roy2cebu Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 I arrive with my wife in mid December.Will be issued Balikbayan visa to stay 12 months.My wife will leave mid January...leaving me there to do business things.If I stay longer than 6 months will I need an exit visa even tough I have Balikbayan?If I do need exit visa what is the procedure and cost, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) I arrive with my wife in mid December.Will be issued Balikbayan visa to stay 12 months.My wife will leave mid January...leaving me there to do business things.If I stay longer than 6 months will I need an exit visa even tough I have Balikbayan?If I do need exit visa what is the procedure and cost, etc? My wife and I just left the Philippines to the U.S. on vacation. Prior to our departure, our local BI official inform us that anyone who have stayed in the Philippines for more than 6 months will require an Exit Clearance Certificate (ECC) and pay a $50 travel tax if it is not already paid for and added onto the price of their air fare usually done by the travel agent issuing the airfare, if it is not, you can pay for the travel tax separately at the airport prior to your departure. One thing to point out, I'm not sure when the 6 month applys, because before, a BI offical informed me, it was 18 months, 6 months after the BB stamp has expired that an ECC is required prior to departure! Better ask your local BI official to be certain of this critera, but then again some local BI officials don't even know their own rules and regulations. BTW, the terminal fee is now P750 per person (just for you Jake).As for exit clearances (ECC), it's pretty simple: just go to your local BI office with passport, ACR I-CARD and 3ea 2x2 passport photos of yourself, know what your height is in centimeters & weight in kilos and they will take care of the rest of the processing, filling out the forms and all, cost of the ECC is only P500 per person. You can also print out a sample form off their website to fill out and give the draft copy to the BI official so all your information is available to prevent being asked the same questions all over again that's on the application form. Once your information is transferred and typed out on their official ECC form letterhead, they will have you place your left and right thumb prints on the form and lastly your signature to finish the ordeal! It could take 30 minutes to an hour depending on their office work load (they all cease to function during their 1 hr lunch break). BTW, immigration officals at the airport didn't even ask us for our ACR I-CARD prior to our departure, hey, I paid for it and it's good for a year, but since you are still under the BB stamp, you won't have an ACR I-CARD unless you revert back to tourist status after your BB stamp has expired and presently on your 59 day tourist visa extension. They will issue you the ACR I-CARD on your 2nd 2 month tourist visa extension. My wife and I went through all this after our BB stamp had expired and because we only wanted to stay 6 months prior to leaving for the U.S. on vacation. Anyway, hopefully we can get our Dual Citizenship while on vacation, then we won't need a freak'n ACR I-CARD and no more BB stamps & visa extensions upon our return to the Philippines! Our fingers are crossed that everything goes well in retaining our Philippine Citizenship! Edited September 30, 2010 by Fil/AmArt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) I arrive with my wife in mid December.Will be issued Balikbayan visa to stay 12 months.My wife will leave mid January...leaving me there to do business things.If I stay longer than 6 months will I need an exit visa even tough I have Balikbayan?If I do need exit visa what is the procedure and cost, etc? My wife and I just left the Philippines to the U.S. on vacation. Prior to our departure, our local BI official inform us that anyone who have stayed in the Philippines for more than 6 months will require an exit clearance and pay a $50 travel tax if it is not already paid for and added onto the price of their air fare usually done by the travel agent issuing the airfare, if it is not, you can pay for the travel tax separately at the airport prior to your departure. I'm not sure when the 6 month applys, because before, a BI offical informed me, it was 18 months, 6 months after the BB stamp has expired that an ECC is required! Better ask your local BI official to be certain, but then again some BI officials done even know themselves. BTW, the terminal fee is now p750 per person.As for exit clearances (ECC), it's pretty simple: just go to your local BI office with passport, ACR I-CARD and 3ea 2x2 passport photos of yourself and they will take care of the rest of the processing, filling out the forms and all. Once the form has been typed out, they will have you to place your left and right thumb prints on the form and lastly your signature to finish the ordeal! It could take 30 minutes to an hour depending on their office work load. BTW, immigration officals at the airport didn't even ask us for our ACR I-CARD prior to our departure, but since you are still under the BB stamp, you won't have an ACR I-CARD unless you revert back to tourist status after your BB stamp has expired and presently on your 59 day tourist visa extension. They will issue you the ACR I-CARD on your 2nd 2 month tourist visa extension. My wife and I went through all this after our BB stamp had expired and because we only wanted to stay 6 months prior to leaving for the U.S. on vacation. . Hey Pare,"BTW, the terminal fee is now $750 per person" -- Hopefully that was a typo in US dollars, unless you're getting a piece of the action he, he...... Jake Edited September 30, 2010 by Mr. Lee correct $ to peso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art2ro Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 (edited) Jake my SS buddy, Way to go pare! You have keen eagle eyes on those peso and dollar signs! I corrected it so you won't get a heart attack! BTW, nice chatting with you the other day! Only if you had Skype with a web cam, I could see your handsome mug! Give me a call anytime if you need advice in improving your tennis back hand! :th_thholysheep: :thumbsup: :cheersty: Edited September 30, 2010 by Fil/AmArt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted September 30, 2010 Posted September 30, 2010 Jake my SS buddy, Way to go pare! You have keen eagle eyes on those peso and dollar signs! I corrected it so you won't get a heart attack! BTW, nice chatting with you the other day! Only if you had Skype with a web cam, I could see your handsome mug! Give me a call anytime if you need advice in improving your tennis back hand! :th_thholysheep: :thumbsup: :cheersty: Well, you're welcome sir. And thank you for the latest and greatest field report regarding exit visa.Respectfully - Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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