Can a 13a Visa be voluntarily revoked?

[Major Tom]

I have a 13a visa from the Philippines that I no longer need. Is there any way at all for me to voluntarily surrender it? Paying 10,000 pesos for each of the several years of missing my annual reporting and paying fees is a wee bit expensive for me. However, if there is a way to enter the Philippines without being flagged for being a 13a visa holder, that would work for me as well. Thanks!

[Mike J]

The annual reporting law applies to those foreigners "residing" in the Philippines.  So if you have not lived in the Philippines for several years I do not think you would owe any fees.  If you were popping in and out of the Philippines then maybe you would based on  how long you stayed?  My best guess is that you could come in as a tourist.  If asked about the 13A, just be honest and tell them the reason you no longer need and/or want the 13A and surrender the card.

<snip>

Section 1.    Aliens residing in the Philippines shall, within thirty days after the approval of this Act, apply for registration, in the case of those residing in the City of Manila, at the Bureau of Immigration, and in the case of those residing in other localities, at the offices of the city or municipal treasurers, or at any other office designated by the President.

<end snip>

Source;   https://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno562.html

 

 

[skippyscage]

yes you can, I think they term it "downgrading" - I'm doing the same - I sent a e-mail to the consulate in SFO a while back and they wrote back asking for my phone number, but never called. I'll be following up with them this week.

As already said above, you only do annual report if you're in country when it's due. If you're out of country during Jan-Feb you have to report within 10 days of arriving back in country, which could be years later, with no penalties. Of course that's if your Visa is still valid. If it's downgraded then you're back to being a tourist.

 

 

[hk blues]

53 minutes ago, skippyscage said:

yes you can, I think they term it "downgrading" - I'm doing the same - I sent a e-mail to the consulate in SFO a while back and they wrote back asking for my phone number, but never called. I'll be following up with them this week.

As already said above, you only do annual report if you're in country when it's due. If you're out of country during Jan-Feb you have to report within 10 days of arriving back in country, which could be years later, with no penalties. Of course that's if your Visa is still valid. If it's downgraded then you're back to being a tourist.

 

 

Are you sure about the part I've highlighted?  I think there is a fine of 200php per month up to a max of 2,000php in any one year.  The blog below confirms this.

https://primer.com.ph/blog/2023/01/23/guidelines-for-2020-annual-report-for-foreign-nationals/

 

[skippyscage]

that's definitely not the full story - you can't do an annual report if you're not actually in the country (also that's not an official source)

from a post BI made on Facebook in 2021
https://www.facebook.com/officialbureauofimmigration/posts/press-release04-january-2021annual-report-of-aliens-underway-bithe-annual-report/1911734505631914/

snip
Licas also bared that foreigners who are out of the country during the 60-day period can still make the report within 30 days from the date of their return to the country, so long as their re-entry permits are still valid
/snip

They posted the same on January 4th this year, but I can't make a link from it for some reason.

https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064733437024/search/?q=annual report

[hk blues]

11 minutes ago, skippyscage said:

that's definitely not the full story - you can't do an annual report if you're not actually in the country (also that's not an official source)

from a post BI made on Facebook in 2021
https://www.facebook.com/officialbureauofimmigration/posts/press-release04-january-2021annual-report-of-aliens-underway-bithe-annual-report/1911734505631914/

snip
Licas also bared that foreigners who are out of the country during the 60-day period can still make the report within 30 days from the date of their return to the country, so long as their re-entry permits are still valid
/snip

They posted the same on January 4th this year, but I can't make a link from it for some reason.

https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064733437024/search/?q=annual report

Page 2 Section 4 para 2 of this years guidance from BI itself confirms what I posted previously. 

https://e-services.immigration.gov.ph/assets/files/AnnualReport_2023.pdf

 

 

[skippyscage]

so basically 2 official sources contradict each other - well not contradict, but one version misses things out they they themselves post in other places.

hardly ground breaking - one BI office has no idea of the rules that another BI tries to enforce - that's the PH all over

I'll be speaking to them this week in any case.

[hk blues]

Just now, skippyscage said:

so basically 2 official sources contradict each other - well not contradict, but one version misses things out they they themselves post in other places.

hardly ground breaking - one BI office has no idea of the rules that another BI tries to enforce - that's the PH all over

I'll be speaking to them this week in any case.

There is no contradiction though, and both documents say the same thing albeit with different levels of detail.  The link you yourself provided states the following -

"The law requires all foreign nationals to report annually within the first 60 days of a calendar year," Morente said. "They have only until March 1 to comply."

The BI chief said the annual report of aliens is provided under the Alien Registration Act of 1950 and those who do not comply may be meted sanctions, including fines, visa cancellation, deportation, and imprisonment.

[OnMyWay]

26 minutes ago, hk blues said:

There is no contradiction though, and both documents say the same thing albeit with different levels of detail.  The link you yourself provided states the following -

"The law requires all foreign nationals to report annually within the first 60 days of a calendar year," Morente said. "They have only until March 1 to comply."

The BI chief said the annual report of aliens is provided under the Alien Registration Act of 1950 and those who do not comply may be meted sanctions, including fines, visa cancellation, deportation, and imprisonment.

I'm 99.5% certain that they have a procedure in place to account for those out of the country during Jan/Feb.  It is not mentioned in the PDF link.

@skippyscage Let us know what you find out.  I might be in the situation next year.  I will probably downgrade as the 13a penalizes travel too much.

[hk blues]

2 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm 99.5% certain that they have a procedure in place to account for those out of the country during Jan/Feb.  It is not mentioned in the PDF link.

@skippyscage Let us know what you find out.  I might be in the situation next year.  I will probably downgrade as the 13a penalizes travel too much.

I don't really understand what you mean by a procedure in place.  It seems simple enough, you report during Jan/Feb and if you fail to you can do so when you do return you pay the 200php a month, or 2,000php a year.  It seems like Major Tom has described as much in his opening post. I can't see the BI passing up a chance to impose fines when they have every right to but you never know, miracles do happen!

As always, local differences may apply but when I found myself likely to be in this situation 4 or 5 years ago the Iloilo BI told me no problem, you can just report when you get back here...but remember there is a 200php fine for each month you're late.