Balikbayan Visa Balikbayan Visa - Success & Other Stories

I would like as many good, bad, and ugly Balikbayan 'Visa" BI arrival stories as possible in a hopeful effort (fingers crossed but not holding my breathe) to see if we can figure out what we need to be approved (or will get us denied) a Balikbayan 'Visa' - which yes, is not a Visa but a 1 year Visa waiver.

To start with, we arrived yesterday from Hong Kong with copy of marriage certificate from the NSO in hand. My wife's new Passport with her married name (same surname as mine) was still in process at DFA when we left so she had her old Philippine Passport. We arrived in NAIA at terminal #3 and proceeded to the Philippine Passport area. I gave the BI officer our marriage certificate copy and then our passports. He asked my wife about being married and why her passport was not in her married name which she explained. He then stamped us both in but gave me a tourist visa which being tired, not having cleaned my reading glasses (d*mn things), and being in a hurry to catch our Duma flight, I did not catch until we sat down at the boarding gate. I assumed (stupid me) that the lack of questions meant Balikbayan Visa was no issue, it wasn't but not the way I was thinking.

 

To understand this more clearly: You got standard tourist visa instead of balikbayan visa?

 

Please tell me it wasn't the same as what happened to me and my daughter five years ago. Handwritten in tiny cute swirls: "1yr" at the bottom edge of the arrival stamp. I didn't notice it so we went to the head office to "complain"

 

I have a red square stamp in red dated 12 Dec 2016 and a black date stamp across it 11 Jan 2017. Looks just like previous Tourist Visas

 

Maybe this:
a. A Balikbayan, who may be either one of the following:


i. A Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one (1) year;

Balikbayan Privilege

 

That's an important question, I've been "told" to always ask specifically for Balikbayan status.
Regarding personal experience, asked for it 5 times, got it 5 times (3X in Manila, 2X in Cebu). Four times wife was still Philippines citizen, last time she was actually US citizen and had not yet reacquired her Philippines citizenship so she was technically no longer a Phils citizen. But she showed her US and unexpired (but possibly no longer valid) Philippines passport, and I got the BB stamp. In all cases her married name was in the passport(s) and matched mine. Always had our Philippines marriage certificate with us but never asked to show it.

 

I didn't talk to him at all, only able to follow some of the short conversation my wife had with him.

 

When I was growing up, the term "balikbayan" had that essence of a homecoming after long years of being abroad. Now, BI has defined it as a Filipino who's been out of the country continuously for at least a year and "former" Filipinos as long as they earned their new citizenship in countries that are listed in the E.O.408 http://thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph/no-visa-entry-for-30-day-stay-under-e-o-408

A foreign national is not a "balikbayan" but is given that privilege if he/she is a spouse or child who happens to be traveling with a "balikbayan". First and foremost, the Filipino/former Filipino has to be a "balikbayan" upon reenttry to PI to be able to share that privelege to the foreign national. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I see it in one of Wyre's thread on Balikbayan Program.

 

That is basically how I understand it. A Filipino citizen OR former Filipino citizen can request BB status for spouse/child travelling with them. The one year out of the country requirement SEEMS to be ignored in many cases, but I can't speak to that from personal experience, as it was always at least one year between our visits.