New BI system: Tourist visa in one day [in Philippines BI offices]

[A_flyer]

Good news for Foreigners willing to get a visa in the Philippines Bureau of Immigration in the Philippines (I suppose they will use also the same system in their Embassies):
New BI system: Tourist visa in one day (Philippines Star - Jan 14, 2008)
Foreign tourists can now enjoy a more convenient visit to the country, as the processing time of their visas has been cut from a month to one day via the new Visa Issuance Made Simple (VIMS) system, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said yesterday...
Read more here: http://www.philstar.com/index.php?He...id=20080113145

[KeithD]

I hate the word 'simple' when it has anything to do with a government!!

[Welsh_Italian]

I experienced the VIMS system today. I got myself a tourist visa extension (from 21 day to add 38 days) and I also applied for a s13(a) residence visa too.

I got the extension the same day though there was lots of queuing and confusion. The s13(a) visa has been simplified a lot - no medical check, financial check, NBI clearance etc which has made the system smooth. There is Bureau of Immigration clearance which is done there and then. I made my residence visa application today and my interview is scheduled for Thursday - in 3 days time which is much quicker than I thought possible. The tentative date for the decision is March 14th which makes it possible to get the residence visa in less than 2 days. No fixers needed, though the notary charged 500PHP for notarising documents including doing a standard letter from spouse (with copy) and checking the application. In contrast to the extension visa, there were no queues, and I found the staff to be friendly and helpful!

Will I be back in 2 weeks to complain about the decision though?

[A_flyer]

That's good news. Keep us informed until the final (hopefully happy) status.

[Welsh_Italian]

Will do. The only thing that irked me was that I might get the residence visa before my 21 day visa is up - which means I wouldn't have had to get the extension visa!!!

Still, it's np really - better to be safe than sorry and I only had to pay for BI clearance just the once for both applications.

[fred]

OK thanks for the info based on new rules..
Will your ACR card have temporary or Permanent on it considering you applied in the R.P?

[Welsh_Italian]

I was also told that they are cracking down on the issuance of the Balikbayan stamp to foreigners. My wife was only abroad for 3 months and was not considered to be a Balikbayan which meant that I couldn't avail of the privilege. I think Libanan wants to crack down on this to encourage foreign spouses to apply for s13(a)s instead.

[jonnijon]

Has anyone a web address for these new rules?Thanks in advance.

[A_flyer]

Has anyone a web address for these new rules?Thanks in advance.

Here are 2 newspaper articles with infos (Philstar archiving is not working):
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/...80114met4.html
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/new...icle_id=112420

And read the other post of Welsh_Italian in another thread (you have the link to the Philippines Immigration website on the MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. MCL--07--005 about VIMS): http://filipinaroses.com/showpost.ph...84&postcount=9

[jonnijon]

A Flyer thanks very much,cant belive things are getting more simple,but I expect there will be some Lets all hope it goes well.It will be very good for the Philippines to get rid of a lot of red tape.
My honey filed for anullment in December,wish they would make that quicker.

[A_flyer]

My honey filed for anullment in December,wish they would make that quicker.

Don't dream, it's a long and costly process...

[Pepe n Pilar]

A Flyer thanks very much,cant belive things are getting more simple,but I expect there will be some Lets all hope it goes well.It will be very good for the Philippines to get rid of a lot of red tape.
My honey filed for anullment in December,wish they would make that quicker.

If she avails of the package deal then it will only take her at least 3-5 months but if not then it takes a year...Be patient...

[Welsh_Italian]

I'm back from Manila now.

Todays procedure was simple and easy again. We entered the main building, chatted to security (I had to leave some ID - my old work card) at the main desk and we walked to the top floor where a happy guard took my details. We rested a little while and went to room 401 to tell them that we had arrived. They told us to go to another room and we entered though we were early. We gave our details and were interviewed right there and this took only 10-15 minutes.

The questions covered things like, "when did you get married?", "are you working?", "where did you work before?", "how did you meet", "do you have savings" with lots of interruptions from the rest of the office who had other matters they wanted the guy to deal with. The interview was in Taglish which didn't help as I'm not that fluent in it.

Of course, even if I was working (which I'm not), I would not have said that I was: I need the visa before I have permission to do so! The questions were fairly basic and general and we left quickly after we had arrived. I was given the phone number and name of a member of staff and asked to phone next week on the "tentative" date (next Friday) so it's just a case of sit and wait until then.

[Welsh_Italian]

I phoned up the BI yesterday using the number I was given and was told that my application had been approved! I also had to check with the legal dept upon the status of it and did so. They told me I could go in and collect my application next week. We will leave that until the week after because it's holy week next week (lots of civil servants taking time off), but it seems as though I've gone from application to approval in less that 2 weeks which isn't bad at all.

I will update with what happens when I go in next.

[ria]

Hi Welsh_Italian, thanks for posting all that useful info. I'm so happy to have found this thread through Google.

My husband and I are considering getting a 13g visa, which requires about the same documents as a 13a. Since you have gathered the docs yourself and even got your visa approved (congrats!), I hope you don't mind my asking the following questions:

1. What should the 'letter of application' contain?

2. Just to clarify: were you able to get your BI clearance certificate and apply for your 13a visa on the same day? So does this mean you don't have to get a BI clearance certificate days or weeks beforehand?

3. Did you have to have a photocopy of your passport authenticated at a Philippine embassy/consulate in your home country?

Would really appreciate any info you could give. Thanks.

[Welsh_Italian]

Hehe, I thought it was going too easily...

Well my wife and I travelled to Manila the other day only to be told that my application was still under approval and that we had to wait.

Without being told of this originally, my application has to go through 3 rounds ('agendas') of approvals and I had only passed the first one. I don't know what the clown who answered the telephone before was, but I wish I had taken his name (not that it would do any good) because it was a wasted trip. They should have finished by now but getting through to the telephone number is difficult. We have managed it once but were told that the person dealing with it wasn't in the office which sounds like the run-around.

If this was the UK, I would know how to tackle this, but over here there isn't much I can do without knowing influential people.

[Welsh_Italian]

Hi Welsh_Italian, thanks for posting all that useful info. I'm so happy to have found this thread through Google.

My husband and I are considering getting a 13g visa, which requires about the same documents as a 13a. Since you have gathered the docs yourself and even got your visa approved (congrats!), I hope you don't mind my asking the following questions:

1. What should the 'letter of application' contain?

2. Just to clarify: were you able to get your BI clearance certificate and apply for your 13a visa on the same day? So does this mean you don't have to get a BI clearance certificate days or weeks beforehand?

3. Did you have to have a photocopy of your passport authenticated at a Philippine embassy/consulate in your home country?

Would really appreciate any info you could give. Thanks.

1. Our letter of application was boilerplate written by the notary. I can't remember it's contents but it was quite formal and brief.

2. Yes, you get the BI clearance on the same day. You just pay for it at the time and they consult their computer and print out a slip of paper for you there and then.

3. No I didn't have my passport photocopy authenticated, but I had my original with me for them to examine when I applied.

All the best. As you will see from my previous post, things aren't always what they seem to be, but keep trying and be patient. I get the impression that the new system managed to cut out a little of the under-the-counter stuff for our friends in the BI; but they're back up to speed now and have figured ways to get their hands on some foreigner-sponsored overtime by creating endless committees.

[Welsh_Italian]

We managed to get through this afternoon and the final round (really?) will apparently be on the 18th or 25th April. The problem is that my visa extension runs out on 20th (Sunday).

Does anyone know if I can apply for my extension after overstaying (if I don't get the visa)? I would prefer to wait for the response to the residence visa before laying out even more cash for another extension.

[ria]

Thanks, Welsh_Italian, for the updates and answers to my questions. Will also keep readers here posted on our 13g visa application. We're still in the process of gathering the required docs.

In the meantime, I'm happy to report that my NSO birth certificate arrived within 3 business days of ordering it on www.ecensus.com.ph. All the other documents are easy to obtain, except for our marriage certificate which will have to be translated and then go through a whole circus of legalization (first by a court, and then the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and finally the Philippine Embassy where we got married).

For anyone who might be interested here is the list of requirements:

CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATIONS FOR CONVERSION TO RETURNING FORMER FILIPINO CITIZEN
(Section 13, paragraph G)

1. Duly notarized letter of application;
2. General Application Form duly accomplished and notarized (BI Form No. MCL-07-01);
3. NSO authenticated copy of birth certificate of the applicant;
4. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Clearance Certificate; and
5. Plain photocopy of passport, with English translation if written in other foreign language by the Philippine embassy/consulate nearest to or in the place where the passport was issued, showing applicant’s bio-page, admission stamp and authorized stay of at least twenty (20) calendar days from date of filing.

If in the application, the applicant is joined by his/her spouse and unmarried minor children:
1. Copy of marriage contract of applicant and spouse, duly authenticated by the Philippine embassy/consulate nearest to or in the place where the marriage was solemnized, with English translation, if written in other foreign language;
2. Copy of birth certificate of minor unmarried children, duly authenticated by the Philippine embassy/consulate nearest to or in the place where the marriage was solemnized, with English translation, if written in other foreign language; and
3. Plain photocopies of the passport/s of foreign national’s dependents showing its bio-page, admission stamp and authorized stay of at least twenty (20) calendar days from date of filing.

[Welsh_Italian]

Well I have my 13A residence visa now!

My wife and I travelled to Manila yesterday and we got my passport stamped all nice and good.

We were originally told when we enquired by phone that my case would be seen on the 18th or 25th April which was a problem as my extension visa ran out on 20th (a Sunday too). I was concerned that I would have to pay for another extension visa which would have cost a fair bit (it was the 4-6 month extension). We travelled down yesterday (21st) and asked only to find that my case had been reviewed on the 14th. The office was on the second floor of the BI (to the left just as the top of the stairs coming up) and the guy there was really helpful. He found the record, gave me the receipt but I had to pay an extra 500PHP to have it done the same day because 13A visas are not dealt with on Monday (Tuesday and Thursdays) (btw, this wasn't a bribe - I mistakenly tried to pay him and he made it clear that he wasn't to receive any money at all). We went upstairs to pay, came back downstairs with the receipt and had to make a couple of photocopies of papers (made at the extension building). We came back and waited 30 minutes for the application to be ready, and then my passport was handed over - all stamped with the 13A visa!

Overall, it was quite an easy process except for the wasted trip down and trying to get through on the telephone. To improve, I would suggest telling applicants about the process and most importantly, giving them a 'bottom line' date of when they may anticipate their application being completed. But the staff were friendly, and didn't want bribing or anything else. A bit of waiting and running around is needed, but it's not onerous and considering that I have now got a visa for the next 12 months (probationary period) for a cost little more than the second extension, I'm happy. The best bit is not having to travel to Manila again though - as usual, it was hot, dirty and polluted and we were glad to get back home in the provinces.

We applied for the ACR-I card too the same day but will have to wait 3 weeks until it's ready. The guy there said we could have it the next day for 1800PHP, but there's no rush to get it so we decided to wait.

[chino]

well done... its nice that the process is getting better!