UK Visa for Philippine Passport Holders
It was a week ago that I revealed my RTW plans and the beginning of my quest for visas. Every Filipino who have experienced applying visas to Japan, US and Europe (Schengen, UK) can relate to this agony. I went through both before but it doesn’t get easier. Since I’m going through the whole process again, I thought I’d make an outline to give future Filipino applicants a starting point. Digging through pages and pages of requirements can truly cause nausea, no kidding. So here you go, a blow by blow account on how to apply for UK Visa for Philippine Passport Holders.
UK VISA
The United Kingdom (UK) is composed of the following 4 countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. As a Filipino passport holder, let it be a default to assume we needed visa to travel anywhere outside Southeast Asia. UK is no exception. There are several visa types but I’ll be focusing on Tourist Visa. UK visa is applied through official partner VFS Global.
My focus will only be the application of UK Visa For Philippine Passport holders applying for TOURIST VISA. If you’re studying, working, marrying, or visiting family, I’m sure there’s a whole other bunch of stuff you need to prepare. I can’t help you with it, sorry.
Restrictions in visiting UK as a tourist:
- Visit to UK cannot be for more than six (6) months;
- Leave the UK at the end of your visit;
- Have enough money to support yourself during your stay in the UK without working or needing help from public funds.
- Will not take paid or unpaid employment.
- Will not marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership.
- Will not get private medical treatment.
When to Apply for UK Visa?
As with most countries, UK visa can be applied maximum of 3 months before intended entry.
Where to Apply for UK Visa?
There are 2 parts in UK Visa Application: (1) Online Application (2) Appointment to submit biometric and supporting documents.
You’ll need to have in hand your passport, UK address (hotel booking or friend’s address), email address and begin your online visa application. You’ll need to go through the following:
- register for an account
- fill in the application form in English
- pay for the visa fee online (in most cases)
- print out your form
- book and attend an appointment at a visa application centre
You also need to:
- have all the supporting documents you need for your visa
- translate any supporting documents and include them with the originals if they aren’t in English
What to bring to the Appointment?
- A printed and signed copy of your online visa application form
- Your current valid passport Note: The UK Border Agency will retain your passport until they have reached a decision on your visa application. Bear in mind if you have travel plans before going to UK.
- Previous passports
- Original supporting documents, with photocopies and translations
- Printed copy of the supporting document checklist
- Payment or proof of payment of visa application fee.
- 1 recent photograph (not more than 6 months old) according to below specification.
Photograph Strict Specification
- Taken against a light grey or cream background;
- Clear and of good quality;
- Printed on normal photographic paper;
- 45 mm high x 35 mm wide in size
- Taken with nothing covering the face, without sunglasses or tinted spectacles, or a head covering unless worn for religious or medical reasons. The subject should have their mouth closed (no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows) and the applicant should be facing forwarding, looking straight ahead.
What are supporting documents?
Simply put, these are documents that show evidence that you have ties in the Philippines and that you are coming back–job, family ties, properties, etc.
Also documents that shows you are capable of supporting yourself while in UK without the need to find employment–Bank statements, certificates, employment payslip, credit cards, etc.
You also need to submit details of accommodation plans and trip itinerary. However, please don’t pay for your accommodation until visa is issued.
All these should be submitted during the appointment. No further documents will be accepted after. Now, while the absence of these documents may result in unsuccessful visa application, submission does not guarantee visa issuance. More info on UK Visa Supporting Document
If you’re not paying for your own way, or have friend(s) in UK who will support you, you should present them with the following documents:
- Valid Citizen/Residence ID or Passport
- Bank Statement
- Address and contact details
- Invitation letter stating their support
How much is UK Visa for Philippine Passport Holders? Where to pay for UK Visa? (Updated 2-Sept-2014)
Tourist Visa {short term up to 6 months} costs £83 to apply.
Since December 17, 2012, visa fee can only be made online. It will form as part of the online application process. When all items are filled up, you will be directed to the website of WorldPay where you have the choice to pay with Visa or Mastercard. They no longer accept payment in person like I did before.
Waiting for Result
If there are no further delays (lacking or unverifiable document), you should have result in approximately 4-5 working days. Track your application through the free Application Status Tool. You can collect documents personally or have the option to have it delivered to your home by paying Php 450. You also get an SMS saying it’s on its way.
Update: So lesson learned, if you are planning to visit in summer, you have to apply earlier. March and April is really hectic. I received mine in 15 days. This is also because of the Royal Wedding coming up on April 29, 2011.
UK Visa Application Centre
VFS Global Services Philippines Private Inc., MANILA
Mezzanine Floor Unit M01, Ecoplaza Building,
2305 Pasong Tamo Extension Makati City, Metro Manila 1231
VFS Global Services Philippines Private Inc., CEBU
9th Floor, Keppel Center, Unit 905, Samar Loop
cor. Cardinal Rosales Avenue,
Cebu Business Park, Cebu City 6000
Note – Applicants who wish to lodge their UK visa application at the visa application centre in Cebu will be required to pay an additional service fee of Php 4, 425 in cash at the visa application centre.
UK Visa for Filipino Passport Holders kicks off the Visa for Pinoy Series I’m starting in this blog. Here’s hoping it will be a good starting point in your application. I had to go through labyrinth of information to get here. I don’t have my visa yet but I’ll update often! Now, moving on to a totally unrelated topic, this is my 100th post! :)
NOTES & UPDATE: I just came back from a very easy application submission. My schedule was for 9:40am and I was there 9:30am as the website suggested. You have to reschedule if you’re more than 20 minutes late. Total wait time is about 2 hours but once my number is called, it took less than 5 minutes for them to check my documents and then another 5 minutes for them to take my biometric data.
Like I said I was there for 2 hours with about 80 people ahead of me. I saw a lot of people being sent back and forth to rearrange their document, or having to fill up more forms, or worse, being asked to come back. Here are few notes to guarantee you out in a jiffy!
- No need to submit photocopy your application form and passports. They’ll ask you to take it out. Save trees too!
- Paste the photo on to the application form. Not stapled, not taped, but pasted.
- Print copy of the supporting document checklist and check (tick) those supporting document that you’re submitting. Some people didn’t, so they have to fill this up when there.
- Arrange document in the order presented on the checklist.
- Bring original supporting documents and have a photocopy of them. I don’t know how many people had to go out and have their document photocopied. Note that you will leave with them ALL your original document (land title, lease document, business registration, bank statements, financial statement, etc.) to be returned with your visa.
- You can only go in with your documents placed in an envelope. Bags and phones will have to be left at their package counter (at the guard). So much more consideration than the US Embassy.
Related Visa Posts
How to Apply Australian Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply Japan Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply Chinese Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply Tongan Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply Korean Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply South African Visa in the Philippines
How to Apply Schengen Visa in the Philippines
Hello there!
I commend you for the diligence of this travel blog. I backpack, too. I have backpacked all of SEA for a total of 2 months all on my own and will be in Europe this time for close to 2 months for backpacking as well.
Thanks for the info. It’s a great help for me.
Janice
welcome and have a great trip
Ms Wanderlass,
ok lang po ba na 2-3 weeks lang ang i fill-in ko sa application form ko for Uk tourist visa but once issued visa pde ko magamit ung buong 6 months? sa tingin mo ba hindi maaapektuhan ang pag apply ko next time kung gusto ko ulit mag apply ng visa? Please i need ur help asap kasi po mag aapply na po ako next week. thanks in advance
i think minimum they give is 6mo. i only said i will be there for 2 mo and they gave me 6mo
Ive heard that when u apply for tourist visa they will give you 6months, but then also ive heard that if you fill up the form you dnt have to fill the whole 6 months of ur stay in UK so it would be easily granted. right? Even if u just say u will visit UK for 2 months on ur application, are u still allowed to use the 6months visa once granted?
Brought my papers to the VFS days ago.
Re “You can collect documents personally or have the option to have it delivered to your home by paying Php 450. You also get an SMS saying it’s on its way.”
Actually, we only need to pay P330 for having documents delivered back to us. They charge P110 for the “realtime SMS and email updates”. The guard gave a brown form asking for our name, mobile number and email add, right? By signing that form and giving it to the service desk, we authorize them to charge you for that P110. The people there don’t really say that SMS service is optional. It was only after I read the form’s fine print and saw the P110 fee item listed as addl service down their tarps that I deduced that the SMS service is optional.
ps I am sponsoring my whole trip
If you are sponsoring your trip then you don’t need a letter. You in effect are the sponsor. If you have previous immigration history that will help a lot.
please I need an urgent answer,what if you do not have any freinds in UK and you intend to visit as a tourist why will they need an invitation letter?as a tourist do you need an invitation letter?what docs will you have to provide if you want to visit as a tourist and have no freinds in UK
if u have no sponsor, naturally u don’t have to submit invitation letter
thanks for the reply.but I do have a cousin there can she send me an iv letter and I hope they wont use it against me by saying she is family and not a friend so the right form should be a family visit form for the application
hii
help me na man kasi na deny ako before kasi lack of docs ..and magaaply ulit ako..i have sponsor ung british bf ko.kaya lang wala pa rin akong work o properties,..what shud i do? pls help me? thanks
I will apply for a UK tourist visa for my gf later this month. Inteneded trip is 6 months. She has a job to return, land and immigration history however I will need to sponsor her. I have all my bank statements but there will only be about £2500 in my account come the application. Will this be enough? There is obviously lots of money coming in and out of the account every week/month. Does anybody have an idea of how much is expected?
i think an active bank account is good.
All I know is that they will look for 6 months history of statements. If you have a regular income, ie salary or pension, you should either highlight it or mention it in your covering letter. To cover your ass, if you have anything else, like a property in the UK, etc, it’s worth adding any information just to prove you’ve got more assets than £2.5K.
Make sure also, you get a letter from her employer, saying that they are expecting her back in 6 months. If she has proof of regular salary,ie payslips, this will help.
Good Luck
THanks for the response. I will let you al know how things went. It may help further applications :-)
Congrats and u got ur visa! Me and my fiance are planning to get a tourist visa for me (UK). as of the moment i have my pending case for my annulment and hoping to be done early this year, and hoping to get married here in Phillipines after the annulment.Do you think it is possible for me to submit a
1)certification from my lawyer granting that my annulment will be done soon attached the petition of my case,
2) a death certificate of my mother to prove that i need to come back coz my father and siblings need me
3)a reservation for my chrurch wedding (church,caterer,reception, wedding coordinator, florist)
I dnt have work as of the moment too as i just resigned and i were working in dubai for the last 3 years.The proof of my financial is the recpts where my sister is sending me money monthly and some of my savings from dubai.
Do you think the embassy will check your business? as i have my business permit but now i just closed my computer shop as i have to move it to some other place but my business permit will due on Nov 2011. If so do you think they will ask for my income tax return too?
I really need your help as i am very desperate to be with my fiance. And how much do you think the show money will be. He will be my sponsor anyway.
if you’re only applying for a tourist visa, i don’t see any of these will affect your application. just ask your fiancee to send u an invitation and proof of support during your stay. but if u r applying for fiancee visa, sorry it’s outside of my research.
yes im applying for tourist visa. ok lang po ba kahit wala akong work but i have money on my bank acct? d ko rin alam kung anong proof ang ibibigay bakit ako nagka roon ng money sa acct ko, actually savings ko un at wdraw ko xa sa dubai
Good day! I’m writing to you and would like to ask a good favor to please advice me with my plans again of reapply to UK again, after i was denied early January of this year(2011), i applied for tourist visa & i got refused for refusal entry for lack of payslip from my employment. But now, i am trying again for some luck and few changes now, this time i have a property now, just acquire thru pag ibig, paying for 7months now, a stock bonds from the bank, a little money in the bank, checking account(for my house mortgage purpose) and supporting documents & a letter of invitation from my boyfriend (UK Citizen). We haven’t met in person as he never been here, but our relationship is close to 3years now. The question now, IS THERE A CHANCE FOR ME TO GET A UK VISA NOW? Well, as I plan to reapply again? Pls advice me as I really want to join my boyfriend there. Hope to hear from you soon or anyone can help me to give tips & great advice how to be successful to get a visa. Any advices will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. May God bless & guide us always.
I just had a look at the visa application form. One of the questions is ‘have you ever been deported from a country?’
I was refused entry to Honk Kong onces as I did not have a sponser. Will this cause problems if I say YES?
i dont understand bec Phil passport doesn’t require visa to HKG. In any case though, in my opinion, u should always declare everything, lying may cause u more problem if they found out.
Thankyou for this. I am also never too sure about ‘Spouse/Partner’. I plan to travel from Philippines with my boyfriend, who is from UK. He will be covering the costs of the journey, but can I list him as a partner? It seems like it does not necessarily mean you need to be married. any ideas?
As an update to my case, I went to the VFS office on a Friday last week and handed in all the documents. The next Wednesday, a courier delivered my passport back….with a 6 month UK Visa inside. Yessss!!!! Only 3 days for a success.
I would say that this was achieved by me and my boyfriend giving mountains of information (I believe the most important thing was a strong supporting letter from him and 6 months of his bank statements) and all of it 100% true and supportable. Again, thankyou to Wanderlass for creating this very interesting Blog. Salamat po.
ano po ung mga submit mo na docs at nag submit po ba kau ng bank statement and proof kung san nggaling pera mo?
hello there? nabasa ko to na experience mo and congrats na rin, can i ask original ba yung mga documents na passed mo? anu anu yung mga documents na pinasa mo sa embassy? im waiting for the reply thanks.
Wow, I really find this comment useful in my case. One of the questions in the application form is “Have you ever been refused a visa for any country, including UK?” Historically, I applied for a US Visa last 2010 and was denied. i think because of me being single. and for them it is not enough to prove that i will go back to the Phil. I was planning to answer “NO” for that question so to avoid any reasons for them to deny me, but, after reading this. I believe honesty is still the best policy.
Peter, did you really answer YES and still they grant you UK Visa? Your reply is much appreciated
Hi Prechie, I’m bound to London on Wednesday perfect timing for the Royal wedding on Friday
Wow! Good for you Alfred! I’m green with envy! I so wanted to go at the time of the Royal Wedding but my budget won’t permit…lol. Accommodations are higher on those days….
Enjoy your trip Alfred! =)