Hello everyone. I need some advice about the 13a spouse visa. I'm Filipino and my wife is Finnish.
Based on your experience or what you've read, which is better?
a) Applying for the 13a at the Philippine Embassy in Finland, or
b) Entering the Philippines on a Balikbayan visa and then applying for the 13a while my wife is already in the Philippines
We plan to apply in 1-2 years. Any opinions are welcome. Thank you and have a great day.
Most answers said that if you get the 13a from the embassy in advance, you receive your permanent resident visa as soon as you enter the country. If you apply in the Philippines, you first get a 1-year temporary visa and have to apply again, so the cost is double. However, some people said that applying in the Philippines has less strict requirements and that they review your documents when you submit them.
If your spouse applies for the 13a visa in Finland before departure, they get permanent residency right upon arriving in the Philippines, along with a 5-year ACR-I card. If you apply from inside the Philippines, you only get a 1-year temporary (probationary) visa at first, and before that temporary visa ends you have to go through the whole process again and pay the fees again to get the permanent visa. So applying in advance saves both time and money. Also, the consulate staff tend to be a bit more relaxed at the interview.
The Philippines has less strict requirements, but to convert to permanent you have to submit the same documents again the following year. If you apply through the embassy, they give you an envelope, and you submit that to the Philippine immigration bureau to apply again. It used to be that once approved you'd get a permanent 13a, but someone recently said they only got a temporary one, so I'm not sure now. I'd do it in the Philippines. This side is easier, apart from the hassle of having to submit everything in the exact format, order, type of binder, and number of copies, with requirements that keep changing. The intake staff reviews your documents and tells you about things like missing copies, and when you come back with the fixes they send you to the front of the line.
If the couple travels abroad once a year and re-enters together, your wife can keep getting her Balikbayan privileges renewed
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