Yes Jim, your first call in to BOI if you come on the 30 Day entry will be a 29 day visa waiver, then you will Extend every 60 days, well it is 2 months date to date. ie, Extend DEC 27 next Extend FEB 27th. on your 2nd Extend April you will have to do your ACR card and the ARP Programme. JP
Funny you should say this Dustin, I used my own dates as the illustration. I arrived on the 31st Of a month, then when I got the extensions going they cut me back to the 27th of the month so that I did not catch the date differences who would have thought they would give that a thought but they did,(Well one of them did) JP
Bearing in mind that certain person is back I truly hope So. I have to go on Tuesday to get my Passport and lodge my ARP papers so I will Pop my Head in the office door and ask. Can't take too much More of the continued Fiasco in the name of " Getting their act together" As they say, we can but... live in Hope JPo_O
After 59 days, 30+ 29 day visa wavier. I went to the BOI to extend for 2 more months. They asked me for 7000 pesos, as I only want 2 months, she says you can't have 2 months extension, only 12 month ACR card. Thought you could extend for 2 months at a time? So I will have the ACR card. I normally go the Balikbayan rout, not use to paying out on the visa. quite a shock on the wallet..
You are paying for the 2 month extension (2-3k plus pesos) plus the ACR card (50 USD....don't know why but it has always stated the price for the card in USD). Unless they have changed something up since I last renewed. I was always pretty bad about doing it on time and usually only renewed right before I left and paid all the late fees at one time. That usually cost me around 15-18k pesos (that's the price for around 10-11 months of extensions+card+late fees). Doing it in Dumaguete was easier than Cebu as Cebu forced you to have an apology letter explaining why you overstayed.
Yeah, can't really blame them though. As of lately BoI has just been making up as they go. Kinda hard for anyone (even their staff) to follow all of their little weekly rule changes.
Normally this would not happen until the second Extension but we are in the realms of the new ARP, this comes into effect in October this year, they are already some 18 months behind in issuing the ACR cards so I think they are just getting as many as they can done ASAP. Dustin is right in That they (BOI) Just don't know the rules themselves, In fact I think WE know more than they do. Just as a Side on this, we are now coming into the 8th month before the ARP amnesty is over so it is in all our Interest to get the ARP application done . If it is submitted during a Current ACR time it is Free, if it is done after one runs out it will cost you another $50 to do SO my Friends Think On. JP