symonds308

Hello folks. I hope i can get some advice. i am a brit and my wife is Filipino. i want to move over there but I see i have to get all the medical things sorted. What I would like to know is where to go to get all the different parts. Do I need to have a chest x-ray as standard and if so how do i get it done? Will my doctor do it, or must it be done privately? Also is it easy to get the certificate from the BMA for the authentication of the doctor? How much does all this cost? I would appreciate any advise please.

tropicofcancer

Not as difficult as you think, and cheaper to do once you are in the Philippines.

If you arrive with your wife, then you get an automatic one year visa.
Go to the nearest Bureau of Immigration, they will tell you what you need.
This includes:
Marriage certificate.
Both parties birth certificates.
Any divorce papers.
Proof of income, and ability to support oneself, pension etc.
Bank statement.
The BI will tell you all that you need.

The medical is easy, just go to any medical clinic, which are numerous. Blood, urine, stool, and chest X-ray.
With these take them to the "quarantine" (really health centre) with your passport. They will tell you where it is in BI.
You will need an NBI clearance, and your fingerprints will be taken.
You will need photos, use the one at BI it saves hassle.
For any legal papers use the lawyer at BI, again it saves hassle as they know what is required.
In all you will make three or four visits to BI. Plus a further couple for your alien identity card.

First off you get a temporary permanent visa, good for one year, and the AIC will last the same period.

Two months before the visa expires, call again at BI, to start the process of permanent, permanent residency. At the end of which you will need a new AIC as well.

The total cost to permanent, permanent is less than P10,000, plus of course two AIC's at $US 50 each, the peso equivalent at the time being claimed.

Every year in the first sixty days you must register with BI, it costs P310 and takes a very short time, especially now with the AIC.

For the AIC they take all your fingerprints, and bio shot, face on, and left profile. The AIC is a good ID, and can be used for entering and leaving the country without a reentry visa, but always check the current rules.
The permanent residency AIC lasts five years under a new ruling.

I hope that helps. Any further questions, please feel free to ask. You don't need a fixer believe me BI is customer friendly. Just pay the fees as they come. The Cebu office opposite Mandaue hospital, is certainly a good example of efficiency, and helpfullness.

symonds308

Hi george.

Thanks for the advice. I will talk to the wife. She is already there in Kidapawan Mindanao. So we could sort it out from there. I have only one worry. Lately i have found out i am Hep 'C'. Here the doctor is cool about it and my blood results will come back with higher liver function only. But if i get it done over in the philippines, do they test for the Hep 'C' i wonder? and if it would not allow me to stay? It is my problem and I just wonder about the hassle it would cause us if they start treating me like some leper!!

Anyway thanks for your help.

Mick.

pinoybill

My wife is from Davao City in Mindanao. We are not in a position to return full time for several years but go home every year or so to see family. We will be going back next month for a holiday.
I am keen to get my 13a visa ASAP.

I know you can get it in the Philippines or out of country(London for us)
The UK embassy has even tidied up the forms to fill in.


I am guessing that the process is cheaper in the Philippines with regard to meds and x rays and the like but is possible to turn it around in the few weeks of a holiday and if we are not back to the Philippines within 12 months of grant can it be renewed on rtn or whilst away from Philippines.

This might seem a bit daft but it is to allow for our independent travel to/from/around Phillipines whilst we ponce around with careers/kids and all the other stuff you get to do before you escape the rat race.

Regrads Bill

tropicofcancer

PinoyBill, The main purpose of the 13A visa is for permanent residency, and as such in the first sixty days of the year you have to register at BI, it cost
P310, and is easy with the Alien ID card. If you fail to register, a monthly penalty is applied.
It is intended in reality for those who will be permanently resident in the Philippines.
Meanwhile if you enter Philippines with your wife, you are automatically given a one-year stay.
If you enter alone it is only twenty-one days, but you can always extend it to fifty-nine days, and then again at a BI office in Philippines. Alternatively it can be done in the Philippine Embassy in London, no problem. If you have entered and left the Philippines at least once, you do not have to appear there personally, all fees are payable in cash, and you must fill in a form in duplicate (two originals) with two 2" x 2" photos.
The 13A visa doesn't take that long, once you start the ball rolling, but as I say it is really for those who wish to be permanent residents. A local American resident, married to a Filipina, goes back to the States three or four times a year for a month, and has met with no problems.

pinoybill

Tropic
Thank you for your reply.
We are heading back to Davao/Manila for 3 weeks in March/April.

We are not yet certain when we will make the move permanently back to RPI
but thought there might be some advantage in getting the 13A visa before the goal posts change and whilst we are in process of obtaining visas for OZ and could therefore get meds done at same time.

Being bit thick here are you saying that you can renewr 13A from outside Philippines or that it is better left until you are permenently/mostly residing there as the usual tourist visas are good enough until such time.
Apols for being a dunce but have had so much conflicting advice even from Govt Officials.

Many Thanks Bill

tropicofcancer

It is much easier from inside the Philippines to obtain your permanent residency.
The normal visa given if you enter the country with your wife, are well good enough. The authorities are very generous, and you are given a year's stay for which you pay no fee. You have freedom of movement throughout the Philippines.

From your post it seems that you will only be visiting the Philippines now and then until you retire. So in reality you would have difficulties with the Annual Registration (still P310) in the first sixty days of the year.

Now the 13A visa can be important, if you bring all your worldly goods into the country, as you are entitled to do so without tariff being applied by Bureau of Customs, this of course applies to a container transfer.

The issue of residency rears it's head here, and I would be surprised if anything less than 182 days a year was seen as being permanently resident. The medical fee here from a recognised clinic will cost very little, together with authentication of same by the department of health, under P1000 in fact.

pinoybill

Tropic, thanks again.

Will hold off 13A until we are based in Asia.
Was getting competitive with the wife who is now UK and Philippine passport holder and is well on way to getting OZ one too.

We also wanted the strongest possible hand for kids when they grow up.

We are not mad collectors of citizenships and passports but want to lock in any gains for our kids to save them the grief of starting over when they decide where to work/study etc.

Many thanks.
Bill.
Will raise a glass of San Mig to you in March.

Adriaan

Can anyone tell me what the OFFICIAL fee is for obtaining the FINAL stamp in your passport (plus plastic card) for the permanent Filipino non-quota visa 13A?(this is the stamp on the basis of which you can a few months later obtain the I-card).

Adriaan

tropicofcancer

The total cost to permanent, permanent is less than P10,000, plus of course two AIC's at $US 50 each, the peso equivalent at the time being claimed.

The above includes medical fees, authentication, fast track, the whole lot, not just the monies paid at BI. It includes legal fees, photos etc.
You will need two I-Cards as stated, the first for "one-year" Temporary Permanent Resident, and the second lasting five years as a Permanent Resident.

Oh with the I-Card annual registration is easy, go to cashier, pay your P310, get a photocopy of your receipt and I-Card, take it to third floor (top), hand in at window, they swipe your card, check, all done.


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