The Non Religious Church Thread

[Dave Hounddriver]

This may be a difficut thread for some members to post in without commenting about religion but it could be valuable information for some.

While in BI Mandaue today, I noticed that Missionaries are qualified to get a one year visa which only costs 1,730 pesos per year plus $50 for the temporary visitor ACR card. This would save some people many thousands of pesos and avoid the problem of a trip to BI every 2 months. So who qualifies?

Are you active in your church? Perhaps you would rather give them the money you would spend on visas in exchange for helping them in the Philippines in some way? As I understand it you do not have to be the traditional missionary, like the ones the movies portray being eaten by headhunters. Here is the info from a couple of sites if this interests you:

In the case of a “missionary visa,” the application must be accompanied by a notarized letter of request from the petitioner-organization together with the details of the applicant’s place of assignment, the certified true copy of the SEC Certificate of Registration, Articles of Incorporation and By-laws of the petitioner-organization.

Aside from the letter of request from the petitioner organization, applicants for a missionary visa must obtain formal letters from their home church to help authenticate the “mission” aspect of the aspirant intending to enter the country via the missionary visa.

http://www.manilavisa.com/resources/work-visa-to-the-philippines/

Aliens may be issued missionary visas:

a). if they are are members of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the Philippines;

b). whose purpose is for carrrying on the vocation of a minister (or as a religious worker) of that religious denomination;

c). who shall be coming to the Philippines in order to work for the organization at the request of the organization in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation.

Foriegners who will be engaged in religious or missionary work may be issued pre-arranged employee visas. They will be required to present documentary proof which are applicable to an applicant seeking admission under Section 9(g). However, they need to submit an alien employment permit issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or in lieu of this permit, proof that they are bona fide members of a religious institution as certified by a duly authorized representative of the petitioning organization.

Duly notarized letter request from the petitioner-organization;

Duly accomplished application form;

One (1) passport-size photo (taken within the last 6 months from date of application);

Passport valid at least 6 months;

Police clearance issued by appropriate authorities in applicant’s country of residence; and

Medical Health Certificate issued by an authorized physician including standard chest x-ray

http://www.philippineconsulatehonolulu.com/content/general-information-visas

You can see that these are just google searches I have researched so the question is: Has anyone tried it or does anyone want to try it?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Let me add my own personal experience to this. When my first daughter turned 18, she went to Kosovo as a missionary for her church. It did not mean she was spreading religion as some may interpret. It meant she was helping poor people, working in soup kitchens, giving them a shoulder to cry on, getting clothes to the needy.

Some of us are doing that right here, right now. To those people I suggest: Look into the prospect of a missionary visa. Its what you are doing. Put your money and time to better use than renewing a tourist visa.

[Call me bubba]

Dave :th_thanx:

for this wonderful ideal & Legal way to extented or Renew our VISA's here at a lower cost, & at the same time giving back to the underprivilege who need help

I 'm certain that this can help a few of the members

when they plan ahead for their next Visa... :cheers: :cheers: