cpdu

I am 29 years old, from the Philippines and I went to London to see my BF and his family last summer for about 3 weeks. For my visa application, my travel agency who did my application didn't mention that I know someone in UK. I got a visa and managed to get thru the UK immigration with just the normal tour/leisure purposes. In immigration, they asked a lot of questions like why am I staying for 23 days, where I will be staying, what do I do in the Philippines, etc. and I managed to answer all questions but totally left my bf out of it.

Now my visa will expire November this year, (visa granted to me was 6months multiple entry) so I plan to go again to take advantage of my available vacation leave from work and my discounted ticket privilege, I get round trip ticket at 90% off since my sister works for an airline. I plan to go for 12-14days only. I will go to visit my BF, his family and my 2 closest friends who just got to london for work (Barclays UK for one friend) and studies (Masters degree in scholarship at University of Westminister for another friend). They came to london after I left during my last visit.

Now when I go next month, i want to tell the truth and tell them im visiting my bf and friends. Coz i dont have a hotel booking since i will be staying at my bf's home (together with his family). And i am bad at lying so I just want to enter using all the documents I have and tell my true purpose.

Other info:
I am a financial consultant (employed job) and i do interior decorating on the side (freelance) in the Philippines. My bf is a Filipino with permanent residency and indefinite stay in UK status (he has been in the UK for over 20 years). He has a business in London. He is visiting the Philippines in December and already bought a return ticket for his trip.

I plan to bring the ff:
1. My Employment certificate (financial consultant job) and proof that the company granted my request for leave covering my whole stay in the UK.
2. Letter of invitation (email) from bf letting me stay at their home for the duration of my stay. Email used is his work email in london.
3. Scanend Copies of his passport, and old passport with stamp that states his status in UK.
4. Bf's Billing statement that shows his address in UK.
5. Cash of about USD1,000. (£770) and bank statement showing my account's average daily balance (ADB) for the past 6 months amounting to USD6,500/£5,000).
6. 2 Credit cards that can be used internationally with statements (showing total credit limit of USD7,000/£5,400)
7. Copy of my car registration and certification from a property developer that I am currently purchasing a property (land) in the Philippines. (No available title yet)
8. My Return ticket and photocopy of my sister's company ID.
9. Copy of my existing and on-going interior design contracts.
10. BF's confirmed return tickets to go here in december for the holidays
11. Clothes for 2 weeks stay only. Lol
12. Laptop to do interior design work on my free time.

I need advise if I tell the immigration in london airport that I am in fact visiting my bf? Im afraid that they ask me if it was my purpose last time and trace (i dont know how lol) that I lied last time. Lol. I am really bad in lying. And I do not really have the intention to stay longer than 2 weeks coz I have work here in Manila. I just want to take advantage of cheap tickets and free lodging in london and see bf and friends.

Do i ask bf to suffice me of his bank statements? Are my proof of financial capacity not enough?

Do I need any other document from my friends?

Do I need an itinerary? Like what I intend to do/sites to visit? I just want to hang out with bf, his family, his friends and my friends for 2 weeks. Lol.

-Paranoid GF (lol)

nytraveler

What I don;t see is that you will have your return airline ticket to show them - the single most important thing.

I believe that you also may be asked to prove that you have health insurance that covers you while in the UK (if you regular plan at home does not do this then you need to buy travel insurance).

They may ask you about the income of your boyfriend, since he will be providing housing. And I would have info on his income and the specific address and lease or mortgage documents on his apartment or house.

I would not tell them you will work on interior design from the UK since you do not have a visa allowing you to work there. Simply stick with your full time job and say this trip is only vacation to see BF and several friends.

And yes, you may be asked a lot of questions. This time tell the truth - but don't add a lot of extraneous information.

No, you do not need an itinerary.

bilboburgler

I think you are right to say where you are staying though I doubt they will worry about a previous visit. I'd not drag all these documents out at the start. The main ones they will want to see are

Return ticket
Health insurance

possibly employment proof, if you get into more detail than that then stay calm and just offer up evidence as they ask for it. Listen carefully to the questions and answer as asked. Offering up evidence that you lied last time is really not going to help you.

$1000 cash, two issues about taking so much cash, 1) getting mugged is a realy pain and 2) certainly you don't want to be mistakenly accused of trying to bribe an immigration officer.

I'd also make sure you have no drug or food residue on your clothes. Nothing gets the drug puppies excited as illegal meat coming in.

cpdu

Thank you so much for your inputs!

michelhuebeli

Instead of carrying that much cash, make sure you have a bank account with a debit card that you can use at ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines, in the UK often called "Cashpoint") to draw on that bank account. There may be fees levied by your bank - maybe a pound or so per transaction (usually not a percentage of the amount you withdraw).

Clear all this with your bank - make sure that they know you will be using the card overseas (if they don't know, the transaction may not go through due to automatic blocking as "suspicious activity", but you may not know why it didn't go through...).

Call the number on the back of the card and tell that organization the same thing - it is probably their computer system rather than that of your bank that will come into play.

Good luck!

cpdu

Thank you michelhuebeli! You think I don't need documents for financial support from my bf? And usually we transact in cash here in the Philippines. I worked for a bank before and everyone (bank clients and bank employees) was buying USD everytime we travel. I didnt know bringing cash of that amount is already big. I thought it was just the cost of meals and transportation for 2 weeks.

nytraveler

Well Americans generally don't take cash to europe except for a small emergency fund (I've been carrying the same $100 for the last 25 trips or so). We pay larger bills with credit cards and use debit cards to pull walking around cash a $100 or $200 at a time from your checking account at any bank ATM. Changing cash can be very difficult and very expensive.

If you are saying your BF is giving you free lodging they well might want to know where he lives, if he rents or owns, and proof of a steady income.

bilboburgler

yes the value is about right but generally more is carried in plastic and wallets hold about E100, £100 or $100 for everyday purchases.

So a normal method would be $900 in plastic and £100 cash. And of course the US dollar is not used in Europe/UK, so bringing Sterling would be more sensible if you are coming to UK.

Basically you then either use a credit card or a direct debit card to pay for things or take cash out of a bank ATM which litter the highstreet or the airport.

There is an arguement for carrying the US dollar when going to some backwoods country but since Albania is not on your target list...

Heimdall

It seems to me that the main thing UK immigration will want to know is that you will be going back to the Philippines after your two week visit, so things like return airline tickets and proof of a steady job back home are important.