terryc Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I attended the embassy to obtain 60/90 day tourist visa for me and my Phillipina partner. They seemed friendly enough, but quitely change their poilcy at the drop of a hat. They questioned my 2 day hotel booking, screenshot of my bank acount (full of information, if you use a bank statement PDF make sure it contains enough information, and sponsorship letter. The sponsorship letter carries little weight these days due to policy change. With the benefit of hindsight I should have: 1 Helped her open an account in her name put 1000 USD (Its the only reliable method!) the account and transferred the money later (can also be a blood relative AC of the Phillpina, IF they are willing to cooperate). 2 Had an existing rental agreement in thailand. Anyway, we were successful, so here is the advice. Arrive at the Embassy early Monday morning and be aware of public holidays Have a flight booked for say Saturday. Your Hotel will help with print outs. A monday morning submission means a wedensday afternoon pick up. Any problems they will phone you. Be humble. Also, it doesnt hurt to arrive at the Embassy 30 mind before opening time when applying. If they take your money your chances are high. If applications fail you can normally fly in on a 30 day visa exemption, assumming your history isnt too crazy. No point in wasting the tickets. Your Asian partner must have travelled before or they will examine the relation to rule out pimping ????.Once you are in Thailand money buys pretty much anything. IMHO we got our TRs okay because our travel historys stacked up. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Destiny1990 Posted May 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 10, 2019 Now lets turn this hassle around.. Your are in Thailand and like to go to the Phillipines with your Thai gf.. In that case Just buy 2 plane return tickets at Suvarnabhumi and buy a 30 day visa up on arrival in Manila. u may stay up to 3 years!.. sounds less complicated that way.. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 3 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said: Now lets turn this hassle around.. Your are in Thailand and like to go to the Phillipines with your Thai gf.. In that case Just buy 2 plane return tickets at Suvarnabhumi and buy a 30 day visa up on arrival in Manila. u may stay up to 3 years!.. sounds less complicated that way.. 30 day VISA waiver on entry free for western folk entering Philippines. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rodentwarrior Posted May 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 10, 2019 If you plan to stay longer than 30 days, you can get a Visa On Arrival (VOA) extension, which gives you 60 days. You must go to the office before passing through immigration. I can't remember the fee, but it's not much. You can also extend your 30 day free Visa at any local immigration office, by another 30 days for a small fee. It is indeed possible to stay in the Philippines for up to 3 years, on tourist Visas. It is far easier to live in the Philippines than Thailand, any day of the week! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 29 minutes ago, rodentwarrior said: If you plan to stay longer than 30 days, you can get a Visa On Arrival (VOA) extension, which gives you 60 days. A visa on arrival is only for 15 days and cannot be extended. A visa on arrival is only for those from 21 countries. You seem to be writing about a 30 day visa exempt entry that can be extended for 30 days at immigration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rodentwarrior Posted May 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 10, 2019 56 minutes ago, ubonjoe said: A visa on arrival is only for 15 days and cannot be extended. A visa on arrival is only for those from 21 countries. You seem to be writing about a 30 day visa exempt entry that can be extended for 30 days at immigration. Visa on arrival in the Philippines is 30 days for a UK Passport. But if you approach immigration, at the airside, you can get a 60 day Visa. I know this because I do it all the time. It maybe different for other nationalities. 5 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Proboscis Posted May 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 10, 2019 9 hours ago, rodentwarrior said: If you plan to stay longer than 30 days, you can get a Visa On Arrival (VOA) extension, which gives you 60 days. You must go to the office before passing through immigration. I can't remember the fee, but it's not much. You can also extend your 30 day free Visa at any local immigration office, by another 30 days for a small fee. It is indeed possible to stay in the Philippines for up to 3 years, on tourist Visas. It is far easier to live in the Philippines than Thailand, any day of the week! In the Philippines, a foreigners from many countries can buy a bond for about $14,000 (that amount may have changed) and get residency with all the benefits of citizenship except voting for as long as they want. When they want to give it up, they get their money back. They can even use an investment instead of a bond but the bond is easier for most. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcharacters Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 11 minutes ago, Proboscis said: In the Philippines, a foreigners from many countries can buy a bond for about $14,000 (that amount may have changed) and get residency with all the benefits of citizenship except voting for as long as they want. When they want to give it up, they get their money back. They can even use an investment instead of a bond but the bond is easier for most. Funny how that hasn't been mentioned earlier in all the discussion threads about alternative countries to Thailand. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BritManToo Posted May 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 10, 2019 18 minutes ago, watcharacters said: Funny how that hasn't been mentioned earlier in all the discussion threads about alternative countries to Thailand. It's been mentioned many times, truth is it's easier and cheaper to just rock up and stay on holiday extensions for three years, then leave for a day and repeat. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onera1961 Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 4 hours ago, BritManToo said: 30 day VISA waiver on entry free for western folk entering Philippines. Many Asian countries also, including Nepal. Many African countries also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lensta Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Proboscis said: In the Philippines, a foreigners from many countries can buy a bond for about $14,000 (that amount may have changed) and get residency with all the benefits of citizenship except voting for as long as they want. When they want to give it up, they get their money back. They can even use an investment instead of a bond but the bond is easier for most. I would be interested in knowing how to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 3 hours ago, rodentwarrior said: Visa on arrival in the Philippines is 30 days for a UK Passport. The topic is about a Thai visa not visas for Philippines so I assumed you were writing about a visa exempt entry for Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodentwarrior Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 1 hour ago, ubonjoe said: The topic is about a Thai visa not visas for Philippines so I assumed you were writing about a visa exempt entry for Thailand. The topic is about Visa runs to the Phillpines (sic), not specifically about Thai Visas. I was simply explaining the availability of Visas on arrival in the Philippines. Sorry if you were confused. As far as I know, the visa exempt entry for Thailand is still 30 days? I haven't been to LOS for more than 3 years. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthainess Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 2:13 PM, rodentwarrior said: The topic is about Visa runs to the Phillpines (sic), not specifically about Thai Visas. I was simply explaining the availability of Visas on arrival in the Philippines. Sorry if you were confused. As far as I know, the visa exempt entry for Thailand is still 30 days? I haven't been to LOS for more than 3 years. And can extend at any immigration office for another 30 days, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crees Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Great information for those of us that want to remain in Asia but need to move on from Thailand. Thailand is my families first choice, P.I. is second and Viet Nam is third Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baansgr Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 11:21 AM, watcharacters said: Funny how that hasn't been mentioned earlier in all the discussion threads about alternative countries to Thailand. It has many times SRVV is an easy option at $10,000 for anyone over 37 years of age ...no 90 days, no border runs, stay for life...its all out there. Has a few options and better still ex servicemen get prefered benefits. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watcharacters Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/10/2019 at 11:41 AM, BritManToo said: It's been mentioned many times, truth is it's easier and cheaper to just rock up and stay on holiday extensions for three years, then leave for a day and repeat. So let me get this straight. A person can fly to the PI and stop off at a government agency (immigration?) and establish a bond for the sum of 14,000 USD and "get residency with all the benefits of citizenship, except voting, for as long as they want. And when they want to give it up, they get their money back"? On the face of it, it definitely sounds like it falls in the category of "if it sounds too go to be true..." What say you? I only ask about that 14K claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) 58 minutes ago, watcharacters said: So let me get this straight. A person can fly to the PI and stop off at a government agency (immigration?) and establish a bond for the sum of 14,000 USD and "get residency with all the benefits of citizenship, except voting, for as long as they want. And when they want to give it up, they get their money back"? On the face of it, it definitely sounds like it falls in the category of "if it sounds too go to be true..." What say you? I only ask about that 14K claim. There's yearly fees as well, around $300/person/year, and an application fee of $$$$s https://www.philembassy.no/consular-services/visa/special-resident-retirees-visa-srrv It's pointless but a lot of retentive old farts need feelings of security that they feel this gives them. Extending your tourist VISA/waiver is easier and cheaper. (deposit is $10k with pension, $20k without pension) Edited May 12, 2019 by BritManToo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wotsdermatter Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 On 5/9/2019 at 8:26 PM, Destiny1990 said: Your are in Thailand and like to go to the Phillipines with your Thai gf.. On 5/9/2019 at 6:44 AM, terryc said: I attended the embassy to obtain 60/90 day tourist visa for me and my Phillipina partner. No need to turn anything around as the comment never mentioned a Thai girlfriend but a Phillipina female. 'nuf sed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AtoZ Posted May 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 12, 2019 2 hours ago, watcharacters said: So let me get this straight. A person can fly to the PI and stop off at a government agency (immigration?) and establish a bond for the sum of 14,000 USD and "get residency with all the benefits of citizenship, except voting, for as long as they want. And when they want to give it up, they get their money back"? On the face of it, it definitely sounds like it falls in the category of "if it sounds too go to be true..." What say you? I only ask about that 14K claim. Some countries realize that long term expats with outside money are 100% net benefit for their country. Thailand don't, they already sucked billions and feel invincible. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 (edited) On 5/10/2019 at 2:41 PM, BritManToo said: It's been mentioned many times, truth is it's easier and cheaper to just rock up and stay on holiday extensions for three years, then leave for a day and repeat. You'd have to be pretty desperate to live in the Philippines. Alongside Jakarta, Manila is the anus of south east Asia, the infrastructure is terrible, and the food is vile. Thailand is still, and always will be, far better. That's why it can be as fussy as the western world about who gets permission to stay. Edited May 12, 2019 by dbrenn 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 1 minute ago, dbrenn said: You'd have to be pretty desperate to live in the Philippines. Alongside Jakarta, Manila is the anus of south east Asia, the infrastructure is terrible, and the food is vile. Thailand is still, and always will be, far better. That's why it can be as fussy as the western world about who gets permission to stay. Barretto, Olongapo, Zambales is a really great place, I usually transit through capital cities which are all generally shitholes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 1 hour ago, BritManToo said: Barretto, Olongapo, Zambales is a really great place, I usually transit through capital cities which are all generally shitholes. And I haven't even started on the national gateway: that dilapidated and festering sore that is Manila airport. Some parts of the Philippines may be nice for a visit. Just bring your own food, medicine, etc, and fly back to Thailand when you get sick of the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtoZ Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 9 hours ago, dbrenn said: And I haven't even started on the national gateway: that dilapidated and festering sore that is Manila airport. Some parts of the Philippines may be nice for a visit. Just bring your own food, medicine, etc, and fly back to Thailand when you get sick of the place. lol, you can get great western food in most tourist places for 1/3 of the cost in Thailand of course if you like your som tum and sticky rice, then stick to Thailand 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 15 hours ago, dbrenn said: And I haven't even started on the national gateway: that dilapidated and festering sore that is Manila airport. I quite liked Manila airport, had a special lane for the over 60's so I didn't have to queue. Toilets were clean, food court was cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Teavee Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) 34 minutes ago, BritManToo said: I quite liked Manila airport, had a special lane for the over 60's so I didn't have to queue. Toilets were clean, food court was cheap. Cheer up, when you hit 70 you'll also be able to use fast track in Thailand ???? Not a fan of MNL since it took me 1 hour to transfer to the domestic terminal (yes traffic really is bad in Manila) for an onward flight, much prefer flying into Cebu, Borocay or Davao To the OP: Is a Thailand Visa still free in Manila and by "Sponsorship Letter" was this a letter that you wrote or an official Red Ribbon document certified by DFA? Edited May 13, 2019 by Mike Teavee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpatPH Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 On 5/12/2019 at 4:18 PM, dbrenn said: And I haven't even started on the national gateway: that dilapidated and festering sore that is Manila airport. Philippines has 12 International airports. Easy to avoid Manila, if that's important for some. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_the_Philippines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpatPH Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Manila requirement: * Bank statement showing 1.000 USD. *Plane ticket arrival and departure. * Hotel accommodation for the full period of stay. * Alternative lease contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) On 5/13/2019 at 7:38 AM, Mike Teavee said: Not a fan of MNL since it took me 1 hour to transfer to the domestic terminal Should have walked, domestic is only 1Km from the two international terminals. I usually walk from the international, to the bus station (Pasey City), and walk past domestic. Edited May 14, 2019 by BritManToo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritManToo Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) 19 minutes ago, ExpatPH said: Manila requirement: * Bank statement showing 1.000 USD. *Plane ticket arrival and departure. * Hotel accommodation for the full period of stay. * Alternative lease contract. I have no idea what you're on about. I've never arrived at Manila airport with anything but the return ticket. Edited May 14, 2019 by BritManToo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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