Taking One Pre-Schooler To U.S Without Wife

[OHNO]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Yes, you made this harder by not stating the exact circumstance at the beginning, which is that your son is a dual citizen with a U.S. and Filipino passport, was born in the Philippines, and has never traveled outside the Philippines.  Correct me if I am wrong.  You should not have any issues and are headed in the right direction.  I have taken my 2 dual citizen kids out of the country several times, but never by myself. 

However, I see one missing piece of information.  Are you a permanent resident of the Philippines with a permanent resident visa?  If you are on a tourist visa trying to take your permanent resident child out, that may be an issue.

Here is what I would check and do if it were me, and I am on a 13A permanent resident visa.  Like you, I like to have all my ducks in a row.  Names on documents are important.

1.  His passports should have the same name on them.  The structure of first-middle-last may differ on the U.S. and Filipino passport, but they should match.  And that name should match his NSO / PSA birth certificate.

2.  On his NSO / PSA birth certificate, your name should match your passport and your wife's name should match her ID, preferably her passport.  I don't see a need to notarize the BC as long as it is the original from NSO / PSA.

3.  You don't need DSWD clearance.

4.  The main reason for a letter from your wife would be to refute any ideas that you are carrying out a parental abduction, which is the most common form of child abduction.  I usually do overkill on stuff like this, just to be safe, and never use it.  Makes me feel secure!

A.  Make the letter on a sheet of paper that includes a color copy of her passport bio page.  Short and sweet paragraph about why you and the son are travelling without her and the baby, with her permission.  Signed and dated of course.  I really don't think it needs to be notarized, but that is what I would ask BI.

B.  Recent pictures of the family together.  Have her sign and date.

5.  Your air tickets should be round-trip, for a reasonable length of time, and names must match.

6.  As mentioned, Philippines Immigration is fairly responsive on their Facebook page.  Might be slow now with all the offices closed.  Message them and ask them what your need to do.  Make sure you state clearly "my son is a dual citizen with a U.S. and Filipino passport, was born in the Philippines, has never traveled outside the Philippines, and will travel with only his father".

7.  At the airport, always give both passports to immigration in PH and US.  The immigration agent at Manila gave me a hard time about that last time.

8.  If you are on a 13-A marriage visa, you will need to get an ECC-B at the airport.  For other visas, you will get ECC-A beforehand at an immigration office.  Your son does not need ECC.

9.  Depending on your visa status, you may need to pay travel tax.  Your son will need to pay it.

Keep us updated.  I may need to do this some day.

 

It’s 13A and I will absorb all the advice. Excellent resource thank you for the time to post. 

[OHNO]

3 hours ago, hk blues said:

Might just be me but it seems strange to join a forum and immediately start throwing around terms such as "civilization" and "third world country" when asking questions of forum members. many of whom are likely to have chosen the Philippines as their home. 

I’d say it’s you.

[hk blues]

14 minutes ago, OHNO said:

I’d say it’s you.

Then you'd be wrong! 

[OHNO]

13 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Then you'd be wrong! 

You started out saying you could be wrong but what you really meant is you are sure you are right. People have different opinions. It’s not about being rigid and calling people as right or wrong as people have different opinions. People drawing exceptions to every little slight are why other social media is taking over this space. Be happy for new blood.

[OHNO]

4 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Yes, you made this harder by not stating the exact circumstance at the beginning, which is that your son is a dual citizen with a U.S. and Filipino passport, was born in the Philippines, and has never traveled outside the Philippines.  Correct me if I am wrong.  You should not have any issues and are headed in the right direction.  I have taken my 2 dual citizen kids out of the country several times, but never by myself. 

However, I see one missing piece of information.  Are you a permanent resident of the Philippines with a permanent resident visa?  If you are on a tourist visa trying to take your permanent resident child out, that may be an issue.

Here is what I would check and do if it were me, and I am on a 13A permanent resident visa.  Like you, I like to have all my ducks in a row.  Names on documents are important.

1.  His passports should have the same name on them.  The structure of first-middle-last may differ on the U.S. and Filipino passport, but they should match.  And that name should match his NSO / PSA birth certificate.

2.  On his NSO / PSA birth certificate, your name should match your passport and your wife's name should match her ID, preferably her passport.  I don't see a need to notarize the BC as long as it is the original from NSO / PSA.

3.  You don't need DSWD clearance.

4.  The main reason for a letter from your wife would be to refute any ideas that you are carrying out a parental abduction, which is the most common form of child abduction.  I usually do overkill on stuff like this, just to be safe, and never use it.  Makes me feel secure!

A.  Make the letter on a sheet of paper that includes a color copy of her passport bio page.  Short and sweet paragraph about why you and the son are travelling without her and the baby, with her permission.  Signed and dated of course.  I really don't think it needs to be notarized, but that is what I would ask BI.

B.  Recent pictures of the family together.  Have her sign and date.

5.  Your air tickets should be round-trip, for a reasonable length of time, and names must match.

6.  As mentioned, Philippines Immigration is fairly responsive on their Facebook page.  Might be slow now with all the offices closed.  Message them and ask them what your need to do.  Make sure you state clearly "my son is a dual citizen with a U.S. and Filipino passport, was born in the Philippines, has never traveled outside the Philippines, and will travel with only his father".

7.  At the airport, always give both passports to immigration in PH and US.  The immigration agent at Manila gave me a hard time about that last time.

8.  If you are on a 13-A marriage visa, you will need to get an ECC-B at the airport.  For other visas, you will get ECC-A beforehand at an immigration office.  Your son does not need ECC.

9.  Depending on your visa status, you may need to pay travel tax.  Your son will need to pay it.

Keep us updated.  I may need to do this some day.

 

I saved this so wanted to repeat my thanks. Excellent checklist. 👍🏻

[Arizona Kid]

9 hours ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Isn't it sad this is the world we live in.  Guy can't take his own son on a trip without seeming suspicious.

It would be sadder if the authorities were NOT suspicious. 

[hk blues]

28 minutes ago, OHNO said:

You started out saying you could be wrong but what you really meant is you are sure you are right. People have different opinions. It’s not about being rigid and calling people as right or wrong as people have different opinions. People drawing exceptions to every little slight are why other social media is taking over this space. Be happy for new blood.

I'll explain myself better - 

I am not the only one who thinks it strange to join a forum and immediately make critical comments about our host country as per previous post.  Is it strange - well, that is a matter of opinion.

It takes all sorts and new posters are welcomed with open arms as you can see from the great responses you have received.  

 

[OHNO]

Yes. I am most grateful. I even saved some suggestions as notes because they where extremely thoughtful. 

[hk blues]

25 minutes ago, Arizona Kid said:

It would be sadder if the authorities were NOT suspicious. 

I'm sorry to say I agree.  If being overtly suspicious and over cautious protects just 1 kid from being exploited it's a price we should all be willing to pay.  

[hk blues]

Just now, OHNO said:

Yes. I am most grateful. I even saved some suggestions as notes because they where extremely thoughtful. 

I'm happy to hear that.  This site is a great resource with great people but many of us say what we think - it's part of the fun!