SteelCityBoy

Thanks, ajax ^

The same goes incidentally for Mrs SCB who is a white, English-speaking Canadian. Sad as you say how the whole thing pretty much boils down to skin colour...

indeed

ajax

No problem - I respect your viewpoint (always have) and you have every right to disagree with me.

I recall speaking with a friend (who was actually shortlisted for a Tory MP seat but lost out in the end) who said, quite indignantly, "My Filipina cleaner has been in this country for four years and now she can bring her whole family over! That has got to stop! This country is full!" and then subsequently five minutes later smiled her approval when I told her that I had been naturalised as a British Citizen a couple of years prior. Same situation, but one was okay and the other wasn't.

Perhaps my sample size is small, but I have noticed this same trend with many people - perhaps they're not all racist but I cannot think of any other explanation.

What do you mean?

Yes - as a US passport holder, all of my UK residence visas before naturalisation were approved without a second glance. Very sad, as nothing makes anyone a better or worse human being, certainly not their citizenship.

B747-437B

Not quite accurate. Once a visa/entry clearance is issued, the only burdens of proof that need to be met at the port of entry (other than identity which can be verified via biometrics) are that there is no material change in circumstance since the application has been made (eg. quit job, got married, etc..) and that there was no factual misrepresentation during the application. The subjective assessment made by the Entry Clearance Officer at the consular post overseas must prevail if those criteria are met.

HIDDY

Indeed.

I was very surprised at the process we had to go through in order to obtain a permanent UK residency visa for my wife.
I had assumed it would just be a case of us turning up at the British Consulate with our marriage certificate and passports.....a quick hello, chat about the weather during the handover of cash then a goodbye. I hadn't banked on having to go through all the faffing about that I outlined above. Considering she was never going to be eligible for any state hand outs I thought it was a bit extreme.

Swanhunter

[mod hat on]
This has been an interesting and enlightening thread so far and done in fine spirit. Could I ask we stick to that vein and avoid a broader debate about immigration and the British body politic. It would be a shame to send this OMNI PR bound

Swanhunter
Moderator, BAEC
[mod hat off]

trueblu

At the risk of awakening SH's moderator ire, the ads for this thread have been for 'filipina cupid' -- not sure Mrs tb would be pleased!

It does seem to vary by nationality, and there is some legitimacy to this (some nationalities are more prone to abuse of the system -- as a physician who treated many illegal immigrants, it was hard not to come to this conclusion, albeit without judgement). Of course, generalisations don't have much bearing on any one individual.

When we married, my wife was a citizen from an 'axis of evil' nation (now she is a US citizen) -- we had to jump through a few hoops to get her a visitor's visa (I was moving to the US shortly thereafter), but it wasn't too difficult. I have a sneaky suspicion that emailing from my cantab academic address helped...which is both ridiculous and welcome at the same time!

tb

Xandrios

Greek visitors just need a Greek ID (Albeit one with international / latin writing) to enter the UK.

Lux

HKGorBust, welcome, a great first post.

SteelCityBoy - congratulations, and wise words on a contentious issue!

LeisureFirst

Quite so. I was about to make the same point.

There's a big difference between arriving with a visa (even with a challenging immigration background, shall we say) and arriving without one as a citizen of a country (outside the EU) from which a visitor to the UK doesn't need a visa. In the latter case the Entry Clearance Office has to make a decision about whether our not the visitor is travelling for bona fide purposes and if he isn't so satisfied the visitor can be sent straight back without any right of appeal. In the former case, when a visa has been issued, that decision has already been made during the visa-issuing process (typically in a British Consulate overseas) and it is extremely unlikely entry would be refused - and doing so is a rather more involved process.

I've had both the pleasure and the misfortune to see both sides of this with close friends travelling with and/or visiting me.

LeisureFirst

If things take a turn for the worse and someone is denied entry, UKBA are generally not interested in speaking to anyone else, including people meeting the visitor at the airport (or even travelling with him or her). They make their decision based on talking to the entry applicant alone, together with any supporting documentation he or she may have.

But like I said, this isn't an issue if he or she has a visa in advance.

sunrisegirl

Thanks for that clarification.
I was thinking along the lines of some of our passengers who arrive from a certain island in the Caribbean with a visa but are then refused entry. But obviously they could fall into one of the categories you've mentioned.

Now as Mr Swanhunter has begged us not to discuss the rights and wrongs of immigration I will duck out of this and go and feed my animals on Farmville

LeisureFirst

If this really is common, I'm genuinely curious to know which island and for what reason. Would you mind spelling it out?

Yachtman

My missus is also from the Philippines. Providing the correct evidence as posted by people above should make it very easy. Her first one was issued within 24 hours. I booked her a fully flexible return ticket and held some hotel bookings to provide proof, then cancelled them all after the visa was issued and booked flights on airmiles and set up the itinerary that we wanted. We had done several trips to Hong Kong first together, which may have had an affect, as entry/exit stamps in the passport always look good.

ACORD

Just as a general comment, the UK immigration authorities have every reason to be ultra-cautious about granting visas to Filipinos.

As someone who lives in MNL I can assure you there is a great deal of visa fraud here. Many, many Filipinos (and typically their families) get exploited by various forms of "immigration consultants". Not the fault of the individuals concerned but rather the scum-of-the-earth who exploit them.

CALimey

It does seem so much easier for some nationalities to get a visa, whilst others whose situations are entirely legit have to struggle so hard.

Yes - as a US passport holder, all of my UK residence visas before naturalisation were approved without a second glance. Very sad, as nothing makes anyone a better or worse human being, certainly not their citizenship.

...And here is where social conscience meets practicality. Here in the US, a million laws specifically ensure that no different treatment is given to immigration petitions on account of the immigrant's country of origin. This is fully in line with my wishy washy, politically correct line of thinking.......... but considering the endless (1 year+) delay in getting an approval/denial of my green card, I kinda can't help wishing we were still in the days when Western Europeans got quickly waved through the process with a nod and a wink. It would certainly put me and my family out of our seemingly endless misery :-(

Cheers,

Paul.