Balikbayan visa & return tickets

[walesrob]

I agree with Yves, there is no need to apply for the Non-Quota Immigrant Visa when the Balikbayan Visa will do the job.

[Welsh_Italian]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Just for the sake of information, my wife and I arrived at NAIA yesterday evening with both our passports and marriage cert (authenticated) yesterday and began the queue at immigration. We both approached the immigration officer together and my wife asked if I could avail of the Balikbayan privilege. The woman's response was "he can pay when he leaves" which didn't make sense until some time after when we both thought that she was expecting some kind of payout.

Our situation may have been different though because my wife had only been out of the Phils for just over 3 months. From reading the legislation, the Balikbayan act only applies to ex-Filipinos, VFOs, or Filipinos who have been continuously out of the country for 12 months or more, none of which apply to my wife.

Still, it's a laugh, isn't it?

I guess we'll just get by with visa extensions for the time being and look into residency visas later on. I'm due to fly back to the UK before 6 months so the extensions might be the best option for the time being.