# Tourist Visa vs Visa Waiver



## Trepanist (Nov 10, 2015)

It looks like I have two options when staying in the Philippines for a couple of months. The first is to submit a tourist visa (59 days) here in the U.S. prior to flying out there. The second, is a visa waiver once I'm already there. 

I prefer the visa waiver because I can just book a flight, and then process the necessary paperwork when I'm already there. But, I wanted to ask everyone what their opinion is. I plan to leave in the next 3 weeks.

Any insight is appreciated!

Mark


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

It is easy enough to do it over here. They give you 30 days upon entry, then you go to immigration and extend it. (I have heard you can do the first extension at the airport but have never tried)


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

Tukaram said:


> It is easy enough to do it over here. They give you 30 days upon entry, then you go to immigration and extend it. (I have heard you can do the first extension at the airport but have never tried)


That was my thought too. Just make sure you have a outbound or round trip ticket for the appropriate time frame.

Fred


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Where does the time go*



Trepanist said:


> It looks like I have two options when staying in the Philippines for a couple of months. The first is to submit a tourist visa (59 days) here in the U.S. prior to flying out there. The second, is a visa waiver once I'm already there.
> 
> I prefer the visa waiver because I can just book a flight, and then process the necessary paperwork when I'm already there. But, I wanted to ask everyone what their opinion is. I plan to leave in the next 3 weeks.
> 
> ...


30 Days goes real fast I would get the 59 day tourist Visa so I could relax and not worry about the 30 days creeping up so fast but from what other expats have shared I think you can have the extensions done at a travel agency, I'd use a large travel agency though or possibly the Philippine Bureau of Immigration Satellite Offices unless your gonna stay in Manila, the travel costs are what really get you back and forth.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

Most large cities have an immigration office. The extension is very fast and easy to get.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

New in the country and without a local to help, easy things can suddenly become a lot harder. I'm not sure if you have the time now but I've have sorted the visa before leaving home, especially as you know you will need it. I think you should get the extension at NAIA on arrival, assuming the office is open when you arrive then you won't need to worry about it later.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

Most all the malls have a travel agency or two, they can handle it for you for a couple hundred Peso's and then stop by later and pick up.

Fred


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## MR2 (Oct 3, 2013)

Gary D said:


> New in the country and without a local to help, easy things can suddenly become a lot harder. I'm not sure if you have the time now but I've have sorted the visa before leaving home, especially as you know you will need it. I think you should get the extension at NAIA on arrival, assuming the office is open when you arrive then you won't need to worry about it later.


Good Advice. 

The first extension is a learning experience. After waiting in line there are papers you will not have, extra copies(called xerox here) you will need, and maybe when you go they are just busy. Plan to spend the day doing this if you handle it yourself. I personally don't like the idea of handing my passport over to anyone.

Angeles does things differently but here you cannot get a 60 day extension until you first get the 30 day extension.


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## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

Tukaram said:


> Most large cities have an immigration office. The extension is very fast and easy to get.


 Yes ,, but they also need to put a *STAMP* ,, on a page of your passport and if you want to extend multiple times it *will fill your passport*


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

The BI web page has a list of approved travel agencies. I used one in the Robinson's Mall, Pala Pala, Dasmarinas, Cavite for 2 yrs plus and ended up with fake stamps as determined by the main BI office. Got incarcerated at the BI detention center, blacklisted and deported. I got the blacklist removed and returned to Philippines, but was a very costly learning experience. I would never use a travel agency again for a Visa extension. Currently have a case filed in the courts against the travel agency. BI stated I was not the first to get fake stamps from that travel agency, but they have taken no action against them. Welcome to the Philippines.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Fake Visa stamps*



bidrod said:


> The BI web page has a list of approved travel agencies. I used one in the Robinson's Mall, Pala Pala, Dasmarinas, Cavite for 2 yrs plus and ended up with fake stamps as determined by the main BI office. Got incarcerated at the BI detention center, blacklisted and deported. I got the blacklist removed and returned to Philippines, but was a very costly learning experience. I would never use a travel agency again for a Visa extension. Currently have a case filed in the courts against the travel agency. BI stated I was not the first to get fake stamps from that travel agency, but they have taken no action against them. Welcome to the Philippines.


And these guys worked in a major mall chain and can't be touched . I would use the PBI and their satellite offices also, sorry to hear of your costly experience with the Bureaucracy also.


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## JRB__NW (Apr 8, 2015)

Gary D said:


> New in the country and without a local to help, easy things can suddenly become a lot harder. I'm not sure if you have the time now but I've have sorted the visa before leaving home, especially as you know you will need it. I think you should get the extension at NAIA on arrival, assuming the office is open when you arrive then you won't need to worry about it later.


Just FYI - I requested the 59 day extension upon arrival at NAIA earlier this year and it was a PIA.. it seemed like they really didn't want to do it.. they conferred.. finally agreed to do it.. I had to go wait in a room for 45 min, had no idea where my passport had been taken, etc. I was very relieved to finally get it. Maybe because it was late - the 9pm arrival from Japan - but it was a hassle and I won't do that again. Your experience might be different than mine..

Because I sometimes travel to other SE Asia countries I usually just do 30 day and when I need an extension I just go down to the local Immigration office and it takes an hour or less. Just have a small photo and your passport. And 2500p or whatever it is.


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## petew2oz (Jan 31, 2010)

Hi,
If you are married to a filippino go up to the desk at customs with her/him. We get a 1 years stamp every time what the wife says I don't know, all i do is look humble and smile.

Pete


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

bidrod said:


> Got incarcerated at the BI detention center, blacklisted and deported. I got the blacklist removed and returned to Philippines, but was a very costly learning experience.


That's a really bad situation. Glad to hear you got out of it.

How were you able to get yourself removed from the blacklist?


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## MR2 (Oct 3, 2013)

Scott E said:


> Yes ,, but they also need to put a *STAMP* ,, on a page of your passport and if you want to extend multiple times it *will fill your passport*


I have seen one of those stamps take up an entire page. There was room to put another stamp underneath it, but instead they used another full page. Here in Angeles my last extension had the sticker. First time I have seen it.



HondaGuy said:


> That's a really bad situation. Glad to hear you got out of it.
> 
> How were you able to get yourself removed from the blacklist?


I would like to know this also. It sounds like a very terrible experience that could happen to anyone.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

Initially had dumb lawyer that lived our subdivision. Ended up spending 108 days in the detention center while fighting the deportation, would never do that again. Finally told them to deport me and bought a ticket to Guam. Caught a military Space A flight from Guam to Calif, my home state. Wife(fiancee at that time) got a good lawyer in Manila cost us 150K php, and he processed the paperwork for removal from the blacklist. The rules had changed after I was deported and now supposedly takes a year before you can return. He got BI I to agree that the stamps were not my fault so I was allowed back in as soon as paperwork was approved. Which was six months after I was deported. BI fined me 50K php and 20K for unpaid visa stamps. Be aware the stamps were the official stamps from the Taytay BI office, the problem was the OR# on the stamp did not match up with my name in the computer. Basically multiple visas were stamped with the same OR#. This was also published in the local papers as it also happened to a Japanese Citizen who was using the same travel agency.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

WOW ! ! After all that, I am withdrawing any recommendation I made to use a Travel Agency. I may continue to use the 2 that I have dealt with before but for sure will be somewhat apprehensive.

Fred


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## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

bidrod, thanks for sharing your experience with us. Thats good information for all of us visitors to the Philippines to know.

The only time I've used a travel agency to extend my visa was in 2012 and if I recall correctly, they provided me with a xerox copy of the OR from the BIR to prove that my stamp was legit. I didnt think anything of it at the time but it makes sense now.

Has anyone else who's used a travel agency had them provide that?


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*PBI Satellite Offices*



fmartin_gila said:


> WOW ! ! After all that, I am withdrawing any recommendation I made to use a Travel Agency. I may continue to use the 2 that I have dealt with before but for sure will be somewhat apprehensive.
> 
> Fred


I think I'd use the Philippine Bureau of Immigration main office in Manila or all those satellite office's in other area's. I have a couple short cuts.

Annual Report

Other Immigration Offices


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## Cebu Citizen (Dec 13, 2013)

bidrod said:


> The BI web page has a list of approved travel agencies. I used one in the Robinson's Mall, Pala Pala, Dasmarinas, Cavite for 2 yrs plus and ended up with fake stamps as determined by the main BI office. Got incarcerated at the BI detention center, blacklisted and deported. I got the blacklist removed and returned to Philippines, but was a very costly learning experience. I would never use a travel agency again for a Visa extension. Currently have a case filed in the courts against the travel agency. BI stated I was not the first to get fake stamps from that travel agency, but they have taken no action against them. Welcome to the Philippines.


Can you tell us the name of that travel agency in Robinson's Mall? Is that allowed in this forum to help keep other forum members from going through the same ordeal? Perhaps a forum moderator can chime in and let us know if you can reveal the name of these scammers...

I have used a travel agent near my home and I have not had an issue as of yet but I guess the threat does exist. I wonder if there is an easy way for us laymen to tell the difference in a real or a fake Visa Extension Stamp? Did BI tell you what details alerted them that your stamp was fake? Perhaps you can share those details to help us all be better aware of this possible situation.


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## jamoct (Nov 6, 2015)

Hey guys and girls, I would strongly advise you NOT to get any travel agencies to apply for your visa extensions. You can do it by yourself. It's as easy as having the form/s printed out with your photo and having the money to pay for it.

Trust me, I handled the visa extension of my then-fiance, now-husband when he first arrived in the Philippines until we flew over here to Spain last October.

However, there are some Immigration offices that are a bit unhelpful/unfriendly, when that happens to you, look for a poster that says a number to call which you can report if you are not being attended (have to wait for almost an hour because a counter is not being attended by ANY bureau official). 

For your 2nd extension (after the visa waiver), be prepared to have 7,000 Pesos or so as you will also have to pay for the Alien Registration Card (ACR I-card) with another 2 months of extension. Or, you can always have your visa-run (flying to somewhere out of the Philippines before your visa expires), as we have low-cost airlines having sales almost every week.


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## colemanlee (Nov 17, 2014)

jamoct said:


> Hey guys and girls, I would strongly advise you NOT to get any travel agencies to apply for your visa extensions. You can do it by yourself. It's as easy as having the form/s printed out with your photo and having the money to pay for it.
> 
> Trust me, I handled the visa extension of my then-fiance, now-husband when he first arrived in the Philippines until we flew over here to Spain last October.
> 
> ...


Excellent advice, I actually have a friend on another forum that had a agency do all his stuff for him cost him a lot of money and after he had been here for some time he found out they were illegally stamping his stuff and keeping the money. He was deported and finally worked it out with the Philippine Embassy in the states and came back. 
That said, if your married, make use of the balikbayan provisions..if you for some reason dont want to get a 13a...
While I was on a tourist visa, I use to keep the forms around the house so I could fill them out in peace, then would take them filled out to the BOI, just hand them to the lady and pay...saved a tremendous amount of time and effort..but I have to say, the folks in BOI where I live are very helpful...


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## Cebu Citizen (Dec 13, 2013)

Had my first REAL scare after reading this thread about "fake" Visa Stamps. I had just recently renewed my Visa for the next year and all of my other Visa Stamps were followed with some signature of an agent at BI...however, my latest Visa Stamp failed to have this signature.

And of course, after reading this Forum Thread about the "fake" Visa Stamps, my mind started racing. I went back to the reputable Travel Agent that I have been using since my arrival here and the owner was there, (from New Zealand), and he assured me that his business would have to close their doors if he could not provide this basic service of Visa renewal and that this was an authentic and authorized Visa Stamp and had no explanation as to why all of my others stamps had a signature but this one did not. He did however, show me three other Visa's he was holding for pick-up and two of those three also did not have signatures and several of the older stamps also did not have signatures...so I guess it was a false alarm but it did trigger panic mode for a moment.

My mind is still used to life in the US where we had clear and concise information, checklists, rules and regulations that made it extremely difficult for businesses to scam the public but here in the Philippines we get a different story from one source and another story from the websites and a even different story from anyone else we might ask...NO CONSISTANCY and therefore the threat of a scam is ever present!


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

Cebu Citizen said:


> My mind is still used to life in the US where we had clear and concise information, checklists, rules and regulations that made it extremely difficult for businesses to scam the public but here in the Philippines we get a different story from one source and another story from the websites and a even different story from anyone else we might ask...NO CONSISTANCY and therefore the threat of a scam is ever present!


Yep. Then when you think you have it figured out, the next time you go there is a good chance that something has changed. Life is more fun in the Philippines, and sometimes more exasperating. LOL

Fred


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## Cebu Citizen (Dec 13, 2013)

fmartin_gila said:


> Yep. Then when you think you have it figured out, the next time you go there is a good chance that something has changed. Life is more fun in the Philippines, and sometimes more exasperating. LOL
> 
> Fred



You got that right!!!!! 

If there is one thing I have learned here in the Philippines is that the *ONLY* thing that is consistent is change itself!

When I first arrived I thought I would try to be as helpful on this forum as possible and take extremely detailed notes of my arrival, the Visa process, my marriage to my Filipina wife, buying my condo and motor vehicle, etc...everything recorded in the smallest detail so I could post new threads here and share the information with other forum members...

That is until I realized that there was so much change going on, whatever I wrote would be outdated in a matter of days, or hours or maybe even the next employee shift change because everyone here has their own way of doing things and their own set of requirements!

I have even talked to the exact same person, in the exact same office about the exact same situation and they change their story from one day to the next!

The BEST ADVICE here is be persistent and GOOD LUCK...


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## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

mcalleyboy said:


> 30 Days goes real fast I would get the 59 day tourist Visa so I could relax and not worry about the 30 days creeping up so fast but from what other expats have shared I think you can have the extensions done at a travel agency, I'd use a large travel agency though or possibly the Philippine Bureau of Immigration Satellite Offices unless your gonna stay in Manila, the travel costs are what really get you back and forth.


"DO NOT" do "ANY" Immigration extension visa transactions at a Travel Agency !! Go to a local satellite "Immigration office" "ONLY" ,, It is no big deal they are there just for this purpose !!


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## Trident542 (Feb 6, 2016)

*ExtensionAtAirport*

Upon arrival at the airport at Manila and before you go through immigration, tell the immigration officer that you want to get the 30 day extension. It should take about 1 or 2 hours to complete the process. Sure is better to do this upon arrival instead of waiting and then having to go to the main immigration office.


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## JM101 (Jan 6, 2015)

When I arrived over a year ago, (OMG has it really been that long), all I did was ask for an extention at the normal Immigration counter right after getting off the plane from the US. 

The Immigration Officer immediately granted it to me right there and stamped my passport for the 59 days after looking at my documents and previous visas in my passport. He also told me that my outbound flight date would require another extention, which I knew. I thanked him and then went on my way.

After multiple extentions and then a trip to Hong Kong with my new wife, I am now on a Balikbayan visa for a year (as long as I don't go anywhere).

JM101


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## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

this may sound like a stupid question, what is a Visa Waiver?


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## Scott E (Jun 1, 2015)

Phil_expat said:


> this may sound like a stupid question, what is a Visa Waiver?


I'wd Like to know also ,, Tourist Visa/ Permanent Visa / Visa Extension / etc.

http://http://www.immigration.gov.ph/


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

Many expats come from countries that are considered 'non-visa required nationals'. So when we come through immigration at the airport you have no prior visa paperwork, or application. They just give you a 30 day stamp - no paperwork, no fees. That is a tourist visa waiver. (as opposed to trying to a Filipina back to the US as a tourist. Then you see the horror that is a tourist visa ha ha)

To get a student visa, marriage visa, or work visa you have to apply, do paperwork etc. Those are actual visas.

We start with a tourist visa waiver. To get an extension you do have to fill out a form to apply for the extension. This is where the confusion comes in.... since we apply for the extension is it now a visa or did we simply extend our visa waiver?

A lot of expats, and quite frankly even immigration, use 'tourist visa' and 'tourist visa waiver' interchangeably... 

...that is probably clear as mud....


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