⌛ VISA - question

Just came back from my Visa run and a interesting question came up.

To enter the Philippines (as a tourist) it is mandatory to have any kind of ticket that you leave the country again.

As it is possible to stay up to 24 month, I was contacting several airlines and was facing some problems to get a ticket in 20 - 24 month.

I also asked the immigration in advanced how to handle that problem and of course could not get any proper answer.

At the end I bought a ticket to Kota Kinabalu later this year for 922 Peso, so I guess I will have another awesome trip this year.

But that is not the point, there must be somehow a legal solution for that 24-month regulation, which does not create any issues when entering the PI

Does anybody read something about that or has a similar case?

cheers

Rhoody

 

As airline tickets only have a validity period of one year you are unlikely to find any commercial travel entity which can / will sell you a ticket for a departure date 366 days past today or beyond.

If this is a concern for you, buy a "throw away" ticket. That is something either refundable, exchangeable or affordably jettisoned for as far off a future date as you can obtain.

What the Bureau of Immigration really wants is some means of your demonstrating your intended departure in lieu of your demonstrating your determination to remain - such as securing a 13a visa or a Balikbayan visa.

Most air tickets today are E-tickets. What you retain in your computer is an image or text file. This file is capable of being manipulated, non?

I would never suggest this action, of course. You could create your own E-ticket for whatever hypothetical future departure date you have in mind.

I have tried this myself, as an intellectual curiosity, naturally. The result is quite visuallyconvincing. Nudge! Nudge! Wink ! Wink!

 

like I wrote, that is absolutely not the point to cheat or manipulate any tickets.

it is about politicians making laws and regulations, but can't provide any kind of solution for their own regulations on request...

at the end when I checked in at Singapore nobody was interested in any future departure ticket from the PI

 

You simply can not have it both ways.

I hate to defend the Philippines' immigration department or that of any other nation. Each one has its responsibility to account for and to "control" resident non-citizens. Canada, Germany & USA all do this as well.

The Philippines Republic tolerates long term "tourists" in its jurisdiction. These visitors, in turn, must accept that their status is tenuous and somewhat conditional. Anyone who wishes to sign up for the marginally more secure longer temr has several vehicles for doing so.

Life is about making choices, is it not? Apparently my own 13A visa has now been approved. I'll post again when it is firmly affixed in my passport.

 

Rhoody, I'm only going to answer this question if you can submit the proper documentation showing that this was your only "why question" for the day

 

haha, I took care in the post not to ask a why question as I wasted my daily "why?"question at 4:22 this morning when I stood up...

Davitz, in all countries you mentioned and probably in about 190 more are visa regulations for non-citizens which can be stick to with given options, without faking papers or buying "throw-away" tickets.

 

Heaven forbid that anyone would counsel anyone else to undertake an activity which might be construed in any quarter to be illegal, immoral or fattening.

You seemed to be somewhat disheartened by the necessity of performing a "visa run" from time to time and were looking for a way around it. You also seemed to be less than thrilled at not receiving what you consider to be a "proper answer" from B of I officials.

I gave you both a creative reply to your first concern and a defence of the actions of the B of I officials in (not) responding to your second.

You are happy now. Right?

I'm certain that you will enjoy your trip to Kota Kinabalu!

 

Rhoody :
what is your plan and flight schedule to KK ? do u plan to go to Sipadan for diving ?

 

buy clarke to singapore tiger air usd 24 no tax thats what i did

 

When I checked in in Singapore it went like this:

Checkin Lady "Do you have an onwards ticket from the Philippines"
The Dane: "No I don't"
Checkin Lady: "Ok"

No idea why she just accepted it, I have a permanent residency, so I wouldn't have any problems, but she didn't know that