Visa Question visa extension to avoid an overstay

i'm staying in the fils on a tourist visa which will expire on 24 sept, 2015.
i know... i know... but the little woman and myself decided to get married at the last moment and we have applied for a marriage license which, we're told, will be available on 28 sept.
after receiving the license, we plan to get married as soon as possible and after we're married, i'm going to apply for a 13A visa.

concerned about the timing of it all and an overstay, we went into the local BI office and talked with the Authorized Signing Officer about an overstay and he strongly advised me to either do a Hong Kong trip or go to the manila BI and apply for a 6 month extension on the grounds that i'm getting married and will apply for a 13A once married.

he also advised me to take TWO copies of a certified copy of our marriage application, a copy of my presence at the marriage counseling seminar and any other documents i might have to back up my claim.

ok, so we decided to do the manila option and i'm wondering if anyone has done that (the visa extension thingie) and got another one of those T-shirts.

questions:
1 - would this be a Long-Stay Visitor Visa Extensions (LSVVE) ? our local BI officer said it would cost me p500/month but the LSVVE says: Cost for:
Non visa-required nationals - P9,400 + $50 (USD) for ACR I-Card
Visa-required nationals - P11,800 + $50 (USD) for ACR I-Card
2- is the manila extension process (6 month as above) similar to getting a 2 month extension at the local BI office? (take passport, pictures and a letter of intent in this situation)
3 - is the manila (6 month as above) extension process a one day thing?

4 - will i get my passport back the same day?

thanks guys, i'll be sitting on the edge of my chair.
norm : ))~

 

OK So Once you have your licence you need to go to the Halls of Justice for the Contract. Now that is on the 28th or as soon as after But, Your legal Stay is only till the 24th. No mate get your Extension done now for the 2 months. Don't get caught out at the Halls of Justice on a Passport that clearly shows you are already an Over stayer. The 2 month extension keeps you legal and here in Dumaguete where there will be much still to do and you will have some breathing Space, then extend again if needed. Weigh this up against a manila or HK costing and you will see it will all make sense. You only have 13 days and I know that sometimes the seminar can take 3 weeks with appointment time sometimes. (nothing is That Easy here as I am sure you are Finding out.)

BTW Way, You need to be married for over 6 months to apply for a 13a ( this is to Stop Bogus marriages) Anything else? we are here and Listening.

JP

 

maybe i need to be more clear. we have applied for the marriage license/contract and we're scheduled to take the seminar on tuesday, 15 sept and we're told we will have the ok to get married on 28 sept.

i can't get anymore 2 month extensions which is why our local BI officer gave me the HK and manila BI options

that may of changed cuz our local BI officer and a travel agency that processed immigration things in the past, didn't bring it up but i'll check.

 

So that means you have been here over the 3 years on the 24th Yes? Norm all I can say is I hope somewhere the dates don't run out on you.
I came up to my 3 years in July and No way would they give me a further Extension.
best of Luck mate I am sure we will all be Rooting for you. BTW don't Forget the DI Invites

Take care Mate

JP

 

Do that soon Norm as it is one of the things that Mison is agitated about with Foreign/Local marriages If in Doubt Phone Cebu BI and see what they say (32) 3456442 3456443 3456444
Fax (032) 345 6441

Again Best of Luck.

Jack,
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Norm! I really hope all goes well for you and the Little lady

Jack

 

All the best to you and the soon to be Mrs.

 

this could be a double or triple post cuz of my i'net super slow connection. and it's also too slow to take advantage of the forums reply functions so i'll reply the old fashioned plain text method and hope it posts.

> So that means you have been here over the 3 years on the 24th Yes?

that's correct, i'm on the last days of my 36 month tourist visa extension

> I came up to my 3 years in July and No way would they give me a further Extension.

they? is they the manila BI? did you tell them that you were going to apply for a 13A?

> Phone Cebu BI and see what they say

the local BI officer said that manila is the only place to get the extension i need so i'll look into calling manila. right now, my smartbro usb modem connection is too slow to load the BI website.

it baffles me that all BI field offices can't do all of the visa procedures, they have computers, right? at least it looks like computers!

thanks, jack and all for the good wishes...

 

My wife has just reminded me that Manila did in fact allow me to extend 1 month. I went through Cebu for all mine, My extension was until 27th June but I had applied for my 13a before this and it was Granted on July 2nd but Cebu would /Could not extend for the 4/5 days as the Original Paper work for the approval had not reached Cebu from Manila. However, I was Granted the 1 month extension on the 5th July to cover the missing days. It was at a cost of 3080 as norm + 100 for the Stamp and 1000 in Overstay Fines + 500 reconsideration, even though it was really their fault as they had attorneys off sick on the 25 July which was my Hearing date.
I should have been OK on dates But because of the change in Hearing dates I became an Over stayer, Of course yours is different because you are not married yet. So I just don't know how that will be handled. One thing for sure Norm it is going to Cost you. If I had known then what I know now, we would have gone to KL or HK and had the one year BB on return and done it when we came back. But as I said until they changed the dates I was in Time albeit just only 2 days.
We really are at the mercy of the BI and like me, time just sometimes is not on your Side.
For me I would make the phone calls and see what happens. But as it is the 12 th tomorrow you still have time to get your ECC and have a long weekend away if needed. Best of Luck mate, please do keep us informed as all these things can serve for other members

Jack

ps. The one Big problem with doing a visa run now is that it will put you back to square one and as you will be re-entering on a new 6 month cycle, you will need that d*mn Police Clearance from Home or wait for the 6 month limit to be up. Just can't win EH?

 

Check the requirements for a 13A visa. I believe an NSO certified copy of your marriage is a requirement.
If they still want the NSO copy that takes time, weeks or longer.
Sounds like a trip to KL is in your future.
If you take your Bride then you can get a 1 year Balick Bayan visa and have a year to work on the 13A.
JMO