Visa requirements for Filipino entering UK for holiday?

[Aberdeen Quine]

We're going back to the UK for one month at the end of January and our Filipino helper will be joining us.  Does anyone know if there is a visa requirement for our helper?

[Yes Yes Yes!!]

Get in touch with the High Comm ASAP. She will need a visa. Should be doable if she has worked for you for a year. Even Filipino wives of UK citizens need a visa and some can't get them, so it is not a shoo in. Good luck.

[Aberdeen Quine]

Thanks very much for the advice...still suffering from severe baby brain!  We're going in three weeks and she's only been with us since April.  Do you still think it's do-able??

[Twice Wise]

I've taken mine back with me twice but know of two people who's visa requests were denied.  Both had employed less than one year.

You must buy her a ticket first, and furnish everything but your first born!!!!!!!  Check out the website for all the forms etc.  All bank statements etc must be originals, but they will take copies and give you originals back.  Cost is around $650+

[Aberdeen Quine]

Thanks for the reply.  Not quite sure what you mean about bank statements?  Obviously not keen to risk forking out for a plane ticket if there's a chance she could be refused.  Horrified at the $650 bill.  Do you know how long the application process takes?  The website's a bit vague.  Thanks.

[SA expat]

To the OP, out of interest, how do your family and friends react to you bringing your maid back with you to Scotland (I assume Scotland based on your name, but I could be wrong)?

[Aberdeen Quine]

Hello.  Obviously I have no idea what the reaction will be from friends when I go home to Scotland, maid in tow.  I wouldn't ordinarily have taken her with me but I have two very young infants and have had sleepless nights about the prospect of trying to manage them (6 months and two years) on the journey on my own.  My husband will be in New Zealand otherwise he'd be joining us.  Our maid has very much become part of our family and has made it clear from day one she would love to travel.  Once the intial hassle of the flight is over I very much want to give her a great holiday (although she still can't get her head around just how cold it will be.)  As far as the reaction from family members - they have all met her when on holiday here in Singapore and appreciate what a wonderful help she is to me.  I think they were quite worried at the thought of me trying to cope with two under the age of two in a foreign land with no family or friends to help out.  Now they've seen the set up they're all very comfortable with it and more importantly love her to bits.  I suspect my friends will think plenty about it but keep it well hidden.  I had a terrible moral dilema about taking on an FDW but I'm pleased to say it's the best thing we could've done.  We do our best not to exploit her, allow her a great deal of freedom, pay a good salary, overtime, her friends come and go, and show our appreciation by making her room lovely and supplying mod cons and basically treat her with as much kindness as we can.  Fortunately this makes for a very happy home and works for us all.  We're very lucky as we've yet to encounter any problems.

[Banchory]

Took ours with us for the first time last year and no problewm getting the visa but she'd been with us for years. The visa you want is a temporary (6 months) working visa for your maid, not a holiday visa (I'm assuming she'll be helping you there, not going on holiday?) You don't have to buy an air ticket first but you do need to make a reservation and bring the printout to show travel dates. She needs to go to Robinson Rd with you as they will take her photo and fingerprints. You also have to show 3 months bank account statements to show you can support her, your and her passports and EP/WPs, employment contract, letter from your employer that you are returning to Singapore, letter about minimum UK wage, questionnaire for her to complete about how you treat her, guarantee of her own room, the list is endless! It's on the High Commission website but you need to hunt around a bit. A word of caution - your chances may be slim after less than a year and the fee is non-refundable if visa is refused. You never know though as each case is assessed individually. Process for us was very quick at only a few days although officially they said it could be a week, and we paid extra to have her passport couriered back to us.
As to how she was treated in Scotland, with great friendliness by family and the locals, although the local doric stumped her a few times. There's a thriving filippino community in Aberdeen if that's where you are going, and they took her out exploring and shopping on her day off, invited her to church and took her home for tea.

[SA expat]

My question was not meant to antagonise you, so I am sorry for that, and I certainly was not questionning (scuse spelling) you on how you treat your maid.  My family are all in Glasgow and whilst they understood that I had a maid in SA for exactly the reasons you have one here, they would not have understood me bringing her home with me to visit family and they would (in the usual Glaswegian way) have been extremely vocal about their feelings!  I was just wondering if you were prepared for that.  I also know how the people in the UK (not the ones here) do not fully understand how having a maid is a godsend when you have no back up system and very young children.  Again I speak from experience, when I moved from SA to England I met with some very vocal people who disagreed strongly with my having had a maid and I certainly hadn't brought her with me.  Again I apologise for any upset caused it was not intentional.

[Bi Partisan]

To the OP, out of interest, how do your family and friends react to you bringing your maid back with you to Scotland (I assume Scotland based on your name, but I could be wrong)?

Not the OP, but thought I would chime in ...

My friends and family in both England and Scotland are very welcoming to our maid (she has been back with us on two occasions so far).  They treat her with respect and great affection (she has been with us for a few years).  My family send her Christmas presents along with ours!

I think if we introduced her as the family "drudge" and ordered her about then they would think less of us, but as we treat her there how we treat her here (with dignity and respect) , they think she is a valuable member of our household!  My sisters would "adopt" her in a heartbeat!

If my friends thought any less of us, then they wouldn't be friends would they?

[also scottie]

Interesting thread.  OP you will have to let me know how it goes as we may consider taking ours back to Glasgow with us next time we go home. 
By the way, anyone taken one over permanently?

[Aberdeen Quine]

Reply to SA Expat.  I wasn't in the least bit antagonised by your question - sorry if my rambling reply gave that impression.

[Aberdeen Quine]

Hello Banchory...we are indeed planning on going to Aberdeen.  Thank you very much for your detailed and comprehensive instructions...so appreciated.  I was very friendly with a Filipino boy at school and I'm going to contact him as he has a sister around our maid's age but great to know there's a strong Filipino community in Aberdeen.  I was applying for a holiday visa but will take your advice and apply for a 6 months working one instead.  This is all a major headache - it's going to be a nightmare trying to manage the logistics of the visit to Robinson Road but I'm determined. 

[Aberdeen Quine]

To Also Scottie

I will indeed keep you up-to-date with how it goes, providing her visa application is accepted.

[Aberdeen Quine]

Absolute nightmare.  Looks like we've no chance in getting a visa for our maid to accompany me and our two small children to the UK as she's been with us just 10 months and in order to make the application she needs to be with us for over a year.  Was advised to try and apply for a tourist visa but was told off the record it's highly unlikely she'll be granted one on this basis.  Needless to say our maid is very disappointed.  Now just trying to get my head around making the long journey with two very young infants.  Thank you to all who took the time to give me advice - it was greatly appreciated.  Now if I could get some advice on how best to cope with long-haul with babies in tow it'd be great.  Please share your experiences.  Thanks.