Balikbayan Stamp .q/a From Dear Pao

[Call me bubba]

many times in this forum, questions are asked about the Balikbayan stamp.

here is an answer to that.

hope its helpful.

 

Dear PAO,
My wife and I were former Filipino citizens but we already became
naturalized Canadians sometime in 1995.

We were given a Balikbayan stamp when we arrived in the Philippines. What
does it mean? We want to stay permanently in the Philippines but we don’t want
to apply for dual citizenship. Is there any other way where we can permanently
reside in the Philippines?
Jose

Dear Jose,
A Balikbayan (BB) stamp
is a visa-free entry to the Philippines for a period of one year given to
foreign passport holders, with the exception of restricted nationals, who
qualified as balikbayans (Section 3, Republic Act [RA] 9174).

The term
balikbayan refers to a former Filipino citizen and his or her family, who had
been naturalized in a foreign country and comes or returns to the Philippines, a
Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period
of at least one year or a Filipino overseas worker (Section 2, RA 9174).

However, if the foreign passport holder wants to stay in the Philippines longer
than one year, he needs to extend his visa or apply for any of the permanent
resident visas provided under Commonwealth Act No. 613, or the Philippine
Immigration Act of 1940.

A former natural born Filipino who became a
naturalized citizen of another country may be qualified to apply for dual
citizenship under Republic Act 9225, or the Citizenship Retention and
Re-acquisition Act of 2003.

A person who has re-acquired his Philippine
citizenship shall enjoy full civil and political rights and may thus stay in the
Philippines as long as he wants (Section 5, RA 9225).

But since you do not want
to apply for dual citizenship, you and your wife may opt to apply instead for a
returning former Filipino visa provided under Section 13(G) of the Philippine
Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, to
wit:

IMMIGRANTS
Sec. 13. Under the conditions set
forth in this Act, there may be admitted into the Philippines immigrants,
ter­med ”quota immigrants” not in excess of 50 of any one nationality, or
without nationality for any one calendar year, except that the following
immigrants, termed non-quota immig­rants, may be admitted without regard to such
numerical limitations.

xxx

(g) A natural-born citizen of the
Philippines, who has been naturalized in a foreign country, and is returning to
the Philippines for permanent residence, including his spouse and minor
unmarried children, shall be considered a non-quota immigrant for purposes of
entering the Philippines.”

Applications for Section 13G visa shall be
made before the Bureau of Immigration, which is located in Intramuros, Manila.
If granted, you and your wife may stay here in the Philippines as long as you
please

 

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/dear-pao/40713-balikbayan-stamp-a-one-year-visa-free-entry

[ibemarshall]

Very timely Sir - I was just pondering this as it might come into play for my wife and I soon ~ Thanks!

[TexasRangersFan]

I was just wondering.

If my girlfriend and I were to get married here and then go someplace like Hong Kong the day after the wedding would I be able to get this stamp?

How long is this good for?

Would I have to get a differant type visa afterwards or could I continue using this?

 

Thanks

[MikeB]

If my girlfriend and I were to get married here and then go someplace like Hong Kong the day after the wedding would I be able to get this stamp? How long is this good for? Would I have to get a differant type visa afterwards or could I continue using this?

You need the NSO marriage certificate which took several weeks after the ceremony as I recall. You may get lucky by showing other paperwork but I wouldn't count on it.

It's good for one year, you don't need anything else if you leave again within that year.

[i am bob]

This is the visa where you will have to enter and exit with your bride.  Actually, you don't have to exit with her but you do have to come in together for you to get the BB stamp.  And if you leave again?  Better have her with you again before you come back in or you will have to get some other visa status - more than likely tourist again.

[Mike S]

You need the NSO marriage certificate which took several weeks after the ceremony as I recall. You may get lucky by showing other paperwork but I wouldn't count on i

 

Correct Mike ..... you can however elect to expedite it by going down and pay for your own postage and then bring that back to the office and they will send it separately instead of them saving and sending them by bulk mailing ..... that's what we did in Cebu and it took 1 week ..... other wise it can take a while like you said ..... :thumbsup:  

[GregZ]

I was just wondering.

If my girlfriend and I were to get married here and then go someplace like Hong Kong the day after the wedding would I be able to get this stamp?

How long is this good for?

Would I have to get a differant type visa afterwards or could I continue using this?

 

Thanks

Doesn't this, "a Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one year..." say that you'd have to stay in Hong Kong for a year to qualify to bring the family in on Balikbayan (BB) stamp? 

[MikeB]

Doesn't this, "a Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one year..." say that you'd have to stay in Hong Kong for a year to qualify to bring the family in on Balikbayan (BB) stamp?

That was changed by executive order in 2001. They have been directed to issue the BB regardless of the time out of country. Unfortunately, the information has not been updated. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

Doesn't this, "a Filipino citizen who has been continuously out of the Philippines for a period of at least one year..." say that you'd have to stay in Hong Kong for a year to qualify to bring the family in on Balikbayan (BB) stamp? 

 

I would have to search to find it again but I remember reading that the BI decided not to enforce that because it is legal for a BB to leave and come back as often as they want and it does not have to be a year every time so  long as it is at least a year one time. That means you can both leave and come back after a weekend and say that the BB was out of the country for a year 10 years ago and be legal.