Getting A Visa Ext At Mactan Airport

[intrepid]

15 minutes ago, Gary D said:

That may not be possible, best to change a few dollars at one of the many banks in the terminal.

I thought the banks were after passing through immigration.  No?

 

[Gary D]

7 minutes ago, intrepid said:

I thought the banks were after passing through immigration.  No?

 

Having never tried to buy Philippines peso outside of the Philippines I wondered if they were available. I know when we visited India recently their currency was not available outside India so had to exchange some at Delhi airport on the way in.

[Dave Hounddriver]

32 minutes ago, Gary D said:

Having never tried to buy Philippines peso outside of the Philippines I wondered if they were available.

In Canada they are available, but more expensive and you usually have to order them days in advance (from your own bank).  

[Gator]

20 hours ago, intrepid said:

I thought the banks were after passing through immigration.  No?

 

Yes, they are in the main part of the terminal after immigration (and customs too).

I had to get some pesos in the USA once. Did it thru Bank of America about 8 years ago. Took a few days as they had to order the pesos and the exchange rate really sucked. If I recall correctly the spot rate at the time was around 53 pesos to the USD and the rate I got was around 43. 

Later I found out that an immigration officer (in Cebu) could escort you out to a bank in the terminal to exchange pesos and then bring you back in. But I don’t know if they offer that courtesy all the time or not. I wouldn’t count on it and would just bite the bullet and take the hit on the exchange rate at a US bank. That way you’d have the pesos and not have to worry about it.

From then on I always made sure to take about 8-9k pesos out with me - enough for when I returned to pay for a visa, taxi fare, a meal and some extra for any incidentals. It should be noted that you’re not allowed to take more then 10k pesos out of the Phils.

[Tommy T.]

9 minutes ago, Gator said:

It should be noted that you’re not allowed to take more then 10k pesos out of the Phils.

Just confirming... are you certain it is 10k pesos or 10k US$ that are permitted?

[Gator]

Just now, Tommy T. said:

Just confirming... are you certain it is 10k pesos or 10k US$ that are permitted?

It’s actually both - 10k pesos and/or 10k USD. I know it doesn’t make sense, but this is the Phils after all, lol. 

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, Gator said:

It’s actually both - 10k pesos and/or 10k USD. I know it doesn’t make sense, but this is the Phils after all, lol. 

Hmmm... I was asking because I understood that US$10,000 was sort of an international standard to carry between many countries. I never heard of the 10k pesos limit...

[Gator]

Just now, Tommy T. said:

Hmmm... I was asking because I understood that US$10,000 was sort of an international standard to carry between many countries. I never heard of the 10k pesos limit...

As it’s a bit unusual is why I pointed it out. It’s printed on the customs declaration form and I  read it twice as I thought it was wrong. Then I just chuckled to myself when I remembered what country we’re talking about and some of the other silly rules there. 

[Tommy T.]

1 minute ago, Gator said:

As it’s a bit unusual is why I pointed it out. It’s printed on the customs declaration form and I  read it twice as I thought it was wrong. Then I just chuckled to myself when I remembered what country we’re talking about and some of the other silly rules there. 

Okay, cool. Yeah, it does seem a bit unusual, but as you say... It's been over a year since I traveled outside the P.I. so am already a bit stale regarding the latest rules and regs...

Thanks for the clarification! 

[intrepid]

24 minutes ago, Gator said:

Yes, they are in the main part of the terminal after immigration (and customs too).

I had to get some pesos in the USA once. Did it thru Bank of America about 8 years ago. Took a few days as they had to order the pesos and the exchange rate really sucked. If I recall correctly the spot rate at the time was around 53 pesos to the USD and the rate I got was around 43. 

Later I found out that an immigration officer (in Cebu) could escort you out to a bank in the terminal to exchange pesos and then bring you back in. But I don’t know if they offer that courtesy all the time or not. I wouldn’t count on it and would just bite the bullet and take the hit on the exchange rate at a US bank. That way you’d have the pesos and not have to worry about it.

From then on I always made sure to take about 8-9k pesos out with me - enough for when I returned to pay for a visa, taxi fare, a meal and some extra for any incidentals. It should be noted that you’re not allowed to take more then 10k pesos out of the Phils.

I think it would be wiser for them to try to obtain some pesos at their US bank before arriving than hope for the immigration escort to a terminal bank and back.  Besides I'm fairly sure they are arriving around midnight.  So this may all be out the window anyway.