earthdome Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 Earthdome, I would have one or they might not let you on the plane. Call it cheap insurance against hassle. If I understand correctly, the BB priviledge is not 100% certain. Doh! I already knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) robert k, on 27 Dec 2013 - 1:22 PM, said: Earthdome, I would have one or they might not let you on the plane. Call it cheap insurance against hassle. If I understand correctly, the BB priviledge is not 100% certain. Doh! I already knew that. My BB stamp is automatic because the passport states I was born in the Philippines and it has previous BB stamps. For my wife, the BB privilege is not guaranteed. The Immigration office makes the final determination. As a precaution, I purposely kept our visit later this month to less than 30 days. Nothing would irritate me more than having to spend part of a day at the BI requesting for a visa extension beyond the 30 days waiver period. Maybe I am just being paranoid. Edited January 3, 2014 by JJReyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compstreet Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 I received a BB stamp when arriving in September with my wife. BUT, when I had to return to the States alone on a family emergency, that BB stamp was "NO GOOD" anymore. I got a 30-day visa and now have to go to BI with my wife to sort it out. How does that make sense and why does travel during the 12-month period covered by the BB stamp matter? I'll never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 3, 2014 Posted January 3, 2014 I received a BB stamp when arriving in September with my wife. BUT, when I had to return to the States alone on a family emergency, that BB stamp was "NO GOOD" anymore. I got a 30-day visa and now have to go to BI with my wife to sort it out. How does that make sense and why does travel during the 12-month period covered by the BB stamp matter? I'll never know. It's not clear if they stamped your BB entry "no good" when you were leaving or returning but, either way, that is what I would expect to happen. When you leave the country the BB privilege is no longer valid. I'm curious to know if you can "sort it out" at BI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) I received a BB stamp when arriving in September with my wife. BUT, when I had to return to the States alone on a family emergency, that BB stamp was "NO GOOD" anymore. I got a 30-day visa and now have to go to BI with my wife to sort it out. How does that make sense and why does travel during the 12-month period covered by the BB stamp matter? I'll never know. The BB stamp is for a single entry good for up to one year. You cannot return to the Philippines, unless accompanied by your wife, and expect to get another BB stamp. The Immigration officer will give you the customary 30 days visa waiver. This is an improvement over the previous 21 days visa waiver. Edited January 4, 2014 by JJReyes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compstreet Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 Thx JJ I guess I'm looking for some sort of rationale for the policy (which may not exist). Once we have come back together and received the stamp, why should I not be able to leave and come back? Clearly, this doesn't work like a multiple entry visa as I had thought. Not that it changes matters; my father suffered an accident and was in a coma back in the States (he died three days later). There was no option for me to stay (or to take my family with me on such short notice). Now the question becomes: "What do we do?" I thought the balikbayan stamp was a one-time thing, so will a trip to the BI with my wife resolve this or am I stuck having to leave the country every 30 days? If I leave the country with her and return, do we even qualify for a new stamp or not? And again, why do they care that we leave the country just to get a stamp on the return? I'm sure my critical error here is trying to see the logic - or at least some twisted rationale - in the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 One possibility is an overnight trip to Hong Kong or Bangkok with your wife. You then re-enter the Philippines with the "BB" stamp for one year. I believe one extension is permitted by the BI. Beats the hassle and expense of constant renewals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 (edited) Not that it changes matters; my father suffered an accident and was in a coma back in the States (he died three days later). There was no option for me to stay (or to take my family with me on such short notice). Now the question becomes: "What do we do?" I thought the balikbayan stamp was a one-time thing, so will a trip to the BI with my wife resolve this or am I stuck having to leave the country every 30 days? If I leave the country with her and return, do we even qualify for a new stamp or not? And again, why do they care that we leave the country just to get a stamp on the return? No, you don't need to leave the country that often. There are several alternatives: 1. You can do as JJ says. It have chance to be cheap, but it depend of how much you and your wife spend during the trip :) 2. Make extensions on the tourist Visa I suppouse you have now. Cost rather much more (see other topics about costs) but it can be done for MORE than a year totaly. It's a common choise. 3. There are several other more permanent Visas with which you can reenter Phils without your wife. I don't know your situation, so I don't know what can suit you. E g there are 13a, which some married prefer to avoid the accompanion demand. Perhaps retirement Visa. (There are several more types, but I guess one of the told ones suit you best.) I'm sure my critical error here is trying to see the logic - or at least some twisted rationale - in the situation. Yes :) As several have noticed, the Philippines are not so logic... Edited January 4, 2014 by Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compstreet Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 We planned to get the 13(a) in the States sometime in the spring, but I had falsely assumed that I would be able to travel in and out of the country as needed, once we had the BB stamp - specifically for business, but in this case for personal reasons. Again, I fell into the "common sense" trap. We'll see what the options are at the BI (bringing my long pants - yet another forehead slapper). But why they require you to leave the country at great expense, just to get a stamp in your passport when you come back? Some sort of kickback from the airlines? Geeze... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 4, 2014 Posted January 4, 2014 I'm sure my critical error here is trying to see the logic - or at least some twisted rationale - in the situation. If you see it as a courtesy, not a visa, it makes more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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