Things To Do To Make Your Move To The Philippines Smoother

[Mr Lee]

OK, I have given this some thought and I think some of you guys and gals that have actually moved to the Philippines from your home countries might be able to answer this better than I can. A friend emailed me and asked me what things he should do long before and directly before his move to the Philippines and the more time passes by, the more things I realize that I am actually going to have to do when and if we make the total move over, so I do not have all the answers for him and I hope you all will fill in the stuff I could not think of.1) I started keeping a list of all mail I receive with the idea of who I need to put in changes of address with.2) Then there is changing my (or his) drivers license and other important documents to a friends address or a mail forwarding service.3) I got a Magic Jack and so did he and then the thing would be to notify credit cards and banks of the new phone number long before the move and I guess around the same time as giving them the new mailing address which would be my friends house, but in his case it would be a mail forwarding service such as USA Box http://www.usabox.com/ 4) Both of us already set up bank accounts with Citibank USA and I was suggesting another with maybe HSBC or another international bank, any suggestions? Seems Wells Fargo has ties to BPI, maybe that one, or maybe others have other thoughtsI am sure there is much more that needs to be done and I just cannot seem to think what they are?and also he is also going to get married there and wanted to know what he needs to do for a Catholic marriage and yes he is divorced, isn't everybody nowadays. What important papers to bring? What else am I forgetting? What things to apply for here before leaving and which are easier to apply for in the Philippines. Such as in my case, the 13a here instead of there, since (we) my wife and I get a balikbayan stamp and can stay a year at a time, I wonder what benefits having a visa before we leave would be for me? OK, so many questions and I have plenty of time but he and others may not, so please chime in guys and girls and list things.

[TheMason]

--He should bring multiple certified copies of his birth certificate. You need that a lot more often here than in the US. I brought 5 with me when I moved here and I'm down to only 1 left.--Bring multiple forms of US id. He should renew his driver's license for as long as his state permits before coming over. It is very helpful to have as a second ID even if he's not planning to drive here.--Bring multiple certified or notarized photocopies of his divorce papers. Many people that are divorced have a hard time getting a church wedding here. Many priests won't perform the ceremony.--I think the 13a is easier to get in the Philippines, but I live close to Manila so traveling there isn't a problem for me. You don't need medical or proof of income if applying locally.--Call your bank and ask them to reset the expiration date of credit/ATM cards so they have the maximum length of time before needing to be replaced.

[Mik]

My Moving to the Philippines Checklist:1. Philippine permanent resident 13(a) visa. (go to San Francisco consulate)2. Arrange for mail forward service http://www.usglobalmail.com/prem.asp.3. Change address with credit cards to mail forwarding service.4. Change address with US bank and IRS to mail forwarding service.5. Submit Change of Address with post office.6. Ceremony for U.S. Citizenship for wife. 7. U.S. Passport for Aideen. (submit natz. Certificate) Expedite service.8. Apply by mail to SFO consulate for wife's dual-citizenship.9. Buy airlines tickets.10. Call for seat assignments.11. New SSA card for wife. Bring natz. Certificate and passport to SS office.12. Cancel telephone. 13. Cancel internet and cable.14. Call LBC to schedule pickup of boxes.15. Arrange for airport taxi-van.16. Change email address forwarding.17. Unplug computer and remove hard-drives. Set power supply to 230 volts.18. Pack computer stuff in balikbayan boxes.19. Finish packing balikbayan boxes.20. Return cable box, remote, cable modem.21. Sell car to friend and transfer title at DMV.22. Cancel auto, renters insurance.23. Call airlines to confirm flight.24. Call Travelocity to confirm flight.25. LBC will pickup boxes to Cebu on Thursday.26. Friday 3:30 am, check in at airlines ticket counter.27. Fly to SFO. Store carry-on baggage at SFO Airport Travel Agency.28. Go to SF consulate for wife's dual-citizenship and Philippine passport.29. Pickup carry-on baggage at SFO Airport Travel Agency and check-in at PAL counter.30. Friday, fly from SFO to Cebu on PAL.31. Monday, finish 13(a) visa in Cebu.32. Get Philippine driver

[Mr Lee]

Thanks guys that is pretty extensive and many things I did not think of. Are there things other than what was listed that some of you forgot to do before going over or wish you had done. And all others, please feel free to chime in with anything else to do that we may have forgotten or that you think was important. The reason I ask is that I learn with each trip over, for instance having the dates reset of my ATM or credit cards was something I never thought of and on our last trip over one of my credit cards and one of my ATM card expired and fortunately we do not use the ATM card to live on and we always keep a reserve, so I was still able to write a check and deposit it and wait for the funds to clear, but I was no longer able to view my account on-line because Citi shut down my on-line access when the card expired. Weird but they would not turn it back on until I gave them the digits on the back of the new card, and since I did not physically have the new card in my hand to read the digits, I was in sort of a bind but since we go back and forth for now, and since it was at the end of our stay and not at the beginning, it turned out to not put us in a major bind compared to if we lived there full time and lived month to month and did not keep a reserve in local Philippine banks, then you guys that live in Cebu might have seen my on the street corner begging for coins. :whistling:

[Mik]

I was able to wire part of my house with 120v so I wish I had brought more of my 120v items from the states. I brought a lot of books but some that I gave away I should have brought here too. Toss out your junk, but you might eventually miss some of the good stuff you didn't bring.If you live on your foreign ATM card, be sure to get a spare from your bank before you leave. I haven't lost one yet but it's comforting to have a backup just in case. Also bring a high limit (no annual fee) credit card for emergencies. Keep a zero balance on it unless it's a life or death situation.I still maintain my US bank accounts. After moving here I opened a Metrobank account just for paying utility bills online.

[Travis]

I was able to wire part of my house with 120v so I wish I had brought more of my 120v items from the states. I brought a lot of books but some that I gave away I should have brought here too. Toss out your junk, but you might eventually miss some of the good stuff you didn't bring.If you live on your foreign ATM card, be sure to get a spare from your bank before you leave. I haven't lost one yet but it's comforting to have a backup just in case. Also bring a high limit (no annual fee) credit card for emergencies. Keep a zero balance on it unless it's a life or death situation.I still maintain my US bank accounts. After moving here I opened a Metrobank account just for paying utility bills online.

if I ever marry and buy a house then I would want 110 wish I would have brought so many things with me. I still have bank accounts in the US and probably always will

[chimellie]

Suppose you have a checking account with CitiBank in the US and an account with CitiBank in the Philippines. Would Citibank in the Philippines cash a US Citibank check ?

[Mr Lee]

Suppose you have a checking account with CitiBank in the US and an account with CitiBank in the Philippines. Would Citibank in the Philippines cash a US Citibank check ?

The short answer is No, and not unless something has changed since earlier this year. We have accounts at both the US and Philippine Citibanks and they still hold our check 21 days. They claim it is due to Philippine law but I think it is just that they want the float, since I can check when my check clears on-line and it clears my US bank within 3 to 5 days, yet they will not credit the money to our account until the 21 days have gone by. If you know the manager at the CitiBank in the Philippines, then they can clear it faster for you if they want to but you would still be looking at maybe 12 days. The fast way is the ATM, but you can only take $1000 US or the equivalent out per day. More accounts in more names with an ATM for each would make it faster.

[tom_shor]

Or you can do it the Mike S way. Sell all your stuff and just show up with your carry on. I couldn't do that but Mike seems to be doing fine. How about it Mike anything to add to the Saga?

[Old55]

Or you can do it the Mike S way. Sell all your stuff and just show up with your carry on. I couldn't do that but Mike seems to be doing fine. How about it Mike anything to add to the Saga?

Sometimes I think discarding all those