Wow, I finally made it to the Philippines. When I arrived, I asked the immigration officer what kind of visa is needed to stay longer than 30 days. Since I have dual citizenship, there's no problem for me. I just need to show my DC certificate. But my partner, who is in her mid-50s, is in a different situation.
1. SRRV. This is a very expensive option. There's a 1,500-dollar processing fee that you don't get back, plus a large deposit. I heard that if you don't want to stay anymore, you get the full deposit back. Is it really a full refund? I think we'll need to wait about a year to find out. The problem is, what if we decide we don't want to settle here permanently? Right now we're trying it out, so we'd be throwing away 1,500 dollars.
2. Visa extension. I heard you have to go to the city hall for this. Has anyone done it? What was the experience and cost like? How long do they grant extensions for? How much of a hassle is it? If it's cheaper than the initial cost of option 1 and doesn't mean spending several days at city hall, it might be the right choice for us.
3. Leaving the country before the 30 days are up. That's not feasible for a long stay.
You have a tourist visa, right? Before the 30 days are up, go to the Immigration office and get a 29-day visa exemption extension, and before that 29 days ends, go again and extend to 1, 2, or even 6 months depending on the office. If someone told you that you have to leave before 30 days, that's only half the truth. They didn't explain all the options, just the one in front of them.
Having the right to move and live in another country for $1,500 is a huge bargain. You'll save that money on food and hotel costs in a month. Many countries make entry difficult or much stricter. Overall, the Philippines is pretty easy to deal with.
Comments 0
Please log into write a comment.