BI form 2012-01-011
friend applied some month ago, but still now answer

 

That form is intended for a different situation Bernd, it's meant for those who already overstayed their visa and wish to regularize their stay.

 

Wait...so if you are married to a Filipina but your marriage was outside of the Philippines, Australia in our case you cannot do a 13a?

 

You can, but you'd need to register your marriage at the Philippine embassy in Canberra first, then be patient for a few months, then you can get a marriage certificate from the PSA (Philippines Statistical Authority), which you need to secure a 13a visa. The way it works is that the embassy will send your registration to the Ministry of Foreign affairs in Manila, who will then pass it on to PSA so your marriage will be registered in the Philippines.
Of course it is a bit silly that you can't register your marriage at PSA yourself, but the ways of the bureaucracy in this country are often inscrutable as we all know.

 

If you are married legally in another country that is not false pretenses. If you are both catholic have you approached the church on this to see if they could assist you ratifying your marriage? I know my situation is different and the rules probably have changed but I was married twice one summer in Negroes, first civilly and then in the church. Because we were not spring chickens and I needed to return to the US the church even expedited our marriage and allowed us to skip a lot of the seminars. You never know until you ask or try.

 

You can lodge an application for extended stay. Very expensive as you pay overstaying. As you approach the 3 year limit the only way to extend, and it is certainly not guaranteed, is to apply to the Commissioner of Bureau of Immigration, Manila. via a form known as a Motion of Reconsideration. This form has to be processed using an Attorney.

 

Right, thank you all for the replies.
It looks like if you're staying here as a legal "tourist" the best hope will be for two things to happen before the 3 years run out,
a. that the Philippines reopens its borders for foreign tourists and
b. that some "2 day visa run" destination will be a viable option by then (Hong Kong or other).

Despite being married, and while foreign spouses of a Filipino national are exempted from the current "no entry for tourists rule", apparently I still don't qualify for entry under that exemption, since the small print says that "Only marriages under the provisions of the Philippine Family Code shall be honored." (according to Philippine Airlines).
So, if nothing changes before the 3 year deadline I'll either be overstaying my welcome here or end up separated from my Asawa and my life here.