Dumaguete Info Search


Best Posts in Thread: New Immigration Rules coming?

  1. furriner

    furriner DI Forum Adept Restricted Account

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    For SRRV, having been here for greater than 6 months they wanted NBI report. We went to NBI in Manila; SRRV consultant helped us and we made it through there in a flash. They had no problem giving us electronic fingerprints. You pre-register with Manila NBI online. They also request background check from home country. I just asked my daughter at home to go to local sheriff department and get copies for us; anybody can do it as police records are not confidential information. Just costs $25 apiece. She dhl’d them to us. My report showed a speeding ticket more than 15 mph over the limit pled down to 5 mph over; SRRV consultant did not like that and did not submit it. I still got SRRV visa; I had to submit affidavit (per approved BI procedure) that I would submit home police report within 6 month so she submitted it after I received SRRV. No problems! She was concerned that BI would delay approval until they could confirm that speeding ticket was NOT crime of moral turpitude...a regular BI clerk cannot make that judgement apparently, so it takes additional time for approval. But BI allows for an affidavit promising to submit within 6 months of approval so SRRV can be issued quickly. I didn’t want delays because we intended to travel to US in 6 weeks. Thiscis one of the great value adds of the free PRA consultant who get paid a commission by PRA for this work. We never would have been aware of the affidavit loophole; PRA consultant even gave us the affidavit form promising to submit home police report and you have your attorney notarize it. As of this date my speeding tickets has been removed from sheriffs report due due it being > 10 years old. Three things to take away are that 1) even small marks in police report can cause delays if not handled properly 2) FBI report is not required, local sheriff or police dept report will suffice 3) Full NBI report from Manila where the have fingerprint facility are required, in addition to home country police report, are required if you are have been in Philippines more than 6 months. If less than 6 months I THINK fingerprints are still required and probably can be obtained at NBI in some large city here. I cannot overestimate the value of the free PRA marketing consultant when you obtain SRRV; they make it very easy when you fly to Manila and visit all the agencies such as NBI, DFA (for red ribboning), BDO or whatever for bank deposit, Doctor for physical exam, USA embassy for marriage license and birth certificate affidavits, and PRA office at Citibank for application submittal and payment of application fee. We did not ever have to enter BI office during the process as the much friendlier PRA does that on your behalf. You go to 2 agencies max per day due to traffic in Manila; plan to spend 5 days there. Stay at a nice hotel in makati; not expensive at all! Make a vacation of it; “grab” cars will take you everywhere very cheaply and efficiently. After we travelled to the US, we returned to Cebu and were allowed to bypass long immigration lines at the airport and go through the diplomatic line for fast efficient processing. My apologies if I went too far off topic.


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    furriner, Aug 30, 2019
    #10
  2. Notmyrealname

    Notmyrealname DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster Showcase Reviewer

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    For good information on Cambodia: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=141
    • (especially read the contributions from the very knowledgeable 'JoeKhmer').

    Visa: Obtain a ONE MONTH 'ORDINARY' (formerly called 'Business') VISA upon arrival (DO NOT get a tourist visa as this can be extended only once and do not apply online as online is for tourist visa only) and then convert to a 12 month ORDINARY VISA using travel shops, guest house or motorbike rental shops (e.g. 'Lucky Lucky Motorcycle') in Phnom Penh. DO NOT use GOVERNMENT IMMIGRATION to EXTEND an Ordinary Visa as it takes 25 days and requires lots of paperwork. A new visa type, (ER class) for retirees has been announced (a few years ago!) but nothing has so far happened).
    Abode: Phonm Penh for facilities but perhaps Sihanoukville for seaside life (being heavily rebuilt at present and will become very much a Chinese casino town). Also consider
    Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampot.
     
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    Notmyrealname, Sep 2, 2019
    #23
  3. Jack Peterson

    Jack Peterson DI Forum Luminary Highly Rated Poster SC Connoisseur Veteran Air Force

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    Thought it might be prudent to put this up here.
    ******
    Unfortunately the Bureau of Immigration (BI) found that more and more foreigners come to work here without the correct employment visa (9G). This is why holders of a tourist visa are intensely screened when arriving in ports and airports. Also when applying for an extension they often must face a huge series of questions and additional inquiries.

    At the Mactan-Cebu airport an acquaintance of mine, 48 years old, was first refused to enter the Philippines because of his many extension stamps since 2011. The BI supervisor then gave him gratefully the usual visa waiver stamp. But the officer asked him to acquire another visa for permanent residence.

    Another person in my circles was refused to enter and had to leave. He then went back to Singapore. There at the local branch of his Bank in Europe (UBS), he could get the needed account statements that proof that he does not need to work abroad. The bank letters had to be approved by the Philippine embassy in Singapore. The embassy also gave him a 59 days tourist visa.********
    Full content;
    https://www.silent-gardens.com/blog...uEkhsjKyjxGbIx03HIjQTmIZ1inP9iV_qBQl60_F1JmGI
     
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    Jack Peterson, Sep 1, 2019
    #20
  4. SkipJack

    SkipJack DI Senior Member

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    Forcing long term tourists to get residency visas would be a good thing in that it would push some of the riffraff out. Getting a background check from your home country is no big deal. I am currently going through the process.

    The only crimes that the Philippine authorities are worried about are moral turpitude and aggravated felonies. The crimes have to be pretty serious. Not a typical fist fight.

    Moral turpitude, generally, includes crimes that make a person seem untrustworthy, such as fraud, sex offenses, etc.

    Aggravated felony includes murder, smuggling drugs or guns, human trafficking, and kidnapping people for ransom.

    Please kick these people out.
     
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    SkipJack, Aug 20, 2019
    #8
  5. Jeff08xx

    Jeff08xx DI Junior Member

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    Jeez, I lose my mind there after 4 months. Have you tried Cambodia? Wonderful people. Food and hotels better and cheaper than Thailand or PH. Not proficient liars and scammers.
     
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    Jeff08xx, Sep 2, 2019
    #21
  6. furriner

    furriner DI Forum Adept Restricted Account

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    Well, if they did invade, maybe we could find some good Chinese take-out and get fast and reliable internet.


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    furriner, Aug 20, 2019
    #7
  7. djfinn6230

    djfinn6230 DI Senior Member

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    Right but Thailand recently cracked down. They now require much larger monetary deposits in order to renew visas each year for seemingly no other reason than to get rid of more expats. And they check to see if the deposits are there long term, not temporary so they aren’t playing games. I only mention this because that country must be doing this even knowing there will be a large net loss of income to the country. Expat money does not generally translate to the politicians’ votes.


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    djfinn6230, Sep 1, 2019
    #19
  8. osodelnorte

    osodelnorte DI Forum Adept Restricted Account Showcase Reviewer

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    '

    No reason to fret unless you are Chinese. No way Immigrations is going to give up all those visa renewals they get. Try to imagine the loss of income from gouging us foreigners. Not gonna happen.
     
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    osodelnorte, Sep 1, 2019
    #17
  9. Mark K

    Mark K DI Member

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    Chinese take-out maybe. Fast, reliable internet speed perhaps not. Having lived in China and The Philippines I find the internet here faster than in China.

    Interestingly The Philippines is ranked 97th in the world for internet speed, China is 152nd. Taiwan currently tops the world rankings. But is is that part of China? Er.........let's not go there :smile:
     
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    Mark K, Aug 31, 2019
    #14