Tourist to Balikbayan conversion

[scott h]

Been a while since I got my 13a so...…….

I guy who moved into our neighbor hood is now Married to a Filipino citizen. He is in the process of getting his 13a but is doing the tourist visa renewal until it is approved. Has anyone converted his tourist to balikbayan? can it be done at a BI office or only upon entering the country.

Anyone done this recently? 

[Jack Peterson]

11 minutes ago, scott h said:

Has anyone converted his tourist to balikbayan? can it be done at a BI office or only upon entering the country.

 Scott, you can convert a BB to a 9a at any BI office But a BB can Only be given at a point of Entry, did you mean converting a BB to a 9a ( Tourist?)

[scott h]

4 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

did you mean converting a BB to a 9a ( Tourist?)

Its been so long since I done any visas not sure about numbers. 

Right now he is on the 30 day entry visa, which he has extended a couple of times. I was wondering if he can convert it to the 12 month BB visa I got when entering the county. Or if can only get they by leaving and reentering. 

[Jack Peterson]

2 minutes ago, scott h said:

Or if can only get they by leaving and reentering. 

 Yep Scott ,that is the only way he can get a BB,

If and when he applies for the 13a  Probationary Permanent Visa, Bi will tell him How long he'll have to continue extending  For me it was only 1 month But we all know YMMMV 

[scott h]

16 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

But we all know YMMMV

yepper,,,took me 3, but either way it will still be cheaper for him to just extend his tourist visa.....thanks Jack

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, scott h said:

Has anyone converted his tourist to balikbayan?

I have seen it done many times in the past, but not recently.  Every time I have seen it done it involved a corrupt BI official and it was not legal.  If that practice still exists it would be foolish to have an illegal BB stamp in his passport when applying for a 13a.  Tourist extensions are the best way to go, unless his 3 years are up.

[Mike J]

He also needs to be aware that if he has started the process and has the probationary 13G visa he would need special permission to leave the country.  Without that permission the whole process would have to start over.  At least that is how is was a few years back and I assume it has not changed.

[Arizona Kid]

7 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Has anyone converted his tourist to balikbayan?

I have. I wasn't paying attention when I arrived with my wife and got stamped with the tourist visa. My wife had to go to the BI in Manila with a copy of our marriage licence. They made a note that it was amended to a BB. When we left the next time the officer asked to see our marriage license which we had and everything was good to go.    

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

I have.

Your story sounds plausible.  Do you and your wife have different last names?  I ask because that is unusual in the Philippines and I have heard of many Filipinas who have to get their passports changed to their husband's last name.  However, different last names could cause the confusion that you went through.  Good to hear it worked out for you.

[Arizona Kid]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Your story sounds plausible.

Not a story. My mistake was that Her and I went through different Immigration lines at the airport. If we would have been one behind the other and told the officer that we were married it would not have been an issue. It was my first time coming to the Philippines without arriving by a US warship. Lesson learned.