will have to be published for a period of three (3) months, under the law, before the marriage license can be issued.
Of course this is on the premise that the applicant for the UK Spouse Visa did not obtain the advice of her parents, or if she asked for it, there was an unfavorable advice.
(to be continued)