Australian holiday with my GF

[OnMyWay]

11 minutes ago, Colsie said:

Does anyone know if she has to do the lecture thing? 

CFO is for Filipinos permanently leaving.  However, there is a good chance that PH immigration will interview her at the airport.  Allow extra time and prepare her for questions about where she will go, what she will do, etc., etc.  I'm sure others will have some good suggestions in that area.

Edit:  Just reread the topic.  Follow what JGF said previously and be prepared for an interview.

Edited September 22, 2022 by OnMyWay

[Colsie]

31 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

CFO is for Filipinos permanently leaving.  However, there is a good chance that PH immigration will interview her at the airport.  Allow extra time and prepare her for questions about where she will go, what she will do, etc., etc.  I'm sure others will have some good suggestions in that area.

Edit:  Just reread the topic.  Follow what JGF said previously and be prepared for an interview.

My partner and I have made it through immigration without interview on 3 occasions in the past. Before her, I also took previous Filipina girlfriend/s overseas through Manila 3 or 4 times and I understand the process well and being prepared with relevant documents and dress code. 

Just need a definitive answer (Philippines ) on whether the CFO thing is asked for, even though I know its only supposed for filipinas leaving permanently to another country. 

I guess I'm asking if anyone has been asked for CFO certificate when taking their GF / wife to Australia /UK/USA etc on holiday etc 

Edited September 22, 2022 by Colsie

[Gas]

58 minutes ago, Colsie said:

My partner and I have made it through immigration without interview on 3 occasions in the past. Before her, I also took previous Filipina girlfriend/s overseas through Manila 3 or 4 times and I understand the process well and being prepared with relevant documents and dress code. 

Just need a definitive answer (Philippines ) on whether the CFO thing is asked for, even though I know its only supposed for filipinas leaving permanently to another country. 

I guess I'm asking if anyone has been asked for CFO certificate when taking their GF / wife to Australia /UK/USA etc on holiday etc 

CFO is not needed. My wife is a Filipino citizen and goes back and forward from Australia on a regular basis. 

[OnMyWay]

5 hours ago, Colsie said:

My partner and I have made it through immigration without interview on 3 occasions in the past. Before her, I also took previous Filipina girlfriend/s overseas through Manila 3 or 4 times and I understand the process well and being prepared with relevant documents and dress code. 

Just need a definitive answer (Philippines ) on whether the CFO thing is asked for, even though I know its only supposed for filipinas leaving permanently to another country. 

I guess I'm asking if anyone has been asked for CFO certificate when taking their GF / wife to Australia /UK/USA etc on holiday etc 

Reading between the lines, she probably has only travelled to Asian destinations as a tourist, and you are wondering if travelling to a Western country as a tourist might cause an immigration officer to ask for CFO?

Technically, never.  However, nobody can give you a definitive answer because this is the Philippines.  They can deny her boarding without ever mentioning CFO, and you know the routine, so follow it.

Just a hunch, but I would imagine that they get grilled more at the airport when going to countries known for a lot of human trafficking, like Middle East, Hong Kong, etc.

[hk blues]

My understanding was that the CFO lecture was required when a Filipina woman changed her family name on her passport after marriage to a foreigner rather than when actually leaving the country.

Thus, in theory if the passport was issued in the new name it would be reasonable to assume the lecture was attended so no need to show anything when leaving. In theory...

I wasn't aware the CFO was needed for unmarried woman leaving but I never looked into that circumstance. 

 

I'd ask the BI the script on that as the folks on here will have different experiences as per usual here and I'd hate to rely on Joe Blogg's say so at the airport when challenged.

 

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, hk blues said:

My understanding was that the CFO lecture was required when a Filipina woman changed her family name on her passport after marriage to a foreigner rather than when actually leaving the country.

Thus, in theory if the passport was issued in the new name it would be reasonable to assume the lecture was attended so no need to show anything when leaving. In theory...

I wasn't aware the CFO was needed for unmarried woman leaving but I never looked into that circumstance. 

 

I'd ask the BI the script on that as the folks on here will have different experiences as per usual here and I'd hate to rely on Joe Blogg's say so at the airport when challenged.

 

You may have been misled by my story about my wife having to get a CFO seminar before she could change her name on her passport to her married name.  I have since found out that is false.  DFA Angeles told my wife she had to do CFO to change the name, but I believe it was a misunderstanding.  They probably thought she was moving overseas.  When the Angeles CFO office heard that we were not moving and lived in Subic, they just gave her the certificate without taking the seminar.  If fact, I think some members here have wives who changed their passport names to the married name, and DFA did not care about CFO.

For those of you not familiar with CFO, read their website.  It explains most things.

https://cfo.gov.ph/

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 hours ago, hk blues said:

I wasn't aware the CFO was needed for unmarried woman leaving but I never looked into that circumstance. 

I was sure that I wrote about my unmarried partner needing a CFO to come with  me to Canada on this forum 2 years ago.  That's what you get for not reading everything I post. 

EDIT:  My understanding is that all Filipinos going abroad as fiancées, spouses or family members of foreign nationals are required to attend the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) guidance and counseling session in order to secure the Guidance and Counseling Certificate (GCC) and the CFO sticker.

Tourists don't count, IMHO

Edited September 22, 2022 by Dave Hounddriver

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

You may have been misled by my story about my wife having to get a CFO seminar before she could change her name on her passport to her married name.  I have since found out that is false.  DFA Angeles told my wife she had to do CFO to change the name, but I believe it was a misunderstanding.  They probably thought she was moving overseas.  When the Angeles CFO office heard that we were not moving and lived in Subic, they just gave her the certificate without taking the seminar.  If fact, I think some members here have wives who changed their passport names to the married name, and DFA did not care about CFO.

For those of you not familiar with CFO, read their website.  It explains most things.

https://cfo.gov.ph/

No, I wasn't misled by your post as I had personal experience of my wife changing her name on her passport to married name.  DFA Iloilo said the same as yours, CFO required to change name.  My wife argued a bit and they relented and changed the passport name with out the CFO.  That said, they didn't issue the certificate as they can't - no seminar conducted in Iloilo.  

So, whilst I wouldn't go as far as saying they didn't care about the CFO, they didn't actually insist on it.

[hk blues]

12 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I was sure that I wrote about my unmarried partner needing a CFO to come with  me to Canada on this forum 2 years ago.  That's what you get for not reading everything I post. 

EDIT:  My understanding is that all Filipinos going abroad as fiancées, spouses or family members of foreign nationals are required to attend the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) guidance and counseling session in order to secure the Guidance and Counseling Certificate (GCC) and the CFO sticker.

Tourists don't count, IMHO

Your understanding is different from what both me and OnMyWay have been told at DFA - the CFO was "required" to change passport name regardless of travelling overseas or not.  But, we all know that each of our experiences are different.  

If I understand your last comment correctly, you understand that the CFO is only needed for someone moving abroad on some kind of permanent basis rather than just for a trip - am I right?

[Dave Hounddriver]

19 minutes ago, hk blues said:

If I understand your last comment correctly, you understand that the CFO is only needed for someone moving abroad on some kind of permanent basis rather than just for a trip - am I right?

Yes, I believe it is not needed for a tourist trip.  When Lyn was in the office getting her CFO guidance I was sitting outside and noticed people who were leaving on semi-permanent basis also getting the CFO.  Not tourists but people who planned to be temporary residents in countries like Canada.  (The CFO seminar was different for each country and on the day we were there it was a Canadian seminar).

Edited September 23, 2022 by Dave Hounddriver