Banking for Balikbayan Visitors?

[Dave Hounddriver]

This was raised by another member and I wanted to start a new thread about it

19 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

On a BB the BI do not know you are here so you will have no evidence to support opening a bank Account as no ACI card, and you will certainly need a Local bank account at some time.

My intent is to suggest a possibility for BB visa expats opening a bank account here.

If I am married to a filipina I know I can open a joint account with her.  If not married I cannot.  BB visitors are, be definition, coming here with their filipina wives/husbands.  So cannot the BB expat go into the bank and say his filipina wife wants to open the account and he wants it to be joint with him.  Surely the bank understands the BB visa well enough that the expat's passport with the BB stamp would be enough to get him added to the account.

Would that work and would it be enough for most BB visitors?

[Jack Peterson]

26 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

This was raised by another member and I wanted to start a new thread about it

My intent is to suggest a possibility for BB visa expats opening a bank account here.

If I am married to a filipina I know I can open a joint account with her.  If not married I cannot.  BB visitors are, be definition, coming here with their filipina wives/husbands.  So cannot the BB expat go into the bank and say his filipina wife wants to open the account and he wants it to be joint with him.  Surely the bank understands the BB visa well enough that the expat's passport with the BB stamp would be enough to get him added to the account.

Would that work and would it be enough for most BB visitors?

 I rang my Bank Manager and Posed this question to her, She can of course only speak for PNB but her answer was No she would not open a Joint Account for a Tourist on a BB Stamp. The ACR card is what they go by as it gives indication the Account Holder will reside in the PI

To her the BB stamp means the Spouse will return elsewhere and thus leave/raise question marks. She also added that they are against Joint Accounts in General as they can cause too many problems on Death or Splits and with Foreigners that is in the upper % Bracket  (Splits mainly) 

On the last bit that would only last 1 year Then what?

The Banking issue is becoming a nightmare as there are some that will and some that won't open accounts

For me  just keep trying a bank until the green light comes up.

 I was Lucky as "A" was here and not in Spain with me. I say this because anyone bringing a Spouse back from abroad may well have the same issues as it seems a lot of people do. Restarting your Life at Home

 

 I think this is what I am trying to say, the BB stamp is a free Stay but not sufficient for a Bank to Grant a Bank Account They need security and people are their security when they are living here but not if the are anywhere else  

 As I said it can be a minefield

[Mike J]

We moved here from the USA three years ago.  I came with a BB stamp and my wife as dual citizen.  We went to BPI to open an account shortly after we arrived.  With no ACR card we could only open a joint  peso account.  The dollar account could only be opened in my wife name.  Not sure what their policy is now.  After I received my permanent 13A visa last year we opened a joint dollar account.

[AlwaysRt]

57 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 I rang my Bank Manager and Posed this question to her, She can of course only speak for PNB but her answer was No she would not open a Joint Account for a Tourist on a BB Stamp. The ACR card is what they go by as it gives indication the Account Holder will reside in the PI

To her the BB stamp means the Spouse will return elsewhere and thus leave/raise question marks. She also added that they are against Joint Accounts in General as they can cause too many problems on Death or Splits and with Foreigners that is in the upper % Bracket  (Splits mainly) 

On the last bit that would only last 1 year Then what?

The Banking issue is becoming a nightmare as there are some that will and some that won't open accounts

For me  just keep trying a bank until the green light comes up.

 I was Lucky as "A" was here and not in Spain with me. I say this because anyone bringing a Spouse back from abroad may well have the same issues as it seems a lot of people do. Restarting your Life at Home

 

 I think this is what I am trying to say, the BB stamp is a free Stay but not sufficient for a Bank to Grant a Bank Account They need security and people are their security when they are living here but not if the are anywhere else  

 As I said it can be a minefield

I also thought (yikes - there I go thinking again) that you could walk into a BI office and "volunteer" to be registered and get an ACR card. Anyone heading to BI soon that would be willing to verify one way or another? If true this seems like the solution.

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, AlwaysRt said:

I also thought (yikes - there I go thinking again) that you could walk into a BI office and "volunteer" to be registered and get an ACR card. Anyone heading to BI soon that would be willing to verify one way or another? If true this seems like the solution.

Hmmmm I see you point but wouldn't that affect the BB Status, on a BB you are a Visitor courtesy of your Wife ( In your case)  

Having an ACR makes you a Tourist on a 9a Tourist Visa and or Extension, Remembering that the BB has little to do with immigration after being put in your Passport But what the Heck, let's Find out EH?

[earthdome]

I would be interested in learning more about this situation since my wife and I will be in this exact position when we return to PH in a few years. Now I wish I had not closed my BPI USD and peso account when we left 2 years ago.

[davewe]

According to Philly (PhilFAQs): 

"If You Come to the Philippines Under the Balikbayan Privilege Program You: Can’t get a bank account:

Absolutely not true.  The banking regulations of the Philippines, commonly know as the MORB ( Manual of Regulations for Banks ) does not prescribe any special form of visa or any specific prohibitions against foreigners opening a bank account while here on the BB stamp.  What is confusing to many (and this applies to those on SRRV’s, Tourist, 13 Series Permanent visa and others) is that many bank managers require a foreigner produce an ACR-I card from the Bureau of Immigration.  For some reason many foreigners think the ACR-I card is only available to folks with permanent residency visas. 

This is NOT SO.  Any foreigner who is in the Philippines legally … on any visas and/or the BB Privilege stamp may go to any BI field office and request an CR-I card.  The cost is $50 USD or the Peso equivalent.  No problem (and by the way this is the same cost any holder of any other visa pays for his/her ACR-I card.)

My wife and I opened a US dollar savings account and a Philippine peso savings account with our local branch of BDO two days after we arrived in the Philippines.  Since I did not yet have a ACR-I card the bank manager graciously allowed me to promise to show my card after I obtained one."

This guy has been living in the Philippines a long time and used the BB privilege for many years. Is he wrong? Has anyone with the BB privilege been refused an ACR-I card?

Edited February 15, 2017 by davewe

[earthdome]

13 minutes ago, davewe said:

According to Philly (PhilFAQs): 

"If You Come to the Philippines Under the Balikbayan Privilege Program You: Can’t get a bank account:

Absolutely not true.  The banking regulations of the Philippines, commonly know as the MORB ( Manual of Regulations for Banks ) does not prescribe any special form of visa or any specific prohibitions against foreigners opening a bank account while here on the BB stamp.  What is confusing to many (and this applies to those on SRRV’s, Tourist, 13 Series Permanent visa and others) is that many bank managers require a foreigner produce an ACR-I card from the Bureau of Immigration.  For some reason many foreigners think the ACR-I card is only available to folks with permanent residency visas. 

This is NOT SO.  Any foreigner who is in the Philippines legally … on any visas and/or the BB Privilege stamp may go to any BI field office and request an CR-I card.  The cost is $50 USD or the Peso equivalent.  No problem (and by the way this is the same cost any holder of any other visa pays for his/her ACR-I card.)

My wife and I opened a US dollar savings account and a Philippine peso savings account with our local branch of BDO two days after we arrived in the Philippines.  Since I did not yet have a ACR-I card the bank manager graciously allowed me to promise to show my card after I obtained one."

This guy has been living in the Philippines a long time and used the BB privilege for many years. Is he wrong? Has anyone with the BB privilege been refused an ACR-I card?

FYI, I was able to open a BPI USD and Peso account after having only been in the Philippines for 4 days. I did not need an ACR-I card, just the paper from renewing my tourist visa which stated I was of good character and my passport. This really is something that varies from bank branch to bank branch. I hope there will be no problems opening up USD and Peso accounts with BPI when I return since I previously had accounts with them.

[SNAFU]

For what it's worth...our move timeframe, circumstances and outcome were exactly identical to Mike J's, and we tried both BPI and BDO, where my wife already had established accounts. I recall researching the lists of documents required to open an account (as a foreigner) on both the BPI and BDO websites. Neither listed the ACR as a mandatory document, so off we went to the nearest branches. Despite showing up with a whole handbag of various documents and ID, my lack of an ACR at the time was an absolute deal-killer. Can it be done under a BB entry? Maybe, probably, who knows, ha! I pretty much just filed our experience under the "your results may vary" and "branch policy" headings and moved on...