# Getting into Phil’s the hard way!



## BGCExpat (Oct 26, 2015)

Travel notes from my trip back to the Philippines (long, but with pictures)


My girlfriend had finished her Masters program in Auckland nearly one year ago but because of Covid and how badly it decimated businesses in New Zealand she was unable to land a meaningful career-based job. Pre-Covid immigrants stood a shot at getting a good job, but with at least 20% unemployment and laws favoring Kiwi candidates over foreign ones, she had to think outside the box and broaden her scope when looking for a job. She got one, and a great one in Manila, which meant we had to move back to the Philippines a.s.a.p. 


Knowing her short timeline, we had to think of ways to get me back into the country as quickly as possible. I have an SRRV visa but as we all know, SRRV’s are not being allowed back in - whoever made that rule clearly does not understand immigration or what retirees actually bring to the Philippines. 


I started asking for a travel exemption months previously to our expected departure date, but now there is added pressure since we now know she has to be there in a certain time-frame. My first letter in August 2020 was to the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) who quickly told me to wait. A month went by with no action so I wrote a follow-up letter to both the PRA and cc’ed their reporting agency, the Department of Tourism. Both agencies told me to wait. So I started writing follow-up letters every two weeks after that to stay in their field of vision - the key is to be polite and get noticed, but not noticed so much they get irritated with you... These letters were addressed directly to Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who is the Secretary of the Department of Tourism ([email protected]) and Bienvenido K. Chy - who is the CEO/GM of the Philippine Retirement Authority ([email protected]).


As a plan ‘B’ we decided to get married and pursue the 9A visa as a secondary method of entry, this was happening concurrently with my attempts of getting an exemption through the PRA/DOT/DFA. 


We had been talking to the Philippine Embassy in Wellington about the steps needed to get a 9A, they were great to deal with and helped tremendously. I started with a letter directly to the ambassador who has a FB page with a Messenger link on it. So off goes the letter to the ambassador, I thought nothing of it until he personally responded about 48 hours later! We had some back-and-forth messages until he understood the exact situation, that’s when he passed me off directly to the visa-issuing officer in the embassy. Some emails back-and-forth to him and we are now all on the same page and working towards the same objective. Long-story-short, it took 3 days from the time I overnighted the application, supporting documents, self-addressed return overnight packaging, and my passport to the embassy to the time it was back in my hand and ready to go! The Philippine Embassy in New Zealand is staffed by professionals who take their jobs seriously, and we cannot thank them enough for everything they did for us...


Of course as luck always has it, now that I have got my 9A visa the DFA, DOT, and PRA finally acted on my many exemption requests and gave it to me and 39 other SRRV holders! Now I have got two current visas and methods back into the Philippines, a 9A through marriage, and an SRRV with a travel exemption... To those looking to enter on their SRRV visa, please stay positive, keep writing letters, and follow up on those letters - these departments will get tired of hearing from you and give you what you want if you don’t end up irritating them too much!
Edit: I had the discussion in another thread about having two visas simultaneously, it seems Covid has allowed normally hard-and-fast immigration rules to be bent a little. The Immigration Officer did not even blink at me having two visas, she allowed me in on the 9A as a one-time entry which gives me 60-90 days to process either a 13A visa or stay on my SRRV...


My wife had departed Auckland two weeks before me as she had to start her new job, but we still had time left on our condo lease in NZ. I took this time to finish packing everything and arranging shipping our belongings back to Manila. It was now getting close to my departure date and we had successfully wrapped up our lives in New Zealand. It’s a great place to live, it’s just unfortunate that Covid happened and screwed up our plans to live and work there permanently.


Auckland International Airport was a ghost town last night, my time had come to depart back to the Philippines and restart our lives there. I have traveled in and out of Auckland International many times and have never, ever seen it so desolate and deserted - eerie would be a more apt description. Security and immigration was a snap, with little to no wait times. 11.5 hours later, I’m departing the plane for my 2 hour layover in Hong Kong. 


















HGK was a little more active than AKL but not by much... The biggest surprise was the level of scrutiny during the layover, not just in security and standard airport screening procedures, but at the departure gate counter. They called my name on the intercom to come to the counter, now I’m beginning to get worried. They asked for my e-CIF, my QR code for a prepaid swab test, confirmation of my quarantine hotel reservations (I suggest a two night reservation to be on the safe side), a check of my two separate entry visas, and my return ticket. This is important because the embassy was not sure about a return ticket, so I had bought one of those ‘onward tickets’ that you can rent on the internet - just in case... I have never done that before but I am exceedingly happy I did this time as it was the final question from the airline representative, who scanned it and found it to be legitimate. Truly the best $18 insurance I have ever bought, it got me through both preflight questioning in Hong Kong and immigration at NAIA. 









Going through the process at NAIA was a little easier than Hong Kong, but not by much. Same basic questioning along with a Covid swab test - the least fun thing anyone will ever do! There’s nothing as annoying as a flexible swab stuck in your nose and pushed all the way to the back of your throat...


Finally the moment I’ve been dreading is here - going to the immigration booth at NAIA. The IO was nice but unfamiliar in dealing with SRRV visas so she had to consult with her superior officer. I watched them discuss the situation, she came back and stamped an entry into my passport but only on the 9A visa. That means I have roughly 60 -90 days to switch from a 9A entry visa to a 13A marriage visa and get it authorized so I can live in the Philippines permanently. That is fine and I understand they can not stamp two separate visas, they had to pick one and they did...


In the end I did not need the travel exemption from the DFA that was associated with my SRRV, only the 9A visa... A great deal of work and planning went into this, I’m happy they allowed me back into the country, and tonight will be the first time I see my wife in two weeks! Just a little more work on visas and I will be in good standing with immigration and ready to live my life in the Philippines - again!


The biggest lesson learned from all of this is - read and re-read the instructions on entry into the Philippines and follow them TO THE LETTER! If you are coming in on a visa that requires an outbound flight, buy (rent) an onward ticket from an agency that deals with that stuff, I am glad I did as it is the last question anyone will ask - when do you fly back out. If you have a rental-ticket they can actually look it up and see your name on that particular airlines reservations system, but this is only good for 24-48 hours and will cease to be active after that time. A great work-around, I am very happy to have bought one and highly suggest everyone do the same if an outbound flight is necessary.

Edit:
After 39 hours of waiting for my Covid results, the PRC finally came through! I am negative for Covid and can now proceed to a more regular life in Manila. Seems like a long time to process the test, but I had booked two nights in the quarantine hotel anyway so nothing was really lost...


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Very good work 👍

You had an extra possibiity though by your gf was with you and you were ready to marry her.


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## Fort878 (Sep 7, 2013)

BGCExpat said:


> Travel notes from my trip back to the Philippines (long, but with pictures)
> Truly the best $18 insurance I have ever bought, it got me through both preflight questioning in Hong Kong and immigration at NAIA.


Hello and thank you for your very detailed account of your “visa” and travel experience. I wish you and your wife all the best in your new life in the Philippines. We left Manila in a big hurry in mid-March when the travel restrictions and community lockdown just started. My husband and I are currently in Canada and we cancelled our usual winter vacation to Philippines because of the COVID pandemic. 

We are waiting for the Covid19 vaccines to be available to us, which could be in the next 3 mos or so, before making any travel plans. We are also waiting for return-to-normal life in Philippines.

When we left in mid-March, our reservations in island resorts were cancelled, virtually all stores were closed except for grocery stores, pharmacies & banks...most restaurants were closed and the ones that were open, had to-go service or delivery only (ie no dine-in). The amenities in our BGC condo were also closed so no pool, no gym, no visitors allowed in the building (only residents allowed), etc. If this is still the case, then it really isn’t much fun to be in the Philippines. 

I’m curious what and how life is in Manila or BGC nowadays. If you are able to comment, I would love to hear from you!

Maria


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Fort878 said:


> If this is still the case, then it really isn’t much fun to be in the Philippines.
> 
> I’m curious what and how life is in Manila or BGC nowadays.


 I ddon't know about Manila other than it's in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu it's worst. 
'In around half of Phils they have less restrictions by less covid cases, e g at South half of Leyte and whole Palawan economies are slowed down by e g no tourists and effects of that. They need to have facemasks, there are checkpoints at municipaly borders WITHIN A SECTOR, but people get through if they can show negative covid tests. Traveling BETWEEN SECTORS is big problem though (at least rather recently) because that demand 14 days quarantaine. 

(Inside such zones eg my new business partner travelled 2 times 200+ kilometers at Palawan turn and return last week without problem to get through. And one at south Leyte pass such borders now and then to get to city to get access to more products than there are where he live.)

Some travelling have got less restrictions by kind of "regional tourism".
E g some farmers have big problem to sell their products by their normal buyers (= traders) can't travel as before.
Construction work have reopened, but less, so e g plank selling is much slower than normal (at Palawan). But for a few, who produce things a sector are short of, I guess have better business than normal by less competition by less "importing". 

Summary: It's harrder life for everyone, but some can live rather normal.


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## BGCExpat (Oct 26, 2015)

“I’m curious what and how life is in Manila or BGC nowadays.”

Well it’s not the same as pre-Covid times, that’s for sure. Restaurants are open, malls too, but face masks AND face shields are mandatory to enter establishments. It’s hot enough outside without adding two layers of paper/plastic to ones face...

I was at the mall yesterday and I did not have an enjoyable experience. Not so much for the safety precautions but because we are 10 days away from Christmas! The buying mania is in full force so personal space and a 2 meter bubble is hard to come by. I will not be going out to a mall like that again until after the Christmas rush is over...

We have a lot of friends in the security industry, there is a rumor going around that the NCR will be locked down again before Christmas. I’m thinking the government wants to slow the spread of Covid at office and holiday parties, and wants to slow/stop the usual exodus to provincial areas over the holidays. We will see...


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## Fort878 (Sep 7, 2013)

BGCExpat said:


> I’m thinking the government wants to slow the spread of Covid at office and holiday parties, and wants to slow/stop the usual exodus to provincial areas over the holidays. We will see...


Geez...we have the same problem here but in a much smaller scale. Celebrating Christmas with family and friends is a big temptation, even for those who have been compliant otherwise. We expect infected cases to significantly increase after the holidays. Good luck and stay safe.


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