Philosophical 11

Greetings,

Thought I would make a new thread on this as it may be of particular interest to others.

I am shortly about to leave the Phils on the 3 yr visa run and return shortly after. My lovely lady wants to accompany me (perhaps to make sure I do not escape!). I have heard stories of Filipinas not being permitted to leave the Philippines for various reasons. Now she does have a current passport which was used when she worked in Kuwait and she will have a return ticket. She is slightly concerned that she does not have a birth certificate with her correct details which as you know is common here.

Can anyone foresee any problems? Malaysia is the most probable destination.

Many thanks!

Simon1983

I had a fun experience taking my partner to Thailand a couple of years ago.
She was questioned at the terminal and taken aside for further interrogation.
She said she was travelling with her boyfriend (me).
On the paper the check in girl was recording in, she wrote 'travelling with alleged boyfriend'. So for a long time after I referred to myself as her alleged boyfriend.

The mix up was caused by her saying she had been to London before, but not bringing her old passport.
In the end we spoke to a security guy, showed him lots of pictures of me and my girl together in London and the Philippines, and we were allowed on our way.

So my advice, bring old passport, bring photos to prove you are a genuine couple. luckily we had our cell phones with pictures.

It is a hassle and my girlfriend found it very frustrating, but they are trying to prevent people trafficking so best be polite and cooperate if you do face any questioning.

mikemike

Since joining ASEAN travel has become more readily available for pinays. Malaysia should not be a problem. they may ask questions about income and employment to support the travel but unlikely if they see a return ticket and accommodation confirmation.

we just got back from Hk and no issues on the outgoing. We did get a thorough check by HK immigration on the way back as my kids are dual.

Funnily enough it is more straightforward to travel if the pinay is single. If she is married they automatically suspect that she is emigrating and may throw CFO rules in to the mix which do not exist for single Pinays !!

i suspect you will have no issue at all

If your lady has passports showing she has traveled and returned without being in breach of visa terms, so much the better.

Bealinehx

My now wife and I travelled twice to Europe before we married, and extensively throughout SE Asia after we married without any problems. I believe that problems occur when authorities observe anxious behaviour traits which will attract their attention.

Stokkevn

A Dutch friend went on holiday/visa run with his Gf to Singapore about 3 years ago. As it was their first trip overseas they took every document they could think of with them, booked return flights & hotel through a Philippine travel agent. At Manila airport they were pulled aside all documents checked, looked at and a couple of hours later ( half an hour before take-off ) he was advised that express checking of the documents by a senior officer would cost P3,000, that was paid and two minutes later he was on his way. Part of this I think was his fault as he is one who enjoys wearing very expensive jewelry and obviously expensive clothing. I have never had this problem, as much to my wife's embarrassment, I always travel in comfy cloths, no jewelry and look about as rich as a church mouse.

mikek1

I have no advice to offer on the subject in this thread ,however it is noted that your partner has a birth certificate with mistakes. My wife also had a birth certificate with mistakes and because she needed to obtain dual citizenship this caused her major problems. It took her 9 months of prolonged efforts and expense to obtain a NSO certificate with correct details.

An update on our marriage certificate being authenticated, we sent our marriage certificate via DHL to the Philippine embassy in London ,paid £23.00 and have now received it back with the authenticated stamp and Red ribbon.........job done. We will now apply for my 13a visa.

David Mashael

The only time that my wife, who was my gf at the time, had any issues leaving Philippines, was when we left together from Kalibo to Singapore. We had return tickets, but still she was questioned for about 15 min, after which we were allowed through with no further hassle. That was about 4 years ago.

Philosophical 11

Greetings!

Thanks for the info so far. Yes, we will make sure that we have our mobiles with us to show the pictures of us together. She will also bring her old passport with the Kuwait stamps.

As far as the birth certificate is concerned, we are aware that it will take time to sort through NSO. But that's to be expected here. However, I do wonder how she managed to get a passport with incorrect details on a birth certificate. They have the gender wrong for instance. But I know he is a she.

Regards

Millhouse

Be careful about the Kuwait stamps:

https://www.zawya.com/uae/en/story/D...SNG_109681155/

stormster

How was she able to get a passport if her birth certificate details are incorrect? It is mandatory to have exact details when getting the passport. Also, if she is not well travelled before, and if she is travelling with a foreigner, then she will most likely be questioned as human trafficking is quite common around asia.

mikemike

Simple, it is all about who you know. One of my former employees worked in Malaysia on a passport that correctly identified her as female, even though her BC says Male and her dad called her a blokes name. she was youngest of 15 and he wanted another son, so he just tried to ''arrange'' it . Very common situation, rectified via a few extra pesos and a connected friend.

She has since tried to get a new Bc and it is proving a nightmare.

Philosophical 11

Greetings!

Back from Kota Kinabulu and she exited without problem. She was very nervous especially as the wait in the queue was about an hour. She had with her the old passport which the official didn't want to see. Had a copy of the return flight details and accommodation booking. Asked her a few questions about how we met etc and bonked her passport and through she went. Process took less than 5 mins I guess.

Thanks for all those who offered advice

Regards

mikemike

Ok just received an update from the CFO.

''The CFO registration sticker and the guidance and counseling certificate are essential travel documents for Filipino emigrants. The certificate is for Filipino spouses/ fiancees and other partners of foreign nationals while the sticker is for immigrant visa holders. If your wife is travelling with a tourist visa, she does not need the sticker. But since you are a foreign national, she has to make sure that she brings with her the certificate.''

Translated this means that there are TWO CFO documents.

1.The CERTIFICATE is used for holidays and will be matched against any country that requires a Tourist visa to be issued PRIOR to departure, eg UK

2. The STICKER is issued inside the passport will be to match the host country visa inserted into the same passport that allows for immigration to that host country.

So we may go to UK for xmas once the holiday visa is issued and we already have the CFO Certificate. Should we in the unlikely event want to return to the UK for good. My wife will have to make another appointment at the CFO. Take her passport with UK immigration visa inserted and CFO certificate to facilitate the process . Thankfully this is a booking process so should not take long especially if she can show she has been to the UK before.

Hope this helps

Stokkevn

How does it work for duel citizens. My wife arrived here on her British passport but never bothered with any visa other than the stamp at the airport. If we were to go on holiday she could hardly proffer her British passport as we have been here for 9 years. Could she just leave the Philippines on her Philippine passport with no UK visa by showing her British passport.

mikemike

As she has a british passport getting in to the UK is not an issue. Suggest you fly to the Uk indirect example via an Asean country such as HK as they will not ask for a visa to enter then use the UK passport to leave HK for the UK.

Then do reverse when leaving UK, she shows her Pinay passport at check in and you can come in on a balikbayan if the mood took you, as long as you have your marriage cert with you