Mother And Son Not Allowed To Leave Philippines

[afathertobe]

Well the title is perhaps a little dramatic, but much to my astonishment I have encountered the following situation:

 

- My family is going to Thailand for a holiday, and we'd like to meet them there for a week or so. We is I (flying in from China), my son and his mother (flying in from the Phils).

 

- Philippine citizens get a Visa on Arrival, so that part is easy enough

 

- But now apparently the mother had to go for an interview with the Phil immigration (?) and they basically told her she would not be allowed to leave the country alone, only accompanied by me.

 

- So what's going on here? How can she Phil immigration prevent her from leaving the country even though she has a flight ticket, a hotel booking and will receive a VOA upon entry?

 

- Will this always be the case? That she has to be accompanied by me to travel abroad? Seems very strange indeed, hope some of you can shed some light on this.

[Jack Peterson]

- But now apparently the mother had to go for an interview with the Phil immigration (?) and they basically told her she would not be allowed to leave the country alone, only accompanied by me.   - So what's going on here? How can she Phil immigration prevent her from leaving the country even though she has a flight ticket, a hotel booking and will receive a VOA upon entry?   - Will this always be the case? That she has to be accompanied by me to travel abroad? Seems very strange indeed, hope some of you can shed some light on this.

 

 

This is Quite normal/Common for the PI. It is all about Human trafficking.I believe you said the Child has a different Family name to the mother, In that she Registered the baby with the then thought father. So if the Passports show Differing names, this is will be just one of the stumbling Blocks. Also she will not have a valid visa before departing so this again they don't like.

FTB the PI have some really strange rules and this is a big one that many ladies meet, especially where a Child is concerned.

 

 I am not too sure they would let here go even if you were there, The names on the passport would be 3 different ones? Raising some Questions again about the Child.

 

 I do hope it gets Sorted but i can see no change until  the Child's name is changed.

 

sorry I can't be of much more help but a little explanation as food for thought.

 

 

JP :tiphat:

[Bigdog]

When I took my GF to Hong Kong last year she had to do an interview at the airport to be ALLOWED to leave.. in the end I had to sign a letter of responsibility for her ( shes 30) .. It was her first trip on her passport , I hear that it gets easier after theres a stamp or two in the passport

[Dave Hounddriver]

So what's going on here?

 

As others have said, its normal here.  You begin to see that this is not Switzerland.  :cheersty:

 

It actually helps cut down on the human trafficking.  It may amaze you how many naive young girls meet someone on line and want to travel to places like Thailand to meet him, only to find themselves trapped in prostitution ring.  Having seen one such young lady get stopped at the airport (no one could convince her it was a scam) I have become a fan of the Philippine way of doing things.

[Methersgate]

I flew to HK with K and little Krian on April 30th this year. They both had new passports. The Immigration lady stopped them and only my producing a photo of us with two well known journalists at their house persuaded her (after a consultation with her boss in a side office) to let them travel.

 

Since HK does not stamp passports, this situation will recur.

 

Having said that the truth is that a LOT of Filipinas, without their children, ARE trafficked abroad for prostitution. A figure of 100,000 in Japan alone comes to mind, so clearly the organised gangs have their bribery systems well in place.

[Bigdog]

I had them staple her entry ticket to her passport in HK..at least its still there

[jon1]

I had a similar experience of the wife (then fiance') being grilled at the immigration in Clark for our Thailand and Hong Kong trips. To stave off the grilling, I had her bring her previous passports with other visa stamps, bank book and I put $1000 in her wallet. The last time, they asked for my passport to corroborate her previous trips (corresponding stamps). After 10 minutes they let her through. Some people have been turned away and told that they had to get the CFO brief in Manila (for traveling with a foreigner) and the sticker before being allowed to travel.

 

Since HK does not stamp passports, this situation will recur.

I am not following that, both of us had our passports stamped in HK and Macau. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am not following that, both of us had our passports stamped in HK and Macau. 

 

In the last year or so?  Long ago they did but now they just insert a bit of paper.

[jon1]

It was in 2011.. I guess it may have changed since then. So no stamp, no time limit on stay?

[Methersgate]

It was in 2011.. I guess it may have changed since then. So no stamp, no time limit on stay?

 

Not so; the stamp with 14 days for a Filipina or six months for a Brit etc is stamped on a slip of paper inserted in the passport and the passport of course is scanned.