UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) issued 57,275 visas to Filipino nationals as of June 2015, representing a 14-percent increase from the previous year.
Of these, 34,381 were visit visas issued during the same period.
“We already get around 34,000 Filipino visitors to the UK (United Kingdom) every year. And we want to see even more. Heritage and modern attractions, great shopping and food, all add up good memories of the UK to take back to the Philippines. Many use the opportunity to visit family and make new friends,” said British Ambassador Asif Ahmad in a statement.
According to the UK Embassy, 90 percent of those that have applied for a visa were successful.
To futher encourage Filipinos to visit the UK and to also reassure first time visitors to the UK that the visa process is “straightforward”, UKVI launched a new video to explain each step of the process, from filling out the form online to giving finger prints at the visa center. This was uploaded on video sharing website YouTube.
“Our visa system is designed to make it as straightforward as possible for visitors to apply for their visas. The launch of this video is a further example of the improvements we are making to the visa service to make it quicker and easier for Filipino visitors to apply for a UK visa,” Ahmad said.
According to the embassy, most of the common reasons some Filipinos fail to obtain a UK visa are due to factual errors in the documents submitted, “adverse” immigration history, and applying for the wrong visa.
There are two UK Visa Application Centers in the country. One is in Manila, while the other is at the 9th floor of the Keppel Center in Cebu Business Park.