Passport

[jon1]

I have run into the hassle at Clark twice with my wife (then fiance'), when going to Bangkok and the first time to Hong Kong. She was not denied boarding but was grilled for 15 minutes by the Immigrations officer. The first time (Nov 2012) I was told to move on as he wanted to interrogate her without me present. I bit my tongue and stood by trying to act calm. She passed their interview and followed me. The second time (May 2013) the immigrations officer asked for my passport to validate her stories about us travelling abroad together before (HK, Singapore, Macau). A friend of mine's fiance' was denied boarding to BK in 2012 and was forced to go to Manila for the CFO document. Even though she had been abroad many times with him throughout SE Asia. 

 

I think as long as you remain calm about things it will end up in your favor. But the point is, it is arbitrary and frustrating to say the least. Here you are trying to go on a vacation to "relax" and you are being stressed on your departure.

 

Now we are going thru the hassle of getting her name changed in her passport and just now only got our Marriage Certificate certified at the NSO (only took 4 months). She will have to go get the CFO document before she can renew/change her name on the passport.

[Curley]

Did this denial of boarding happen at Clark Airport? They are notorious for this. 

 

No, Manila.

[Curley]

Now we are going thru the hassle of getting her name changed in her passport and just now only got our Marriage Certificate certified at the NSO (only took 4 months). She will have to go get the CFO document before she can renew/change her name on the passport

 

That's something that we may have to face. In some countries women can elect to keep their own name rather than adopting the husbands. What about the Phils?

[Curley]

After arriving and meeting up in Manila we will go to Tacloban to visit her Mum and then try to fly to Bangkok from there, Tacloban airport is very small but Cebuair fly to Bangkok from there. If they stop her again it will mean the loss of around $250 instead of $3200. Once we're in Bangkok I'll buy us tickets to my home in Colombia, she doesn't need visas for Thailand or Colombia. Anyone see any flaws in this?

 

 

Just found the flaw................... The flight from Tacloban is not direct, change in Manila! It's Tacloban to Manila on national flight then Manila to Thailand going through immigration etc at the Manila international terminal.  B++++r.

[Curley]

Anyone heard of offloading problems from Cebu?

[Dave Hounddriver]

Anyone heard of offloading problems from Cebu?

When I took my gf to Hong Kong from Cebu there was a series of questions and lectures that she had to answer before clearing departure but she was not stopped.  However, the BI has been changing so much lately that your experience could vary on any given day.

 

If all else fails, perhaps take a trip to Palawan and see if you can find a boat to take you over to Malaysia.  Check the legality of that first as I do not want to suggest anything illegal, it just seems to me that the security on the water is not as strict as the security at the airports.

 

I am not sure if this ferry service is running yet (News link click here) but if not then hire a private boat.

 

Edit:  I cannot find anything that says the ferry service is running yet but here is another link to suggest it is 'coming soon'

 

http://malaysiatravelnews.com/ferry-service-between-palawan-and-kudat-sabah/

Edited April 27, 2014 by Dave Hounddriver

[Curley]

Thanks, in January it wasn't running and the Malaysian tourist board had no idea when it would start.

[MikeB]

I found these guidelines from a couple years ago. Note the wording on (d). That pretty much makes the seminar a requirement (at the discretion of the BI official, of course), even for a short holiday. The advice on being polite and friendly is good.

"For tourist travelers, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is authorized to conduct a secondary inspection after the primary inspection "for the purpose of protecting vulnerable victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment and other related offenses, through the assessment of the following circumstances: age, educational attainment, and financial capability to travel.”

Any passenger who will be subjected for secondary inspection will be required to accomplish the BI Border Control Questionnaire.

Travelers will automatically be subjected to secondary inspection if they fall under the following categories:

a. Travelers without financial capacity to travel escorted/accompanied by a foreigner not related.

b. Minor traveling alone or unaccompanied by either parent or legal guardian without the required travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

c. Repatriated irregular workers in which case, travel may not be allowed without the clearance from the IACAT.

d. Partners and spouses of foreign nationals intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé without the CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate.

e. Passengers traveling to countries with existing deployment bans, alert levels and travel advisories and those in possession of a visa to the said countries.

f. For passengers intending to depart for the second or more times who stayed abroad for more than one (1) year during its previous departure as a tourist/temporary visitor.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2012/01/19/binay-confident-offloading-guidelines-201472

[Steve & Myrlita]

Travelers will automatically be subjected to secondary inspection if they fall under the following categories: a. Travelers without financial capacity to travel escorted/accompanied by a foreigner not related. b. Minor traveling alone or unaccompanied by either parent or legal guardian without the required travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). c. Repatriated irregular workers in which case, travel may not be allowed without the clearance from the IACAT. d. Partners and spouses of foreign nationals intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé without the CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate. e. Passengers traveling to countries with existing deployment bans, alert levels and travel advisories and those in possession of a visa to the said countries. f. For passengers intending to depart for the second or more times who stayed abroad for more than one (1) year during its previous departure as a tourist/temporary visitor. http://www.sunstar.c...idelines-201472

Sounds like Filipinos DO NOT have the freedom to travel as the govt claims and thus can't leave the country without their permission. Some democracy huh?

Edited April 28, 2014 by Steve & Myrlita

[robert k]

I like f. For those who stayed out more than I year. If you subject them to alot of crap and let them leave again, they may not come back. :thumbsup: