# Visa Guidance



## Billjohnson (Jan 31, 2014)

Hi All,
I need some help on a minor matter. My wife is applying for her spouse visa for the UK. we have everything and now the agency tells her the sponsors letter needs to be notorised by a lawyer ! is this true ? i cant find it anywhere in guidance etc. Does anyone know about this ? 
All this hassle and just for a visits to the UK, i sooner stay in {PH !!!!

Thanks all
Bill


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Billjohnson said:


> Hi All,
> I need some help on a minor matter. My wife is applying for her spouse visa for the UK. we have everything and now the agency tells her the sponsors letter needs to be notorised by a lawyer ! is this true ? i cant find it anywhere in guidance etc. Does anyone know about this ?
> All this hassle and just for a visits to the UK, i sooner stay in {PH !!!!
> 
> ...


Hi Bill and welcome,

We have members from the UK as well as Australia etc that will probably have the answers for you. 
From what I know (second hand on the forum), that sounds about right. Immigration and visa laws are one thing that is strictly enforced in the Philippines. So the need to be notarized might hold true. Anyway, there should be some UK members chime in here...


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## Billjohnson (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks JL appreciated


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

I'm sure I asked a question of the OP on here yesterday but it seems to have disappeared. All British visa applications in the Philippines are handled by a company called VFS Global by post. SFS Global handle the pick-up of the application and check the submission before referring it to the British embassy. They then forward the response be it a positive or negative response and the occasional request for an interview. There is no longer a direct submission route.

I asked the question. Who is asking for the notorised sponsors letter, VSF Global? or is it some unnecessary middle man.


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## Billjohnson (Jan 31, 2014)

Gary D said:


> I'm sure I asked a question of the OP on here yesterday but it seems to have disappeared. All British visa applications in the Philippines are handled by a company called VFS Global by post. SFS Global handle the pick-up of the application and check the submission before referring it to the British embassy. They then forward the response be it a positive or negative response and the occasional request for an interview. There is no longer a direct submission route.
> 
> I asked the question. Who is asking for the notorised sponsors letter, VSF Global? or is it some unnecessary middle man.


Hi Gary,
I have contacted VFS and not heard from them yet. Read the guidelines and nothing said about my sponsor letter having to be notorised. The agent my wife has picked told her that mine and friends letters have to be notorised as genuine ! Which i think is just a scam to get her to use a friend lawyer of theirs ! If they needed notorised letters it would be in the guide or they would have a lot of people applying without as its not there !

Anyway thanks for the replay mate 
Bill


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Billjohnson said:


> Hi Gary,
> I have contacted VFS and not heard from them yet. Read the guidelines and nothing said about my sponsor letter having to be notorised. The agent my wife has picked told her that mine and friends letters have to be notorised as genuine ! Which i think is just a scam to get her to use a friend lawyer of theirs ! If they needed notorised letters it would be in the guide or they would have a lot of people applying without as its not there !
> 
> Anyway thanks for the replay mate
> Bill


Yes keep away from agents, they are just after your money. The agent will just make the submission through VFS just the same as your wife could. I've not personally dealt with VSF but I believe you fill in the application on line then VFS arrange a carrier to pick everything up and check it is all in order before delivering it to the embassy. The agent will probably try and tell you that they can help get a positive result, I'm afraid they will just be leading you on and can have absolutely no effect on the outcome.

I have a very good friend who is an immigration adviser by profession. His wife is also a filipina so he is very conversant with the visa applications in the Philippines. He also has never heard of the requirement for notorising the sponsors letters


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## bbazor (Nov 18, 2013)

Hey Bill,

I had problems with the PRA when first applying for my visa. They never gave detailed answer and left me hanging. It took me more than one trip to gather the information that I needed. After going through a lot of frustration, I found out that the PRA has what they call "Accredited Marketeers" that can assist you at no extra cost. The lady that helped me was fantastic and made the process so much easier and pain free. She went around town with me to help me fulfill all the requirements. She even went to the medical clinic and got me to the front of the line. If not for her, I may have had to wait for several hours. I was able to get it all done in about 1/2 day. For me, the bank deposit is one of the more difficult things to deal with. At that time, I had a Filipina friend that was a bank manager working at my local branch here in the USA. Even she had a hard time getting the transfer done. There was only one person at the Philippine bank that I used and he was not there that day. It was extremely frustrating and it required another trip to the Philippines to complete the process (I heard that the banking requirement is easier to do now, but I am not sure if that is correct). By that time, the programs had changed. They now charge $360 a year for the annual renewal fee instead of $10. I was lucky enough to be grand-fathered in and was amazed at my good luck. Anyway, I would strongly recommend going to the PRA site and contacting one of the Marketeers (Agents). Although the website is not well kept up, you should be able to find the page with the Marketeers information. I would give the name of the lady that I used, but it would be considered advertising. 

Good luck to you, Ben


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

bbazor said:


> Hey Bill,
> 
> I had problems with the PRA when first applying for my visa. They never gave detailed answer and left me hanging. It took me more than one trip to gather the information that I needed. After going through a lot of frustration, I found out that the PRA has what they call "Accredited Marketeers" that can assist you at no extra cost. The lady that helped me was fantastic and made the process so much easier and pain free. She went around town with me to help me fulfill all the requirements. She even went to the medical clinic and got me to the front of the line. If not for her, I may have had to wait for several hours. I was able to get it all done in about 1/2 day. For me, the bank deposit is one of the more difficult things to deal with. At that time, I had a Filipina friend that was a bank manager working at my local branch here in the USA. Even she had a hard time getting the transfer done. There was only one person at the Philippine bank that I used and he was not there that day. It was extremely frustrating and it required another trip to the Philippines to complete the process (I heard that the banking requirement is easier to do now, but I am not sure if that is correct). By that time, the programs had changed. They now charge $360 a year for the annual renewal fee instead of $10. I was lucky enough to be grand-fathered in and was amazed at my good luck. Anyway, I would strongly recommend going to the PRA site and contacting one of the Marketeers (Agents). Although the website is not well kept up, you should be able to find the page with the Marketeers information. I would give the name of the lady that I used, but it would be considered advertising.
> 
> Good luck to you, Ben


Ben... I just sent you a private message concerning your experience with the Marketeers for the SRRV. Sorry I got confused in that message and called you Bill.

But I think I'd like to get in touch with these Marketeer people, they sound like they can make the process go easier. I also gave you my email address in case you had rather use that.

Thanks
Maxx


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## Billjohnson (Jan 31, 2014)

Cheers all it appears that you dont have to get letters notarised, you can if you wish but not required. Anyway all else seems to be sorted. Thanks all for the advice and heads up  take care and enjoy PH


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