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Thread: Philippines Visitor visa declined

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    11

    Default Philippines Visitor visa declined

    Hey all,

    Well today is the day i was waiting for, time to find out if my filipino gf (saying she is just a friend, as we do not qualify for a partnership visa yet) visitor visa to New Zealand had been approved, and to my shock it was declined, confused?

    Our application:
    Me:
    Sponsorship completed to sponsor her to New Zealand
    Proof of my finances, covering return tickets etc
    Welcome letter and a "to do list" while here in NZ
    Proof of my visits to the Philippines a long with photos of us and our friends there together (met her through my friends)

    Her:
    Visa form
    Proof of her work and letter from employer and leave and job once returning back
    Proof of her land/home
    Birth certificate of her son
    Letter from her mum saying she will look after her son

    Now, why was she declined? She didnt show proof of her finances (didnt think we needed to as i was her sponsor?) and they dont feel she will return to the Philippines, like her mum, son and her job isnt enough?

    Also they questioned the time frame we applied for, implying that we dont need 3 months.

    So my question. How do i re apply, do i need to send out all of my forms back to my gf in the Philippines and go through the process all over again and pay another visa application fee?

    Also, if they approve it after showing her finances, as this is all they wanted, do you think they will approve it for 3 months? We need a 3 month visa at least as i am wanting to apply for a partnership visa once she is here with me in New Zealand.

    What other options do we have?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    11

    Default

    Bump, anyone? Still trying to get a hold of immigration NZ.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    238

    Default

    What reason did they decline it for? I was in a very very similar position to you with my gf, she was from a poor country and I only spent a 3 week vacation with her after meeting her online. She applied for a visitor visa also but it was declined as she had no incentives to return home however they granted her a limited visa for five months and we used that time to gather partnership evidence then when she returned she applied for a partnership based work visa which was granted.

    How did you meet your gf and how long have you had together? Is there anything that may be a bit of a worry to INZ about your relationship? My partner and I were highly advised not to say we were just friends but to tell the truth and say we were a couple (which we were going to and did anyway) as it would not look suspicious when we applied for the next visa which is a partnership based one.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    11

    Default

    Hey, thanks for replying

    I met her while visiting my friends in the Philippines, she is a friend of a friends, she stayed with me for around 3 weeks and have been in contact ever since (4 months)

    We applied for a general tourist visa as i was under the assumption that if i mentioned she was my GF we would be declined, as that is not a genuine tourist and INZ do not see us as being in a stable relationship.

    She has current employer for 1.5 years now. Declined as they dont see her as having enough financial commitment to return to the Philippines and would like evidence of her finances (even though i sponsored her) and also questioned why we needed 3 months.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    11

    Default

    Heck being granted a limited visa for 5 months would be more than awesome, seems like the only option i have is to go live at her place in the Philippines for 5 months?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    238

    Default

    I think your trouble is the fact that it is obvious that you like her more than a friend and they may think you are trying to hide the fact you want her over here to build evidence of partnership, but you have said she is just a friend. It is always best to be honest with immigration, but even if you told them the truth in your case it would really seem like an unstable relationship considering the very short time you have both known each other.

    We were told that our relationship could not be considered stable as we had only been together for three weeks when we questioned why my partner got a limited visa rather than the visitor visa she applied for, but perhaps the fact that we had been talking to each other online for about two years prior to meeting, and the fact that when I did go over there I meet her parents etc and that we were completely honest about our relationship on the application form and supplied all evidence of our relationship such as our online chatting and receipts for the flowers I had been sending her was enough to convince them that they should give us a chance, which is where the limited visa comes into play, I think of it as kind of a discretionary visa granted if there is good reason for you to come to NZ but you do not fall into any of the criteria required for others visas.

    I think your best option now would be to go and spend 6-8 weeks living with here, making sure you gather all possible evidence of your relationship, including that you are living together, then when you go home, or just before you to, apply for another visitor visa, tell them how (and only if) your relationship has progressed while you spend even more time with her etc but you understand you may not quite meet the partnership requirements yet, and ask them to consider a limited visa in your cover letter also, one thing I did was put 2k NZD into my partners bank account and we stated in the letter that I did this so that if my partner and I broke up while she was in NZD that she would have access to enough money to fly home, and there is no way I could take this money off her as it was in her account.

    Hopefully all that is some help to you, I am not providing that as advice but rather just sharing my experience, I am in no way an expert on immigration and not entitled to provide advise, also one thing you may want to consider is talking to an immigration advisor, usually they provide a free initial consultation, you could talk to one of them about your options.

    Good luck

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    5

    Default

    Have gone through the process of bringing my partner into New Zealand from Philippines to me it was an easy process.
    Meet her online early November 2013. Went to visit her middle of December 2013 stayed with her till middle of January 2014. Meet her family spent Christmas and New Year with them.
    When I arrived back in New Zealand her and I chatted every night on Skype also sent texts to each other through the day.
    Went back over for two weeks late April 2014 same as first time spent time with her family and took 100's of photos.
    Her birthday is early October 2014 so I flew over for two weeks as a surprise birthday visit she did not know I was coming. We had already started thinking about her coming to NZ so she completed her medical. Her and I had started putting together evidence of our time together and Skype logs and texts sent to each other. I took all evidence over with me that I had, and also all Immigration Documents. While in Cebu we went and processed a sponsorship visitor visa that was on 11th October 2014. Visa was approved on 17th October 2014 she was issued a 9 month visitor visa with no conditions. No onward ticket required, financial evidence not required and multiple entries.
    She arrived in NZ early November 2014
    On 23rd July 2015 we submitted a Partnership Work Visa approved on 29th July Work Visa was for 1 year. As like Visitor Visa no financial support required, no return ticket, multiple entries, may work for any occupation in NZ.
    Next step was Residence Visa, as reading there was a delay getting Residence Visa. On June 13th 2016 we submitted a Partnership Visitor Visa to extend time on Work Visa while Residence Visa being processed. This was processed and returned to us on 17th June, two year Work Visa same conditions as first Work Visa
    Now for Residence Visa sent this direct to Auckland on 23rd June had a email to confirm it had been received and the wait had started. On 9th August checked email that evening and Residence Visa had been approved and all documents will be returned by courier. Next morning 10th courier arrived with everything returned.
    Must say hearing some stories INZ have been great with us no problems what so ever.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    2,283

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by acejas View Post
    Have gone through the process of bringing my partner into New Zealand from Philippines to me it was an easy process.
    Meet her online early November 2013. Went to visit her middle of December 2013 stayed with her till middle of January 2014. Meet her family spent Christmas and New Year with them.
    When I arrived back in New Zealand her and I chatted every night on Skype also sent texts to each other through the day.
    Went back over for two weeks late April 2014 same as first time spent time with her family and took 100's of photos.
    Her birthday is early October 2014 so I flew over for two weeks as a surprise birthday visit she did not know I was coming. We had already started thinking about her coming to NZ so she completed her medical. Her and I had started putting together evidence of our time together and Skype logs and texts sent to each other. I took all evidence over with me that I had, and also all Immigration Documents. While in Cebu we went and processed a sponsorship visitor visa that was on 11th October 2014. Visa was approved on 17th October 2014 she was issued a 9 month visitor visa with no conditions. No onward ticket required, financial evidence not required and multiple entries.
    She arrived in NZ early November 2014
    On 23rd July 2015 we submitted a Partnership Work Visa approved on 29th July Work Visa was for 1 year. As like Visitor Visa no financial support required, no return ticket, multiple entries, may work for any occupation in NZ.
    Next step was Residence Visa, as reading there was a delay getting Residence Visa. On June 13th 2016 we submitted a Partnership Visitor Visa to extend time on Work Visa while Residence Visa being processed. This was processed and returned to us on 17th June, two year Work Visa same conditions as first Work Visa
    Now for Residence Visa sent this direct to Auckland on 23rd June had a email to confirm it had been received and the wait had started. On 9th August checked email that evening and Residence Visa had been approved and all documents will be returned by courier. Next morning 10th courier arrived with everything returned.
    Must say hearing some stories INZ have been great with us no problems what so ever.
    an important part of assessment of any off shore visa application, is "incentive to return", and "history of international travel." What evidence did she provide in regard to these? Did she initially have stable employment to return to, if it all went wrong?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    5

    Default

    She worked for a Japanese family as a head nanny/manager of staff the family employed. She had travelled to Japan twice a year with the family when they went back for 2 week holidays
    When I went in April we decided she was going to stop working I supported her financially until she arrived in November. When we applied in Cebu for Visitors Visa they had evidence that I was sending money monthly to support her. Also they were well aware she was not working.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    5

    Default

    I think you should reapply and show a bank statement.

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