Denied tourist visa in philippines

[dalmatian]

Hopefully my final input

Reading about the 12 months 4 entry O visa makes me think to try and get it in Penang. I notice though that most of the applicants for this are Single guys or foreigners married to Thais. (1) As I am married to a fellow English citizen and we both need visas is it worth trying in Penang or waiting till I we get back to UK in 3 or 4 months time. (2) Also as Foreigners do we need to provide any documentation to the embassy as part of the 4 entry application and (3) will I be putting down Tourism or Retired as my reason for visiting Thailand as it has been pointed out previously that maybe my mentioning of buying property is not a good one. I suppose finally (4) would a copy of my marriage certificate be beneficial as my wife is travelling on a passport in her maiden name and again as pointed out as she is of Indian parentage (British passport) she may be a further reason why we got rejected in Philippines.

[w7mux]

Manila is a poor choice for a visa run. They have good reasons for being hard ass about visas. Use Penang.

I've lived, married, bought houses and had tourist, resident, and balikbayan visas in the P.I. The best thing I ever done was to finally leave the place.

[Roger13]

I've lived, married, bought houses and had tourist, resident, and balikbayan visas in the P.I. The best thing I ever done was to finally leave the place.

Hi w7mux,

When I was first looking at Thailand as a

place to retire about 5 years ago,

Philipines was an alternative that I only looked

at from afar - through their Retirement Brochure...

I am now taking a second look...

Your reasons for leaving would be very valuable info

- can you share it with us please???

Roger

[KenUdon]

w7mux,

It would be very interesting to have a comparison from you re:- Thailand and Philippines, as many people here that I know are looking to move to Ph. now.

[tutsiwarrior]

Someone on a previous thread said that the Thai Embassy in S'pore was absolutely the worst place to engage in any sort of visa activity...surly staff that couldn't be bothered and etc. Who needs the place anyway...looks like West Los Angeles run by Chinese...the good food is the only redeeming aspect. A SE Asian anomaly.

Dalmatian...Penang is the right place for visas...efficient consulate staff and a nice place to boot. Cheap and delicious tandoori chicken and naan bread on Jalan Penang in Georgetown.

[dalmatian]

I thank the latest postees for their advice. In fact I have an opportunity to go to Hongkong at the end of the month and would be interested to know if that is a good place for visas. I would go to Penang but as I may have to go to Hongkong anyway I might try my luck there. Any thoughts?

On another note I would be interested for the reasons behind not living in Philippines. My only sorry experience was at the Thai Embassy and not with the Philippine Embassy. I lived in P.I. for 4 years at the end of the 80's early 90's and it was a great place to live.

Again though I think it is all about what you want. P.I. does not have the infrastructure that Thailand does, everything new turns old within months but if you want the beach life then a great place to go, Boracay, Puerta Galera, Cebu to name a few are excellent resorts for diving etc. If you want shopping malls, cinemas, bowling alleys, plush restaurants etc then it's really only Manila or Cebu.

Angeles City is not everybody's cup of tea but if you want friendly bars (and I mean friendly where the girls don't ignore you when you enter) then a better place you could not find and 20 minutes down the road is the massive S M Mall where there are cinemas and every eating place, shop that you need.

Manila now only has a spattering of go go bars (foreigner friendly) around the Heritage hotel although they have many pub style places such as Hard Rock, TGIF etc.

Red tape in Philippines can be a bind if wishing to buy property etc but if you want to stay somewhere relatively cheaply and legally you can stay for a year without leaving the country (tourist visas). There are plenty of places that will go and get your visa extended such as Swagman Travel who have offices in Manila, Olongapo, Puerta Galera and Angeles. The cost overall for a 1 year stay should be minimal  compared to Thailand as you would not need to leave the country.

I think it is worth a visit although I think mainly for a single man, the standard of living would not be the same for a married couple as say in Pattaya. However if you are fed up with the ladies, red tape etc in Thailand I thoroughly recommend the Philippines, I loved my time there and am still considering going back. I still do trips there twice a year to see the many friends I made.  

There are not many websites giving good info although for Angeles you might want to visit www.balibago.com or read the "Harry the Horse" column in www.go2phil.com. It's a paysite but Harry's column is free and he updates what's happening in Angeles on a monthly basis.

On a final note though one must take the security angle into account when talking about the Philippines although those of us who have been in this region for many years will not allow this to put us off from enjoying what the people and region has to offer.

[wilson steer]

Thaiand versus the Philippines is a very tough debate. I think Phillipine people are a lot more friendly, particularly away from the cities. They are not so much on the make, and the genuine kindness I found was unique to the Philippines. My experiences however were good because I was in remote locations, in the city it is take, take, take.

It also helps because they speak English, so you can have a lot more fun with the women. There was no problems with visas and transport and food is cheap. The peso at 55 to the US$ makes it cheap for almost everything except.....accommodation.

Accommodation is massively overpriced in the Philippines, I don't know why. Happy days though. Some times I wish I were back there, then I look at Thailand and that has it's plus points too. Conclusion male aged 18-35: Philippines, male aged 35+ Thailand.

[tutsiwarrior]

A former associate had a filipina wife. On public transport back to her village he and she were mugged at gunpoint and were relieved of a significant amount of cash and jewellery. Don't know what this says about the Philipines. I know that from my little town in Central Thailand and taking the bus into BKK nobody would ever think about f*cking with a falang.

Does this click or am I making the wrong assumptions?

[KenUdon]

As we are talking about the Philippines, has anybody got a cost of living comparison between the two countries? Would be very interesting for those of us now considering changing countries.

[dalmatian]

I think the administrator could start a new thread here as the comparison between Philippines and Thailand could start a real topic almost never-ending.

In reply to "tutsiwarrior" the example of being mugged may not be unique in the Philippines and my own parents were mugged back in '91 on Roxas Boulevard in Manila. They were carrying a good old BOAC bag at the time and it was an unfortunate experience (I did tell them not to be so obvious in carrying bags full of valuables but what do 75 year olds know).

However if you live in Pattaya it is almost comical (except for the victims) how many foreigners jump out of windows or die of unknown causes every week.(Let's all send them them out for an autopsy!). Of course the Thai girlfriend/friend etc describes how depressed the 'falung" was and how they wanted to take their lives. The new trick is to knock you off your bike and if that doesn't kill you then we will just mug you anyway. Well excuse me maybe this would give me the chills if I had a girlfriend in Pattaya or I thought about driving the streets on a barrel full of beers most nights.!!. No, it's all relative isn't it. I don't normally go out after 10.00 p.m so I'm safe

I lived in Philippines for 4 years and I never had a problem, then again I did not show I had money, I did not have a business and I just kept my nose clean. As for up to 35 stay in Philippines and over 35 stay in Thailand, personally I would say other way round. In Thailand the girls will only care for you, fancy you when you are under 35, anything older and it would be difficult to take the sick smile off their face. No, for anybody over 35 and even over 50 the Philippines is the place to be. A Philippina girl will fight tooth and nail to make sure her boyfriend, lover or husband does not get ripped off if you treat her right, can we say the same about the girls here. Just speak to most guys over 35 who have been to Philippines and you will find the same answer. I love Thailand for what it has to offer but having just been in a bar where I was ignored (must because I am 48 or ugly, does it matter) it does not take me long to dream about being in a bar in Philippines. That said, the Philippines needs to get it's act together, the whole infrastructure needs to be updated to make it a more desirable place to stay longterm and I mean for retirees etc but for it's hospitality and sincerity (with a small s, Thailand get's a zero) I would recommend Philippines over Thailand anytime.

A good time to start a Thread.

[steve_dc]

A couple of you have wondered whether it is still possible to get a 4 entry tourist visa in the UK, so I thought I would add my two cents worth.

I have just got one from the Hull Consulate - incredibly helpful on the phone and they just make things so simple and straightforward - maybe others should learn from the example they set!

Anyway, posted my application and passport off on a Wednesday at about 4pm, received my passport back with 4 entry tourist visa in the post at 8am the following Friday - less than 2 days round trip - now that's what I call service.

Quick question - the 'utilise by' date is 8 months from the date the visa was stamped in my passport and the notes say that I must enter before this date.  I previously thought that this was the date that the first entry must be made in order to activate it, but now think that I have to enter the 4th time before this date.  If this is so, people are best applying for the visa just before they need to use it, to give them a further last entry cut-off date.

Hope this is helpful for someone,

Steve

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Steve...contact Hull and check...there is a problem. A tourist visa, irrespective of the number of entries,  has to be totally utilized within 6 months of the date of issue, ie all entries must have been made in that 6 months. If 8 months was given, there must have been an error. It'll pay you to check now.

[w7mux]

I could go on forever about the Philippines as I started going there in the mid '60's when in the U.S. Navy. The next 33 years as a merchant seaman I could not count the time spent in the P.I. The mid to late 80's I was on ships chartered to the U.S.N. that never left Subic Bay. I am married to a Filipina, owned and lived in homes in southern Luzon (Bicol), Palawan and Angeles, and lived in Davao City and Manila. Having been there as a young single guy and as a married man, having had kids in school there, having gone through the court system to adopt two kids at two different times in two different cities, having gone through the red tape of an immigrant visa (13a), having bought and sold property there, and about anything else you would go through living, working, and playing in a place, the best advice I can offer is don't. We left for four years (my wife got the U.S. citizenship) and returned. The contrast was amazing, the Philippines is fast going to ####. The crime, corruption, kidnapping for ransom and rising poverity (and the problems that it causes) is overwhelming. I think if a survey were taken of the expats who are leaving, you would find much the same as I've said. Not only the single guys, and you don't see many young single guys there anymore, but also the retired military, and married guys with families. The place was great for me as a young single hard dick sailor but it has changed very much since the 60's and 70's. All I can offer is look hard before making the jump. Thailand, Chiang Mai anyway, is great.