# BI 2021 annual report guidelines



## Hey_Joe (Sep 13, 2016)

http://www.immigration.gov.ph/images/AnnualReport/2021_AnnualReport.pdf


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

That website is hosed. The only online appointment option is the main office in Manila. We have to use the FB page to get appointments in Iloilo. Not surprising ha ha


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

Tukaram said:


> That website is hosed. The only online appointment option is the main office in Manila. We have to use the FB page to get appointments in Iloilo. Not surprising ha ha


I agree, the website is down frequently but I show it working now it's 1:20 am.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

The page was working, when I looked at it - but you cannot make appointments for branch offices. So, unless you live in Manila, still useless ha ha. We have to use FB messenger to make appointments with our local office...


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

And even when living at a main island, some have 300 kilometers to closest office, 
while in other places there are just a few km between the offices!!!  
I guess that's decided in Manila


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

Lunkan said:


> And even when living at a main island, some have 300 kilometers to closest office,
> while in other places there are just a few km between the offices!!!
> I guess that's decided in Manila


Just in case, here's a link with locations of all the Satellite Offices http://www.immigration.gov.ph/index.php/information/directory-of-transactions


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> Just in case, here's a link with locations of all the Satellite Offices Directory of Transactions


Yes. Very unfair. 
No reaon to have that many *close* to each other northwest of Manila
and *very far *at Palawan and from south Leyte. (The Tacloban dot is in wrong place, it's located more north, so the two at Leyte-Samar are rather close to each other instead of more spread.)

I hope it will change by Palawan split into three provinces


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

The location of offices may due to size of municipality and the number of expats in the area. Some offices shown are Seaports while others are municipalities serving different functions(not all offices provide the same immigration actions). The map is not all inclusive as it does not show the office in Dasmarinas, Cavite and maybe others. The following is a list of offices and the actions they can conduct. https://immigration.gov.ph/images/D...2020_Yr/09_Sep/2020Sep29_DirOfTransaction.pdf


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

Yeah, I am sure they look at how busy the offices are when they set up new branch offices. Here on Panay we have 3 now: Iloilo, Kalibo, and Boracay. If you live on the Antique side of the island... you drive. But there are very few foreigners out that way, so a branch office would be a ghost town most of the time.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Tukaram said:


> Yeah, I am sure they look at how busy the offices are when they set up new branch offices.


 Yes. but unfair anyway  to have to go over 200 km.

I suppouse it can be solved by intergrate it with some other official office. 
(As for instance in Sweden they have integrated things as tax, birth certifcte and registration of people including when die in same office.)
/


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

I would not call it unfair, more like expected to me. Look at Texas, there are lots of immigration offices...but only about 8 areas (many, like Dallas, have multiple offices). That is a big state... with very little service outside of major cities.

Honestly, I am surprised at how many offices they have here in the PIs. But then again, anywhere I would live here has an office.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Lunkan said:


> Yes. but unfair anyway  to have to go over 200 km.
> ....


If you don't want to drive over 200 kms to a BI office you can simply live within 200 kms of one or get a visa type that does not require periodic visits to a BI office.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Manitoba said:


> If you don't want to drive over 200 kms to a BI office you can simply live within 200 kms of one or get a visa type that does not require periodic visits to a BI office.


 Yes, but it's unfair anyway  

I want to live close to where my business is and that's far from the closest BI office  (Because I like the nature there and it's there we found the best bargains of misstreated businesses we buy to solve the mess in.)

(Concerning VISA I will probably prefer 13 A.)


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

It's generally suggested that you should seek your 13a in your home country as there are benefits over getting it in the Philippines. Although there are small downsides especially around travel at least you only need to visit the BI once a year.


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

Lunkan said:


> (Concerning VISA I will probably prefer 13 A.)


You could get the 13a Visa all accomplished in Sweden the only requirement left would be to get the Permanent Resident Card within a week or two after landing in the Philippines, some Satellite Offices can't handle that function.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

The main thing you need to do to get a 13a is marry a Filipino! So until that happens you can't apply for it.

Chuck


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

bidrod said:


> The main thing you need to do to get a 13a is marry a Filipino! So until that happens you can't apply for it.


 Yes. That's why it's a later option. Need to see if she find it ok to live remote first  at other island than her family.


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

Lunkan said:


> Yes. That's why it's a later option. Need to see if she find it ok to live remote first  at other island than her family.


But are you sure you can live remote Lunkan? You do realize if you live remote your food options are very limited so can you live off of locally cooked meals? I know I can't, you do get pretty hungry for Western foods and the further you are from a major city the harder it is to find variety this also includes vegetables, it's the same ole stuff in the markets and same with seasonings you can order seasonings online and that's only if you have a delivery service to your remote area.

So if you live remote but find yourself traveling all the time to get to the larger area's it's hardly living remote, you can get real tired of living remote I know I do, live somewhat remote but I do have larger cities that I can shop at on Luzon but I couldn't' imagine living on another island remote, Gilliagans Island was a cool comedy drama but reality is much different.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> But are you sure you can live remote Lunkan? You do realize if you live remote your food options are very limited so can you live off of locally cooked meals? I know I can't,..,
> 
> So if you live remote but find yourself traveling all the time to get to the larger area's it's hardly living remote, you can get real tired of living remote I know I do


 I grew up in Stockholm city, but when I were 10yo I decided  I will live remote and become my own boss. As 24yo I became my own boss with as most 115 employees. Some later I sold the distribution section and added some other as e g software production when I found a remote place I liked. I have lived so 30 years,. But it's to cold here for my bad joints, that's why I want to change to the Philippines. 

I'm used to buy and store food to manage over 2 montths anyway to have if I get snowed in or don't want to go to town for a while  The only food I expect missing are Swedish hard cheese and cheesecake. 
Concerning cooking I can do such myself  in big parts done from vegs and dried things. 
E g a Filipino dish - conggee - is in basic parts same as Swedish "Christmas porrage"  

Living remote don't mean have to be remote all the time  by having car. Living remote in Sweden I have e g compeeted in sports as e g tennis, table tennis, dance, chess and canoe as well as leader make a club reach Swedish elite. Beside when going to sport competitions in cities, I haven't been in any city since 1992 and I haven't missed them 

There are *a lot* of things to do remote in Phils too. Beside own business and family, I plan to start Help-to-self-help projects and a fiesta with activities similar to Swedish Midsummer  (The family part at daytime, not the drunk part.) If I will have time and the locals want me to, I think of lead a basketball team too. (I have played in Swedish leage, but now I'm to old to play myself huhu  There are a lot of nature and other things to explore there too. And there are more books I want to finnish writing. So I'm more "worried" to not have enough time to do all I want to do than to get bored living remote 

There are foreigners living remote in that region allready and like it. 

I don't like cities. In the beginning I will have to travel some to city to get the material I need to build equipment to a second business I plan to start. After that I would prefer to not need to go to any city. That's why I'm grumpy if having to go to city for yearly report  Even worse when far away, by to far to go there and back the same day..


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

Lunkan said:


> I have lived so 30 years,. But it's to cold here for my bad joints, that's why I want to change to the Philippines.
> 
> The only food I expect missing are Swedish hard cheese and cheesecake.
> 
> ...


- We agree 100% on the joints the heat sure makes me feel good especially a knee I hurt as a younger man.

-Get ready to miss, decent tasting Sour Cream and cottage cheese, tacos, pizza, veggies like red beets, rutabegga, rubbarb, asparagas, zuccini.

-No drinking! they won't want you at all sadly and good luck with that.

-With a power of auttourney you should be able to have someone make that yearly run for you to the Immigration Office or even to renew your Permanent Resident Visa Card, it sounds like you have money so that shouldn't be a major issue.


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## John1850 (Oct 31, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> - We agree 100% on the joints the heat sure makes me feel good especially a knee I hurt as a younger man.
> 
> -Get ready to miss, decent tasting Sour Cream and cottage cheese, tacos, pizza, veggies like red beets, rutabegga, rubbarb, asparagas, zuccini.
> 
> ...


 Hi, are expats on a single passport (UK), but over retirement age (70), and in reasonable health, classed by Immigration as being "senior citizens" and therefore be able to get someone to do the annual run to Immigration Office?
John


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

John1850 said:


> Hi, are expats on a single passport (UK), but over retirement age (70), and in reasonable health, classed by Immigration as being "senior citizens" and therefore be able to get someone to do the annual run to Immigration Office?
> John


John PBI website is down again but if nobody else answers your question contact the Official Philippine Bureau of Immigration Facebook page you can phone or message they do reply. Bureau of Immigration, Republic of the Philippines

Another note once the PBI website is back online again you can check under I think announcements and they have much more information on checking in. philippine bureau of immigration - Google Search


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

John1850 said:


> Hi, are expats on a single passport (UK), but over retirement age (70), and in reasonable health, classed by Immigration as being "senior citizens" and therefore be able to get someone to do the annual run to Immigration Office?
> John


Are you on a 9a(tourist visa)? If you are the annual report is done with your extension in Jan/Feb time frame. If your are 13a visa and maybe some others you should be considered Senior Citizen at age 60 since that is the age Philippine law states. 




__ https://www.facebook.com/officialbureauofimmigration/posts/1889913221147376



Chuck


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> -Get ready to miss, decent tasting Sour Cream and cottage cheese, tacos, pizza, veggies like red beets, rutabegga, rubbarb, asparagas, zuccini.


 Well. IF I can get cow milk - not the low fat dried - then I can make:
/Swedish fil ( = some similar to youghurt but I don't like youghurt) made the same way Swedish immigrants brought it to USA 100+ years ago  (A cloth diped in the fil/youghurt type you like and then dried to bring the bacterias needed to transform milk to fil/youghurt assisted by correct temperature. A Swede in Thailand make it at backside of his warm water tank 
/"Thomas pizza" (=Some similar to panpizza, something between pizza and thick oven panncakes).
/perhaps even cheese. The fresh soft cheese type don't seem hard to make. Perhaps I will even try to make own hard cheese. Or get boxes of such send from Sweden  they can stay fresh long time but would be expensive with the transport cost huhu.

I don't ike farming myself, except pick berries from bushes, which handle themselves 
My business partner will allready test if raspberries can grow good there. (Become berries not first but second year.) He is basicly farner and farm some hectares anyway, so I suppouse he can grow me things which suit to grow in that soil. (Onions don't.) Worth testing rubarb. (I'm not fond of red beats or asparigus anyway 


M.C.A. said:


> -No drinking! they won't want you at all sadly and good luck with that.


 Yes I know it's a common problem in Phils, but as he, who gave me tip of this good team, said:
-These guys don't gamle or drink, they work.
So if parts of the rest of that few people baranggay don't follow No alcohol, then I will make it just for the team with families or others too who follow No alcohol. 


M.C.A. said:


> -With a power of auttourney you should be able to have someone make that yearly run for you to the Immigration Office or even to renew your Permanent Resident Visa Card


 I believe I did read somewhere that has to be done personal. 


M.C.A. said:


> it sounds like you have money so that shouldn't be a major issue.


 Well. I were generous to my employees when I had the rather big business, paid them bohnuses up to 35 % extra when they did something hard good, so I have less than I could have had  and my injury have costed my rather much. I have some money but not enough to do all I want to do huhu  If the new business functions as planned though, then I will have at least 5 times more within 4-5 years  (The calculation based on what the seller said, my share would be 8-10, but the sellers description was some "optimistic"  After a hasty look, I guess correct will be around 5-6 times to me after my business partner has got his share. I will know more exact after the detailed inventory is made.) But part of that earning will be invested in exbantions. We are allready thinking of which order to do such best. (Origin rough plan was first buy one of the two found "bargains" and then buy the other of first earnings, but when checking then one of them wasn't a bargain, it was crap  so we don't want to buy that. A third is found allready, which owner haven't manage to sell in 1.5 years. The asked price is rather cheap, but it don't have the high potential as the first. But perhaps we will buy that later anyway. A rough estimate this third has potential for 2-3 times my investment in 5 years or so, so not bad but I aim higher than that, prefering higher potentials with biger messes to try to solve  We will have full time work a while with solving the mess in the first anyway.


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## John1850 (Oct 31, 2014)

bidrod said:


> Are you on a 9a(tourist visa)? If you are the annual report is done with your extension in Jan/Feb time frame. If your are 13a visa and maybe some others you should be considered Senior Citizen at age 60 since that is the age Philippine law states.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi, I'm on a 13A and have been for a few years now, so the Martian run (aliens) is necessary. 

It's the "citizen" bit that is ambiguous. As far as I am aware, I can be classed as a senior but not as a senior citizen.; I am not a Philippine citizen and as such don't have a senior citizen card (but I get the usual perks such as separate queue but no discounts). 

I am uncertain if they mean seniors or actual people who have gained their citizenship here and are now senior citizens. Someone from Immigration told me a few years ago that everyone who was born in a foreign country had to do the annual run regardless of whether they became a Philippine citizen. Just wondered if things had changed.
Thanks John


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## John1850 (Oct 31, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> John PBI website is down again but if nobody else answers your question contact the Official Philippine Bureau of Immigration Facebook page you can phone or message they do reply. Bureau of Immigration, Republic of the Philippines
> 
> Another note once the PBI website is back online again you can check under I think announcements and they have much more information on checking in. philippine bureau of immigration - Google Search


Hi
Thanks for the reply and tips. Stay safe and Merry Xmas.
John


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

John1850 said:


> Hi, I'm on a 13A and have been for a few years now, so the Martian run (aliens) is necessary.
> 
> It's the "citizen" bit that is ambiguous. As far as I am aware, I can be classed as a senior but not as a senior citizen.; I am not a Philippine citizen and as such don't have a senior citizen card (but I get the usual perks such as separate queue but no discounts).
> 
> ...


First off Filipino citizens don't due the annual report, it is for aliens. Seniors are authorized to have the report done by an authorized representative unless they change the rules this year. BI press release on 10 Dec states there is no change.

Chuck


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## John1850 (Oct 31, 2014)

bidrod said:


> First off Filipino citizens don't due the annual report, it is for aliens. Seniors are authorized to have the report done by an authorized representative unless they change the rules this year. BI press release on 10 Dec states there is no change.
> 
> Chuck


Yes I do realize that a Philippine person born on Philippine soil is classed as a Philippine citizen and does not have to do the annual report. 
My question concerned the use of the phrase "senior citizen" on the website; and if the phrase was erroneous and it should have read "seniors". 

I am a senior UK citizen and not a senior Philippine Citizen, therefore should not be classed as a senior citizen here in the Philippines.

As for Philippine citizens not doing a report, does this include those which were born in a different country? Thinking back to "you are not a 100% Philippine citizen and should not be allowed to run ABS CBN". 
However, thanks for the reply and I will post what Immigration says this year, ( a few years ago they claimed anyone born in another country (the UK) must be an alien and report annually, even if they were now citizens of the Philippines). 
John


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

You have to be careful on the senior citizen benefits. If you ask for the advantages of a senior citizen, when you are not a senior PHILIPPINE citizen, you could be deported.

Sometimes I have been given it but I have never asked for it.

I do take some of the non monetary benefits, like priority in taxi lines or in the bank.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

John1850 said:


> Yes I do realize that a Philippine person born on Philippine soil is classed as a Philippine citizen and does not have to do the annual report.
> My question concerned the use of the phrase "senior citizen" on the website; and if the phrase was erroneous and it should have read "seniors".
> 
> I am a senior UK citizen and not a senior Philippine Citizen, therefore should not be classed as a senior citizen here in the Philippines.
> ...


Asked the OIC at my local BI office a couple years ago if my wife or another individual could do my report for me I am currently 73, she sad yes they could with a Power of Attorney. While we are not Philippine Senior Citizens we are Senior Citizens. 

Chuck


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## Hey_Joe (Sep 13, 2016)

bidrod said:


> Asked the OIC at my local BI office a couple years ago if my wife or another individual could do my report for me I am currently 73, she sad yes they could with a Power of Attorney. While we are not Philippine Senior Citizens we are Senior Citizens.
> 
> Chuck


65 & older are exempt from personal appearance IAW 2021 guidelines. No mention of a POA in the 2021 guidelines.
SOURCE: http://www.immigration.gov.ph/images/AnnualReport/AnnualReport_2021.pdf

The annual PWD statement is confusing as foreigners don't qualify to get a PWD ID.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

Hey_Joe said:


> 65 & older are exempt from personal appearance IAW 2021 guidelines. No mention of a POA in the 2021 guidelines.
> SOURCE: http://www.immigration.gov.ph/images/AnnualReport/AnnualReport_2021.pdf
> 
> The annual PWD statement is confusing as foreigners don't qualify to get a PWD ID.


I2c specifies Special Power of Attorney.

Chuck


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## Tiz (Jan 23, 2016)

bidrod said:


> Asked the OIC at my local BI office a couple years ago if my wife or another individual could do my report for me I am currently 73, she sad yes they could with a Power of Attorney. While we are not Philippine Senior Citizens we are Senior Citizens.
> 
> Chuck


Up until this year, I've always used Power of Attorney to have an immigration lawyer do the annual reporting for me.
Anyone, regardless of age can use POA to have someone else report on their behalf.


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## John1850 (Oct 31, 2014)

bidrod said:


> I2c specifies Special Power of Attorney.
> 
> Chuck


Hi
Registered on the website to obtain my online booking. You get the next slot available and not some future choice of yours.
9am was my booking, arrived at 7:30 and was going to have a coffee in nearby café until we saw a line of chairs outside so we joined the line. Filled in a health declaration and then was ushered inside about 8:15 to have passports, online booking image (on my phone) inspected as well as my ACR card. From there it was a brief wait sat in a hall (about 30 minutes) before I gave my documents to the girl at the window. Another quick inspection and then a sidestep to pay at the next window. That was it. All done for another year. 
John


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