Visa From Manila

[Prudent_rabbit]

Ok, here’s my situation, just finishing a contract and have been here for 3 Years on a yearly Visa and Work-permit, off to the Philippines for 3 Months before returning to Thailand on 1st October. I do have a Hotel Booked in Phuket, but only for 2 weeks and I want to stay in Thailand for at least 6 months. Now I believe Manila seems to be a hard place to get Visa’s (after reading TV) so I want to cross all the T’s and dot the I’s.

I believe I will require proof of Hotel Booking (email from the Sheraton)

Monitory Proof – No worries (both Thai & Aus Accounts)

And I will need a onward ticket, now if coming in on the 1st Oct, what date will I need the ticket out for, is it 2 months, or 3 Months?

Will I get a hard time for wanting a 2 month (+30) Visa, if I only have a 2 week holiday booked.

I'm traveling on an British Passport, under 50 & single, if it makes any difference

Any help or advice is welcome

[Crossy]

Good luck getting a visa in Manila.

They are reported as being THE most unfriendly and inefficient embassy in Asia.

I DO know someone who got a tourist visa there, but only because he is a persistant bu99er, constant updating of the documents required. I reckon they gave him the visa just to get rid of him.

[torrenova]

At the moment no issues at Penang getting a single entry tourist visa good for 60 days plus a 30 extension. Not sure about KL.

[tropo]

Ok, here’s my situation, just finishing a contract and have been here for 3 Years on a yearly Visa and Work-permit, off to the Philippines for 3 Months before returning to Thailand on 1st October. I do have a Hotel Booked in Phuket, but only for 2 weeks and I want to stay in Thailand for at least 6 months. Now I believe Manila seems to be a hard place to get Visa’s (after reading TV) so I want to cross all the T’s and dot the I’s.

I believe I will require proof of Hotel Booking (email from the Sheraton)

Monitory Proof – No worries (both Thai & Aus Accounts)

And I will need a onward ticket, now if coming in on the 1st Oct, what date will I need the ticket out for, is it 2 months, or 3 Months?

Will I get a hard time for wanting a 2 month (+30) Visa, if I only have a 2 week holiday booked.

I'm traveling on an British Passport, under 50 & single, if it makes any difference

Any help or advice is welcome

I have personally never known anyone who has attained a tourist visa from Manila, and I've never read about anyone on this forum getting one.

I'm often in the Philippines myself but when I come back to Thailand I always go for the 30 day visa free entry when I arrive in BKK and do a visa run to Penang 30 days later.

Even if you succeeded in getting a tourist visa in Manila, it would definitely be only for 60 days and I'm sure they would want to see the onward ticket dated no later than this. This would give you the additional headache of having to change your flight dates if you apply for a 30 extension in Thailand which will incur penalties if you book with a budget airline eg. AirAsia. ...usually around 1000 baht.

An alternative would be to fly Tiger Airways from Clark to Singapore (you can get very cheap deals if booked well in advance) and apply for your tourist visa there. When completed you can fly AirAsia from Singapore to BKK.

I'm not sure how long they take to process your visa in Singapore, but it may be one day (input required). The negative side is accommodation in Singapore can be expensive. A Tiger Airways/AirAsia combo from Clark to BKK could end up cheaper than a direct flight with a major airline from Manila to BKK, so you only have some accommodation costs to consider in Singapore.

There is another alternative that maybe even cheaper. You could fly AirAsia from Clark to KL and get your tourist visa there and then fly AirAsia into BKK. KL is cheaper than Singapore and I know for a fact if you hand in your application in the morning you'll have your visa the next day.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[tropo]

There is another alternative that maybe even cheaper. You could fly AirAsia from Clark to KL and get your tourist visa there and then fly AirAsia into BKK. KL is cheaper than Singapore and I know for a fact if you hand in your application in the morning you'll have your visa the next day.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

I have some good news.

I did a test booking from Clark to KL to BKK well in advance to see what the trip would cost.

Here's the results on this hypothetical booking and the cheapest I could find:

Flying AirAsia:

Philippines (Clark) to KL on Sun 30 Sep: 1,959 PHP plus 600 PHP departure tax = 2,559 PHP = 1,800 THB (including taxes)

This flight arrives in KL at 15:40 so you would need 2 nights in KL. It doesn't matter that you arrive on a Sunday as all flights arrive at 15:40 even on weekdays). You would apply in the morning on the next day (Mon) and pick up your visa on Tuesday (I think in the afternoon).

Allowing some time for transport, you would take a 18:45 flight to BKK on Tue 02 Oct which would cost 170.99 MYR (including taxes) = 1,597 THB

Your airfares including all taxes would total 3,397 baht or about US $100. Not bad I thought.

Depending on where you were in the Philippines, you'd have to factor in transport to Clark Base. For example, taxis from Manila to Clark run at about 2,500 php = 1,300 baht. Buses are only about 80 baht plus you'd have to add transportation in the base.

If you decided to do this, pm me and I'll give you ideas on cheap transport to Clark Base.

PS. If you did decided to make bookings you would have to make absolutely certain that the Thai Embassy in KL is open on the day after you arrive and the following day, and not a public holiday for either Malaysia, or Thailand (The Embassy can be open on certain Thai public holidays if they're not really important ones). You would need to check with the embassy in KL.

You should only arrive on Sun to Wed as you would be arriving at 15:40 and make sure the following 2 days are not public holidays.

Edited June 21, 2007 by tropo

[Prudent_rabbit]

Thanks for all your advice, I think I will change my plans slightly, leave for Manila a week earlier than planned, try my luck, and if any hassle shoot off to KL, and promise to update here what the situation is like tying to obtain a Visa from Manila, (can I say "thriller in Manila or a "rumble in the jungle")

No I dont suppose I can