I have been reading about immigration, and health insurance in this section of the forum. I know it has been re-hashed many times and what I have read is a bit scary. I am visiting my friend in March 2010 for the alotted 21 days, then if all goes well I will be moving to this wonderful country. Even though I will be turning 70 in March, my health is good, but at that age who knows. After reading some of the articles I was not in a position to pay for for Health Insurance, as most of you from the USA we have Medical and Medicaid. This is going to be a deciding factor as to my moving. I have checked numerous sites and the best quote was around $140.00 per month. For those of you that might be interested here is the website: Travel Insurance - Compare Every Major Company - Instant Cover they also have travel insurance. On the immigration issue, I have read that you can extend, 12-?? or 16-?? months then leave the country, and return and start the process all over again. One thing for sure is that I will follow these guidelines to the letter, I certainly do not want to be in a position to have to pay fines. If I decide to move there, do I purchase a one way or round trip ticket?? It has taken me 5 years to make this decision, which was because of my online friend and where we were going with our realationship, and now we are at the point where this might be a viable move. Frankly I want this to be a friendly transition with little fuss, and any positive help will be greatly appreciated. Thank You for reading, Rod Portland, Oregon USA
you can stay up to 24 month. 21 days (entry stamp) 39 days (Visa Waiver) 2 month (each extension) up to 24 month usually a maximum 30 minute-job for waiver and each extension. staying longer than 16 month requires a fax to Manila and they need to confirm that you are not "blacklisted". But that is also no big deal, it just means you need to go 2 times to the Immigration Office for 20 minutes. By law you need an outbound ticket, NOT a round-trip ticket (the immigration does not care about that, but the airline you fly to the PI). Just buy one online-one-way-ticket from Clark-Airport to any nearby country. That can be purchased for less than 1000 Peso and you are on the safe side. Hope it helped already a bit cheers Rhoody
Straight from the horses mouth... The Bureau of Immigration, Philippines Official Website - Extension of Stay Though the Philippines immigration site lists proof of an ongoing destination as one of the requirements for allowing you into the country, it's the airlines which are tough on this. I purchased a round trip ticket because it was only $50 more expensive than the one way ticket. Another cheap option is to purchase a ticket to a place like Singapore or Hong Kong. Good luck with that one. Even with the similarities of the U.S. and Philippines cultures, there is still quite a gap to cover. Creating a "relationship" online in the U.S. is hard enough, in the Philippines (from the U.S.) it's a crap shoot. My advice is to stay friends, possibly hire a maid to cook and clean for you and take your time to get to know the Philippines. If your friend turns out cool, then move forward. If she doesn't, then create some distance and remember to thank me.
Thank You Rhoody, I am going to purchase my ticket today so I can get the best price. My travel agent has beat any price I have seen online, plus I will have everything in hand now.
