Taking my Filipina girlfriend to Thailand...

[albertoc]

I will be obtaining a retirement visa to Thailand from the local Thai consulate here in Los Angeles.

Before I arrive in Thailand, I was going to stop in Manila and pick up my Filipina girlfriend to take with me. I could stay in the Philippines with her, but Thailand is just a much more comfortable place to live. I will not marry her initially, but I would like her to stay as long as she can in Thailand without too many visa issues.

My questions are:

1. How difficult would it be for her to get a 2 month entry visa to thailand if I go to the Thai embassy in Manila with her?

2. What are the maximum number of extensions she can get (30 day variety), before she will have to leave Thailand for a long period?

3. Will she have any problems flying to thailand if I am accompanying her?

Any other suggestions or tips for her staying as long as possible (without me marrying her), would be helpful. She has taught English in Brazil already, but has not finished her college degree, so teaching is not an option. I am considering the possibility of getting her an education visa to go to school there, but there are a lot of costs involved in that.

Thank you in advance for your help. I have read this forum about this subject but I am still not really sure what is possible.

[paz]

1. Not difficult

2. One extension. Then is not a long period, with another visa she can re-enter immediately.

3. Be aware, Philippines has a policy of not allowing young women to leave at the airport if they suspect any possibility of exploitation, and yes that includes (to their eyes) being in a bona-fine relationship with a foreigner. Not saying it happens all the time, but has happened, as you can find yourself.

[albertoc]

Thanks Paz...

That sounds crazy...but plausible.. I will keep it in mind.

[dddave]

It can actually be VERY difficult for a young woman to depart the Philippines. I have stood in line at Philippine passport control and watched the Immigration Police pull every woman out of line and interview them...many are turned back.

There is an extensive and very informative thread about this topic on this forum from last year. It might take some searching but worth the effort.

[TDCNINJA]

Albert, I am in virtually the same situation as you. As you may or may not know, the Thai Embassy in Manila has a separate form that they give to Filipinos/Filipinas to fill out in addition to the normal visa application. Because of that, we've decided to go to fly to Cambodia and apply for a tourist visa for her from Phnom Penh. I'm not even going to deal with the crap from Manila.

Also,before the end of the this month, I'm taking my GF to Manila to attend a Pre-departure orientation seminar operated by the Commision on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

http://www.cfo.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2334:frequently-asked-questions-on-cfo-guidance-and-counseling-program&catid=110:frequently-asked-questions&Itemid=858

If you're gf doesn't have a CFO sticker in her passport she can, technically, be pulled off her flight and off loaded.

There is no logic,whatsoever, as to the methodology of Philippines immigration officers.

I would also recommend that you go to a Filipino lawyer and have him type and notarize a statement indicating your agreement to meeting all expenses and your responsibility to ensure that your gf will return to the Philippines and that you are in no way engaged in human trafficking.

Good luck!

[albertoc]

Very interesting replies. Dddave, I did read that other thread, which is why I had planned on accompanying my gf to Thailand. Even that might not work it seems.

TDCNinja. I had no idea about the special form for Filipinas. I seems I might have more problems getting the visa than Paz says above. Before she cheated on me, I had another gf who went to Thailand in January 2013. Her sister lived there for several months a year. She simply bought a ticket and flew to Thailand. She was questioned briefly but had no problem flying to Bangkok. She stayed 3 weeks and went home.

Please keep me informed on how things go.

I'm not sure what to do about the visa issue now. Maybe going to PP is the best way of doing things...or since my new gf is a bit of a linguist, maybe signing her up for a Thai Language school for a year, might be the best way of getting her over to Thailand on a student visa. My other option would be to marry her and bring her to Thailand as a dependent, but I am really not ready for that.

Thanks again for your interesting replies.

[TDCNINJA]

Here is a link to the forms at the Thai Embassy in Manila:

http://www.thaiembassymnl.ph/images/stories/file/visa-application-form.pdf

Many have told me the best thing to do is to have a 1000 peso note in your gf's passport when she hands it to the immigration officer. Not sure I want to do that 555.

[4evermaat]

When you marry a filipina, can the woman still be denied departure or is it a totally different attitude/process with marriage?

[RichardThailand]

Thanks Paz...

That sounds crazy...but plausible.. I will keep it in mind.

This is not crazy and it's very plausible. In fact given the circumstances you mention I think it is very likely she will be questioned and there's a high probability she will be denied boarding which will result in you losing the cost of the ticket and having to go to Thailand without her. Do some research and please please do not try putting a 1000 pesos note in with a passport that's passed to immigration. That might have been okay years ago but not in 2014 !

[JB300]

Over the past 4 1/2 years, I've travelled to Philippines and brought my Filipina back to Singapore about a dozen times & if anything Philippine immigration seems to be getting stricter on letting single girls travel.

Last time we travelled back (from Kalibo/ Boracay) the guy just flat out asked why we weren't married (She replied "He doesn't believe in marriage", I laughed it off & said "not yet") time before they made her leave her postal ID to be collected when she returned (Davao).

I have heard that Cebu is a lot stricter than other places so the guy who's gf managed to travel on her own (especially to Thailand) was very lucky & if this happened after Jan 2013 (they really tightened up on the anti-human trafficking) then extremely lucky, though not impossible if the girl had a reasonable story, proof that she was going to meet her family & a good reason to be coming home (e.g. A job, for which immigration will often want to see permission from her employer for her to have time off work).

[Albertosez]

This is the worst possible time to be traveling from Flips to Thailand. Flip Immigration has become very strict over the last few years and I know of people who have had to go to great lengths to " stack up " their documents before trying to leave the Philippines. My advice is " don't even contemplate letting her travel alone " - my bet ( 75% sure ) is that she would not be allowed to depart alone - heading to Thailand at this time !

If you are going to collect her, you should also have " Accommodation Booking Confirmation " as evidence of your vacation, plus a return flight booking for your GF to return to Philippines ( you can cancel / change that return ticket if you want to later).

Once she is in Thailand, you should be able to get her an ED Visa, but make sure it is a legitimate Visa - and it would be useful for her to learn some. Thai Language - and give her something to do as well !

Don't expect to find Thailand a cheap place to come and set up together, you will certainly face some front ended costs that you will need to meet in order to give yourselves a decent platform. The more pre-planning and preparation you do in advance, the more smoothly things will go. Without this, you will have issues on at least 4 x fronts; Flip Immigration, Thai Immigration, Financial Headache and both of you will be pi**ed of with 3x months.

Good luck.

[denby45]

WOW I did not realize they had tightened up at Manila. My gf travelled alone to meet me in BKK late Nov 2012. I was flying there from Abu Dhabi. She did have some hassle at Manila and they asked her many questions. They wanted a copy of my passport for some reason but I was in flight and she could not contact me. Finally they agreed to let her through. We are doing a repeat again in October and I thought that if I made sure she has a copy of my passport it would be no problem this time. Would it be fair to say she will have a better chance if she gets a visa instead of visa exempt.

Den

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post has been removed.