49 replies to this topic

[kubreeze]

Hi everyone,

I am new here so please excuse my ignorance when I ask repetivite questions. You all seem to be pros at this and gone through it, but I am still some what confuse after reading your comments. I am planning on making a visit to the PI sometime in 2013 and like to stay there for at least 20 months.

Let me try to state what I think you all said, and please correct me is if I am wrong. Thanks.

1. If US passport, for 2012 all foreigners have automatically 21 days visa when they arrive in Philippinas. Correct?

2. After the 30 days, you can extend this 30 days tourist visa in any BI(bureau of immigration) in Philippine,
each 2 months for a period of 60 days, and a total stay of 16 months in the country. Correct?

3. Each visa renewal will cost you something as approx. 3500 pesos.
10 -14 days before your visa expires you should go to the immigration and can extend your visa for 2 month
more if you wish to stay longer. Correct?

4. At the end of the 16 months I must leave the PI and re enter again, and start this process all over.

5. So during this 16 months period do I need to leave the PI and renter again?

6. I heard there is a new permanent resident/retirement visa program now, where is you are over 60 years of age
and can has a pension, then all is require is 10k in a PI bank, and deposit of pension amount of 2100 us a
month. Correct?

7. How would you plan this trip if it was you, as for the return/on ward /or open ticket? Which would you purchase.
I was thinking of buying a one way ticket from the us to the pi with an on ward ticket to thailand, coz this would
be cheaper than buying a return ticket for that longa period.

Any advise, comments, links would be greatly appreciated.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1. If US passport, for 2012 all foreigners have automatically 21 days visa when they arrive in Philippinas. Correct? If not on Blacklist and have an exit ticket in hand then yes.

2. After the 30 days, you can extend this 30 days tourist visa in any BI(bureau of immigration) in Philippine, After 21 days, can extend for 38 more days.
each 2 months for a period of 60 days, and a total stay of 16 months in the country. Correct? Correct

3. Each visa renewal will cost you something as approx. 3500 pesos. Each renewal different price. Min 2800, max 7300 approx
10 -14 days before your visa expires you should go to the immigration and can extend your visa for 2 month within 7 days is what immigration told me, but correct
more if you wish to stay longer. Correct?

4. At the end of the 16 months I must leave the PI and re enter again, and start this process all over. Correct, although an extra few months stay is possible for extenuating circumstances.

5. So during this 16 months period do I need to leave the PI and renter again No, if you leave and come back at any time, you start the 16 months again

6. I heard there is a new permanent resident/retirement visa program now, where is you are over 60 years of age
and can has a pension, then all is require is 10k in a PI bank, and deposit of pension amount of 2100 us a
month. Correct?

7. How would you plan this trip if it was you, as for the return/on ward /or open ticket? Which would you purchase.
I was thinking of buying a one way ticket from the us to the pi with an on ward ticket to thailand, coz this would
be cheaper than buying a return ticket for that longa period.

Any advise, comments, links would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by Jollygoodfellow, 10 August 2012 - 09:51 AM.
bold answers

[kubreeze]

Thank you Dave..

[TexasRangersFan]

I started my second go round with the BI office getting my tourist visas.

So far its been pretty easy.
Got the 38 day extension with no problem. I did have to show my way out ticket.
Went in and got my first 60 day extension a few days before the 38 day expired.
Paid for another 60 days and the ACR-I card.
Cost was less then I expected. was only 6333.00 for some reason.
The first one I got in Davao cost 8750.00.
Went in to get the ACR-I card after waiting the 2 weeks as I was told at the Cebu office and was told that it was still in Manila and to come back in another 2 weeks or so.

Is that Normal?

[ancienrocka]

A month ago the normal waiting time for an ACR card was one week, now it has stretched out to about a month. Don't know why, it just has!!!

[Okieboy]

the reason your ACR-1 card cost less was because it was a reissue, it is from one to two week wait in Davao, they will text you when it it there, i have never had to show an onward ticket at any time to BOI , if needed you would have to show it for 16 months

[TexasRangersFan]

UPDATE:

Went to BI yesterday 9-24-12.

Still NO ACR-I card. Once again I was told to come back in 2 weeks.

It has now been 4 weeks now.

I have no idea as to why. What I do know is that I was not the only one there who has not received an ACR-I card.

I have read on the BI website that they are really cracking down on illegal use ( copying, altering, fake ) of the cards and making sure it is the correct person picking up the card.

It also states that a foreigner MUST HAVE his or her ACR-I card with them.

Any foreigner without his or her ACR I-Card shall be deemed incompleted documented, and penalized for violation of the Alien Registration Act of 1950 and Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. ( from BI website )
http://immigration.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1273&Itemid=139

Currently I keep the receipt for my ACR-I card in my passport.

I also got the impression from what I was reading is that they are now doing longer investigations into foreigners who stay here in the Philippines for more than 14 months. As in those that stay on Tourist Visa for 14 months then leave and return and continue to stay for an additional amount of time.

When I asked at the ACR-I card window If there was a number I could call to find out what was going on I was told to see one of the employees at the main window on the first floor. Apperantly one of the senior employees. After giving him a copy of my reciept and passport he informed me that he would text manila and ask about the ACR-I card and text me IF they answer him. However he said that the cebu office has nothing to do with the ACR-I cards.

I got the feeling from those that I talked to there that NOT recieving an ACR-I card is becoming a common problem.



Anyone know of a link to the blacklist or deportation list on the BI site? or any other site. ( as long as its a legitimate one that is )

Thanks

[luke]

There is a list of approved I-cards on the BI web site:
http://immigration.g...1273&Itemid=139

Check if you can find you name.

If you carry the O.R. (Receipt) with you, it should be fine. As long as you are not in to monkey business or having local "enemies", I don't think anybody will investigate you.

[Dave Hounddriver]

My experience may help you not to worry too much. I lost my previous ACR card soon after it was given to me. Every time I went to renew my tourist visa I told them 'I forgot it at home' and they just renewed my visa because they could see in my passport that I had one.

When it expired I continued to do the same thing. They told me it was expired and I said: I'll renew it next time. When I left the country on my 16th month visa run no one asked me for the card. When I got back I got another 2 free months before I had to get another one.

They do not monitor it as close as their web site suggests they do, and when you leave the country and come back, if you still have an ACR card that has not expired then it is still good. Even getting a new (renewal) passport does not change that. Just show them the ACR card and they make a note of it in the new passport. Its good until the expiry date.

[TexasRangersFan]

Update on ACR-I card.

November 29, 2012,

Applied and paid for ACR-I card renewal and reissuance on August 28, 2012.

Still NO ACR-I card.

Went to the BoI office to renew my tourist visa in October and asked again to the person in charge what I should do. They had me calling their office every day at 8 am then calling back at 12 pm then again at 3pm every day for over 2 weeks. They had told me on 2 occasions that my ACR-I card was there and that I could come and pick it up. On both occasions it was not there. They finally told me that they will call me when and if it ever arrives and to not worry about it. So I am not going to worry about it. When I go in to renew my visa again I will go up and ask if its there yet. If not I will just let them know at the window downstairs and leave it at that.

[tiger31]

don,t worry about the acr card ive got 2 of them in my wallet one for last year and one for this year and have never been asked for them at anytime in 20 months that i have been here .They are in fact a useless piece of plastic that would proberly only be needed if a policeman requested some sort of I d If you don,t carry your passport around with you .but if you intend to open a bank account then the bank will ask to see it .

[Thomas]

A lot of interesting information in this topic, thank you all.

Just curios how much your throw away promo ticket actually cost. The HOng Kong 5J promo would Have cost me about 2500P.

Air Asia ticket from Clark>Kota Kinabalu was p1090 total.

It don't have to be an air ticket. I haven't tried myself, but I have heared of BOAT tickets to HongKong and Malaysia.. I believe he said the one to HongKong cost around 600p.. But I have no idea where to buy them.
It's a convinience factor too in the buying, and not worth geting a cheaper ticket if it's much harder to get, specialy if have to go there to buy it adding cab cost