7 replies to this topic

[Baker13]

As already stated elsewhere I am providing information for those who are seeking to bring a transgendered partner back to the UK with the intention of marriage or civil/partnership. The information provided is not definitive advice but I have done quite a bit of research into the subject and I will set out my ongoing experiences as they occur and are relevant to others.

 

I met my intended future wife on MyLadyboyDate towards the end of April 2014. Once we had decided that the relationship was going to be long term I arranged a trip to meet her in the Philippines one month later. It is very important that you meet in person  at some stage if you are intending to apply for a fiancée visa. You will have to supply proof of an existing relationship so photographs of you together, evidence of having booked a flight to your partners country, letters, emails, texts etc.

In my case we spend some of every day on Skype, sometimes for hours at a time so I made a huge collection of screen grabs of all the times dates and texted conversations from each Skype session, as  well as the usual photos etc.

 

You are going to have to make sure your partner has a passport and the sooner you get the supporting documents together to enable this the better. My partner had her bag snatched last year and lost some important identity documents so it has been a bit of a scramble to get the relevant replacements, it can be a long process getting the passport especially in the Philippines where identity documents seem to be so necessary for everything. We are thankfully at the stage where she is about to get her passport.

 

Here are a few links I found useful.

 

http://immigrationma....co.uk/about-us (fantastic and thorough site with extensive archives)

 

https://www.migreat....vestigated-s200

 

http://www.passport.com.ph/

 

I will be posting more info and links on other aspects of the process soon.

 

Pete

[rxpharm]

Baker13, really good to see you posting this information! Thanks very much!

[Surin Nix]

I think it is inevitable that with the US increasingly becoming more tolerant, and recognizing, "gay" marriages, that it is only a matter of time before we start seeing legitimate marriages between ladyboys and the guys who love them.

I am not sure about this, but i had a conversation with a BM recently who spends a lot of time on thaivisa.com. He said it's much harder for a bargirl (gg) to get a US visa because immigration officials are suspect. However, lasyboys, in their applications, are technically "misters". It's easier for a "man" to enter than a lady it seems. This is heresay, but if true, it bodes well for someone who wants to keep a ladyboy on the ultimate "long time".

I think this is great!

[Baker13]

Thanks for the positive comments chaps. We are actually going through the process as I write this. hope you like the next instalment.

[Baker13]

Ok so your partner has her passport, she will also have to sit an English language test. There are several centres in the Philippines. I am sure the situation will be similar in Thailand but I am not familiar with the system there. The level required is very basic and it is the general test not the academic test that needs to be applied for.

 

Many Filipinas speak very good English, my partner could quite easily pass the academic test which is far more difficult but she is still required to have the test certificate as British immigration lists the Philippines as a country where the test is mandatory for visa applications. It’s not cheap either, the cost at the moment is 8,900 pesos, (about £122).

 

Immigration also lists some countries as being a TB risk, again the Philippines is one such country so your transgendered partner will have to have a TB test in order to qualify for a visa. There are many hospitals in the Philippines where a TB test could be carried out but for reasons unclear the British Government have decided that only one hospital can carry out the tests, it is located in Makati. This places a great burden on people who haven’t much money who then have to travel long distances to go to Makati, it is in my opinion a very unfair practice on the part of the British government. The cost of a TB test is 3,200 pesos.

 

I sent emails to both the English language testing centre and the TB testing centre requesting clarification about forms of I.D. I didn’t want my partner travelling all the way to Makati only to be told she didn’t have the correct documents. I didn’t get a reply from either. Being somewhat angry about this especially with regard to the TB testing centre and it’s exclusive status, I sent follow-up emails asking that they respond and letting them know they were being unpolite. I still didn’t get a response from either. I sent a third email, this time telling them that they had a duty to reply and give me the information and that I would be lodging a complaint with the British immigration authority. Incredibly still no response. I managed to get hold of the English language centre by phone the following day and was given the information I required. The telephone line for the TB testing centre seems to be permanently engaged. I still have had no response from the TB testing centre and have now lodged a complaint with British immigration. I think this is important since this particular hospital has an undeserved monopoly on testing and they clearly demonstrate to me that they are inefficient. So I guess the bottom line is, if you do have to use them, be prepared.

 

Your partner has to sit a two hour counselling session to get a CFO certificate that will be attached to the passport, this is a short but necessary step otherwise she will be denied exit from the Philippines.

 

Here are some more useful links either related to the above or of general interest.

 

https://www.ielts.or...99-71f4c17b141e

 

http://www.ielts.org...03-c9d0cbc89a8d

 

https://www.gov.uk/g...the-philippines

 

http://cfo.gov.ph/in...onals&catid=140

 

http://immigrationma...hilippines.html

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=dUa93iijr9Y

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=4piQP5sFvjw

 

http://www.1st4immig...9-july-2012.php

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=2hAMI8IlmEk

 

I’ll be posting more info and links on other aspects of the process soon.

 

Pete

[MadMoker]

As you are aware , my LB Arianna joined me in UK recently  -  So I read your posts with interest.

 

Can I correct the cost of the English Test as we only paid 2,520p.    We found both the TB Test Centre and the CIE British School easy and helpful to deal with.     The most difficult and frustrating part was applying for her passport when dealing with local Filipino officials.

 

It is very costly to apply for a UK Visa ( on top of actual $1504 Visa Fee )  so travelling to Manila/Cebu is only a minor expense.

 

You list some interesting links -  The youtube videos are very helpful

 

We wish you all the best with your Application ....  Your fun has just begun !!!    Next it will be a Wedding & Settlement Visa once Kim ariives in UK

[Baker13]

Update and more information.

 

My partner just received her passport and we’ve applied for the English language test. Finding the online application form was a bit of a hassle so I’m providing a link. We paid 8900PHP for the General test. It is this test you need for the Fiancee visa and not the Academic test. We now have a test date in October.

 

In my last post I explained how I’d been having problems getting a response from the TB testing centre in Manila. I made a formal complaint to British immigration expressing my dissatisfaction with the centre. I received an email back from the clearance officer at the Home Office in Manila apologising on behalf of the centre. He told me that the manager there had had discussions with all staff dealing with correspondence and that there had been additional training given to prevent this happening again. I subsequently received an apologetic email from the chief medical officer offering a free test. I suppose if it smooths the path for others it was worth it.

 

While things are proceeding in the Philippines I have been gradually getting my own documents together. My job involves freelance work in education so I have several sources of income. I’ve collected all my monthly wage slips for the past year together with all the P60s, a copy of my tax return and originals of all my bank statements for the past year. You will need to provide original documentation when you provide proof of income and also provide photocopies of your documents for them to keep. You will be required to prove a gross annual income of at least £18600.

 

At the moment I am living in a two bedroom rented apartment. I asked the letting agent to provide a letter verifying that my accommodation is adequate for the needs of two people. Providing proof of suitable accommodation is a requirement for obtaining a visa.

 

One thing that occurred to me was that when my partner comes to the UK she will need to continue with her hormone treatment. I contacted my local NHS gender clinic to make enquiries and was told there was a two year waiting list to be seen! I explained that I was prepared to pay and was given the address of Gendercare (link provided) I have contacted them via the online form but haven’t heard back yet. I also came across a list of Transfriendly doctors in the UK that may be of use (link provided).

 

That’s all for the moment, I’ll provide more information in due course.

 

http://www.idp.com/p...rationprocedure

 

http://gendercare.co.uk/

 

http://www.transfigu...ors-and-gps.pdf

 

http://visasuk.blogs...sa-refusal.html

[Baker13]

My Fiancee did her IELTS test in Manila and got an overall band 6. I read somewhere that band 4 is required but on most of the sites it seems to suggest 1.5 which is ridiculously low but in a country like the Philippines should be easily attainable by the majority of candidates.
We applied for the visa. There is a beta version of the application form that is now available which doesn’t seem to require appendix 2 (the sponsor requirements). It does state however, that you will be required to submit all of the documents that prove your eligibility as a sponsor.

We went very carefully through the pages. You have to register as a proposed civil partnership, I checked this with Stonewall and they suggested there might be a way around this but I don’t agree, from the research I’ve made, annoying though it is, your wedding will be classed as a gay partnership.
You can however, change your civil partnership to a marriage later on in the UK.

I thought that there would be a problem when filling in the visa application as it states that the applicant (your partner) has to fill it in but then you (I would guess in most cases) would be required to pay and how would that be possible if she was filling in the form at her end with you checking through screengrabs? No need to worry, they give you the option to fill in the form on behalf of someone else, remember though, she is the applicant, not you.

We completed the application and have set a date for the 18/11/14. She will attend and hand over all the necessary documentation and will also have her biometrics taken. The visa form has to be printed out and handed to them, it also has to be signed in two places by her, she will also require a passport photo and they seem pretty strict about the requirements so check carefully.
I printed out her form here as she doesn’t have a printer and sent it with the documents I submitted.

We also decided to apply for the CFO certificate, you can do this while the visa application process is going through. You will be given a GCC, the certificate that says you attended the counselling but you can only get the important CFO sticker that has to be affixed to your passport once you have the visa. It might mean two trips! Remember, your Fiancee will not be allowed to leave the Philippines without the CFO sticker.

I decided to research the CFO procedure as I suspected that there might be the occasional hiccup, I opened a can of worms sadly, I’ll leave you to check in the links provided, all I can say is have all your documents available and thanks Mrs. Presson!
We have our CFO guidance/counselling session appointment booked for the 14/11/14.

Now to the documents: I prepared about 700 pages of documents (there were a lot of Skype/Facebook messages). I put them all in a box file and used Courierpoint, it wasn’t cheap and I had to pay customs/vat when they arrived but that’s another story.

So I guess we’re at the final stage, I don’t want to prejudge things so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed at this stage but we’ll see.

Links:

http://www.foreigner...ments_3762.html

https://www.gov.uk/g...-family-members

Old paper form:

https://www.gov.uk/g...ment-form-vaf4a

New beta visa application:

https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/

http://immigrationma...hilippines.html

https://www.visa4uk....uk/Home/ViewFAQ

http://www.mrspresso...ar-philippines/

http://www.planet-lo...hp?topic=3385.0