OT: Taking my Filipina girlfriend to London - realistic?
 

My girlfriend has expressed an interest in coming to London with me. Of course I would be delighted to take her and show her a good time.

Giving this a smidgen of on-topic-ness, we will travel in CW.

But she is a Filipina so is it realistic to expect that she will be able to get a visa? I am imagining that this might be difficult.

And are there any tips for ensuring a successful visa application that anybody can give?

fco link here although looks a somewhat involved process

Be honest and truthful in the application. If you try and bend the truth, even a little, and are found out the application will be rejected.

If you're providing for her financially I believe you will be asked to prove you have the means to support her during her stay. This could mean providing bank statements, etc.
You will also need to show proof of a return ticket, though how you do this when presumably you won't buy the ticket until after you have the visa I'm not sure. The embassy can no doubt advise on this.

Remember even obtaining a visa doesn't guarantee admission to the UK. She'll still have to satisfy the immigration officer that she's not intending to stay. Presumably you'll meet her at the airport so ensure she has your phone number to let the officer know in case they need to speak to you.

Be prepared for a difficult process and be patient. Good luck

Thanks for the comments sunrisegirl and englishoaks. I should point out that we live (separately, in accordance with the local law ;)) in Qatar together so we will be travelling together.

And I guess that I will apply to the British embassy in DOH rather than MNL.

Redemption!?

From the phrases "coming to London with me" and "we will travel in CW" I assumed they would be travelling together.

A little OT, but related.

My son (15, UK passport holder) will be travelling with his friend (15, Greek) to London together (travelling alone). I will be picking them up from LHR. Should they/his friend expect any difficulties getting into the UK?

Greece is in the EU, so no problems getting into UK. You´re not in the Schengen agreement, so a passport is needed, but that´s it.

Why should they care? Greece is in the EU.

Some things that may help,
Reciepts from events that you have attended together (hotels, meals etc)
Pictures together from dates etc.
More information like this can only help the application

IIRC Phil the Flyer has a Filipina wife. He might be able to give you some advice on this.

As they are two minors, just friends, entering alone...

My son is "harassed" when arriving alone.

Those are good tips. Thanks for that Engineering Travel. ^

Few years back now when I was 14-17 I used to come in/out the UK a few times a year from Europe alone.

I don't remember anyone ever asking anything more than "Where have you flown in from?". Within Europe (mainly France/Spain) I think you were lucky if anyone ever bothered to open your passport to look at it. Same situation these days if going to France on the boat from Dover. The French really couldn't be less interested in whose coming in.

When applying for my wife's UK resident visa in Buenos Aires we had to prove our relationship had been going on a while.....letters emails etc. It can be quite embarrassing showing evidence of your personal relationship. I felt it an invasion of our privacy but it had to be done. I also had to show bank statements as well as a letter from my employer showing my employment status.
We were also interviewed separately to see if our stories matched. Most disturbing for me was the fact they had asked for several hundred dollars before the process started and told me it wouldn't be returned if the visa application was refused. :eek:
I'm sure it isn't as intense as that for a visitors visa but be warned for the future ahead.

You should read the "General Visitor" and "Sponsoring a General Visitor" pages here.

The information and documentation requirements are quite onerous but IME not impossible to meet.

Visa applications normally have to be made in the applicant's home country.