9A visa help

[Kby175 115]

If the borders do not open up by the end of the year I think I may finally break down and get a visa so I can see my wife and daughter. I was reading over the requirements and there are three that stick out and one I have no idea how to prove she still lives there, the embassies wording.  I have the NSO copies of our wedding certificate as well as our daughters birth certificate.  

 

 I will need the following besides all the other requirements:

 

• Proof of Filipino citizenship of spouse, and proof that the spouse is indeed living and currently in the Philippines (Any ideas on this one?)

• Barangay certificate requested by the Filipino spouse (Not sure what this one is?)

• Notarized letter of invitation executed by the Filipino spouse (I get this one she has a tita that is an attorney)  

 

Any help would be great if anyone went through the process, I searched the threads and could not find answers to the above.  

 

 

[Adventine 3,189]

• Proof of Filipino citizenship of spouse, and proof that the spouse is indeed living and currently in the Philippines (Any ideas on this one?)

  • A valid passport

  • Some PH government IDs indicate the owner's address. Examples are: UMID (she can get this at the SSS office), driver's license, and postal ID.

• Barangay certificate requested by the Filipino spouse (Not sure what this one is?)

  • This is a Certificate of Residency issued by the barangay where she lives. As requirements differ for each barangay, your wife should just go to hers and ask.

As for the notarized letter of invitation, while it's great that your wife has a tita who is an attorney, I believe she can just get the letter notarized at any public notary for super cheap. No need for a lawyer to notarize it.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Adventine

[Kby175 115]

57 minutes ago, Adventine said:

• Proof of Filipino citizenship of spouse, and proof that the spouse is indeed living and currently in the Philippines (Any ideas on this one?)

  • A valid passport

  • Some PH government IDs indicate the owner's address. Examples are: UMID (she can get this at the SSS office), driver's license, and postal ID.

• Barangay certificate requested by the Filipino spouse (Not sure what this one is?)

  • This is a Certificate of Residency issued by the barangay where she lives. As requirements differ for each barangay, your wife should just go to hers and ask.

As for the notarized letter of invitation, while it's great that your wife has a tita who is an attorney, I believe she can just get the letter notarized at any public notary for super cheap. No need for a lawyer to notarize it.

Thank you!  I talked to PAL and they said they are not allowing foreign nationals on the plane without a visa that is why I started looking at going this route.  

 

She already has the newer SSS ID card but that has now been replaced by the national ID she is waiting for that one to arrive could take a year.  Also, has a postal ID I am guessing a photo copy of these would be enough for the embassy?  She does not have a passport yet with covid we are limiting travel to the city until the city has a higher vaccination rate.  

[Adventine 3,189]

9 minutes ago, Kby175 said:

Thank you!  I talked to PAL and they said they are not allowing foreign nationals on the plane without a visa that is why I started looking at going this route.  

 

She already has the newer SSS ID card but that has now been replaced by the national ID she is waiting for that one to arrive could take a year.  Also, has a postal ID I am guessing a photo copy of these would be enough for the embassy?  She does not have a passport yet with covid we are limiting travel to the city until the city has a higher vaccination rate.  

 

I think copies will be enough. Logically, the embassy should understand that the originals are with your spouse in the PH, which is the whole point of you applying for a visa in the first place.

 

The new national ID does not replace any existing government IDs, so the SSS ID and postal ID should serve your purposes. Source: https://www.neda.gov.ph/philsys/

 

Quote

Will the PhilID replace other government IDs?

The PhilID will not replace the existing functional IDs that serve other purposes.

 

 

 

[Kby175 115]

4 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

I think copies will be enough. Logically, the embassy should understand that the originals are with your spouse in the PH, which is the whole point of you applying for a visa in the first place.

 

The new national ID does not replace any existing government IDs, so the SSS ID and postal ID should serve your purposes. Source: https://www.neda.gov.ph/philsys/

 

 

 

As usual the Philippines info varies from person to person, when she applied for her national ID she was told it was replacing the SSS, Voter ID, etc.  Not surprised if reading the site this is not the case, kind of funny how this kind of thing happens all the time in the Philippines.  

 

Thx for the link, I will let her know she was told incorrectly. 

[Adventine 3,189]

It's true that the long-term purpose of the new national ID (Phil ID) is to eventually replace all the other various IDs out there. But it's going to take a long time to issue IDs to 100+ million Filipinos and eligible foreigners.

 

Until she has that national ID in her hands, government agencies can and should accept the existing ones that she has. Until I see official sources say that "SSS cards/UMID cards/postal ID cards are no longer accepted for government transactions," I will continue to use mine.

[Skyman 310]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

As for the notarized letter of invitation, while it's great that your wife has a tita who is an attorney, I believe she can just get the letter notarized at any public notary for super cheap. No need for a lawyer to notarize it.

I don't know of any Philippine notaries that aren't lawyers or judges. They are one and the same to my knowledge. 

Any copies of IDs would likely need to notarized. 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Skyman

[Adventine 3,189]

6 minutes ago, Skyman said:

I don't know of any Philippine notaries that aren't lawyers or judges. They are one and the same to my knowledge. 

Any copies of IDs would likely need to notarized. 

 

I was thinking of the public notaries that I used to see in the Makati CBD area, or who would hang around near city halls. The ones who just take your documents and stamp them.

 

We may have different ideas of notaries in mind.

[Skyman 310]

43 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

I was thinking of the public notaries that I used to see in the Makati CBD area, or who would hang around near city halls. The ones who just take your documents and stamp them.

 

We may have different ideas of notaries in mind.

I live in Cebu so I  can't say about Makati. For a notary I always go to a lawyer's office. 

OP: For the docs you'll need you'll want to verify what is acceptable to the embassy and whether they'll take copies and if the copies need to be notarized.  For proof she lives there still you might ask if a CEDULA is acceptable. She can get that for about p50 from the Municipyo and just send the original. Or perhaps a certificate of residency from the barangay.

[flicks1998 1,044]

I went through this process in November of last year, although the process now is slightly different.

 

Photocopies of any IDs is OK.  To prove your spouse is in the Philippines, she needs to write a brief letter saying that she currently resides in the Philippines, put her address, and then have her notarize it.  For the Barangay certificate its what @Adventine says.  I did the visa based off of being a parent of a child who also had Philippine citizenship.    

 

Copies of IDs are fine, but youll need to mail the original notarized letter to the Consulate for the visa.  They wont accept photocopies on that.  I had the persons ID photocopied on the same sheet as the brief statement of the person being in the Philippines.  Then that document was notarized.  The Consulate accepted without questions.  I had the documents mailed by LBC to me and it took about 1 week to arrive.

 

As for notarizing, I explain this in another thread and its what Adventine mentions as well.  You can see a lawyer etc to notarize, but in many places in Manila (usually around the business districts or government organizations) there are people on the sidewalk who will notarize your documents for around 200p or so.  You do not need to be present.  Over the years, I had quite a few documents notarized in Manila and never once did I actually go do it.  A messenger at work would take my documents I already signed and go get it stamped.  I didnt have to give any ID.  If you go to a lawyer office, they may ask for an ID.  Notarizing is not how its done in the US where you have to go in person, bring an ID, etc.

 

When you get the visa back from the Consulate, you need to double check it.  They put the wrong exemption on my visa and I had to mail it back for the current exemption.  First they put me as married to a Filipino spouse, but I was applying based on being a parent.  This is a big deal and you must correct it if they do this.  The airline will not double check that the visa is correct, they will just check for the visa.  But PI immigration will ask for the marriage certificate/birth certificate when you arrive. 

 

I dont see the Philippines having visa free travel for quite a long time.  Singapore is trying to "learn to live with the virus" but their travel bubble with Hong Kong is again delayed for at least one month.  China and Australia are on the record that they dont expect to open up until middle of next year or early 2023.  Since the Philippines is taking an overly cautious view, they may follow China.

[Joe Kano 327]

9 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

I went through this process in November of last year, although the process now is slightly different.

 

Photocopies of any IDs is OK.  To prove your spouse is in the Philippines, she needs to write a brief letter saying that she currently resides in the Philippines, put her address, and then have her notarize it.  For the Barangay certificate its what @Adventine says.  I did the visa based off of being a parent of a child who also had Philippine citizenship.    

 

Copies of IDs are fine, but youll need to mail the original notarized letter to the Consulate for the visa.  They wont accept photocopies on that.  I had the persons ID photocopied on the same sheet as the brief statement of the person being in the Philippines.  Then that document was notarized.  The Consulate accepted without questions.  I had the documents mailed by LBC to me and it took about 1 week to arrive.

 

As for notarizing, I explain this in another thread and its what Adventine mentions as well.  You can see a lawyer etc to notarize, but in many places in Manila (usually around the business districts or government organizations) there are people on the sidewalk who will notarize your documents for around 200p or so.  You do not need to be present.  Over the years, I had quite a few documents notarized in Manila and never once did I actually go do it.  A messenger at work would take my documents I already signed and go get it stamped.  I didnt have to give any ID.  If you go to a lawyer office, they may ask for an ID.  Notarizing is not how its done in the US where you have to go in person, bring an ID, etc.

 

When you get the visa back from the Consulate, you need to double check it.  They put the wrong exemption on my visa and I had to mail it back for the current exemption.  First they put me as married to a Filipino spouse, but I was applying based on being a parent.  This is a big deal and you must correct it if they do this.  The airline will not double check that the visa is correct, they will just check for the visa.  But PI immigration will ask for the marriage certificate/birth certificate when you arrive. 

 

I dont see the Philippines having visa free travel for quite a long time.  Singapore is trying to "learn to live with the virus" but their travel bubble with Hong Kong is again delayed for at least one month.  China and Australia are on the record that they dont expect to open up until middle of next year or early 2023.  Since the Philippines is taking an overly cautious view, they may follow China.

You are a wealth of knowledge, and usually spot on on all your answers. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

3 hours ago, Kby175 said:

Thank you!  I talked to PAL and they said they are not allowing foreign nationals on the plane without a visa that is why I started looking at going this route.  

 

She already has the newer SSS ID card but that has now been replaced by the national ID she is waiting for that one to arrive could take a year.  Also, has a postal ID I am guessing a photo copy of these would be enough for the embassy?  She does not have a passport yet with covid we are limiting travel to the city until the city has a higher vaccination rate.  

Also, just to add, you will need to get an exemption first.   I did not have to do this in my process but @RO_AH is going through that process now.  He may have better insight on this concerning documents and timelines.  I have known a few people who applied for this exemption and most were successful, but it took about 3 months or so to get it.

 

You may want to write to the consulate to reconfirm the requirements.  I wrote to the NYC Consulate and said I read the website, see everything that is required, but is there anything else needed.  They wrote back with a few additional things I had to do.   So try and reconfirm everything before starting.

 

[RO_AH 1,656]

6 hours ago, Kby175 said:

If the borders do not open up by the end of the year I think I may finally break down and get a visa so I can see my wife and daughter. I was reading over the requirements and there are three that stick out and one I have no idea how to prove she still lives there, the embassies wording.  I have the NSO copies of our wedding certificate as well as our daughters birth certificate. 

 I will need the following besides all the other requirements:

• Proof of Filipino citizenship of spouse, and proof that the spouse is indeed living and currently in the Philippines (Any ideas on this one?)

• Barangay certificate requested by the Filipino spouse (Not sure what this one is?)

• Notarized letter of invitation executed by the Filipino spouse (I get this one she has a tita that is an attorney)  

Any help would be great if anyone went through the process, I searched the threads and could not find answers to the above. 

As with anything to do with the Philippines you may seek info from various sources, but only rely on the requirements given to you from the actual source. You acquire your 9a visa through the Philippines Consulate that services the area that you reside in. That is where you need find out exactly what you need. It took me about 2 days to get everything that I needed together and send in. Nothing needed to be notarized. Now maybe they will come back asking me for more things, but as of now my request was endorsed by my local consulate and forwarded to DFA in Manila and I am awaiting their response. I believe @flicks1998 is correct that it will take around three months so if you want to go by end of year, you should start the process sooner than later.

Proof of citizenship - We sent a scan of my wife's Passport

Barangay Certificate - My wife got one from her Barangay and scanned it for me. I got one for her and each of my son's

Notarized Letter - I did not need one.

Here is the requirements sent to me by the Consulate in Hawaii:

As a general rule, all foreign nationals are still prohibited from entering the Philippines, except for those who are exempted pursuant to the latest directives of the Office of the President and/or resolution by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID):

Foreign nationals who wish to be reunited with their Filipino families may seek an endorsement for Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) entry exemption (EE) if you feel that your situation warrants urgent and essential travel.  

Please submit the following documents for evaluation.  

1.  Letter addressed to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) requesting for travel exemption citing the reasons for your travel to the Philippines

2.  Copy of passport of applicant (valid at least 6 months from return date) 

3.  Round Trip Travel Itinerary 

5.  Proof of Financial Capacity (photocopy of latest bank statement and an employment certificate from the employer indicating position and salary, or affidavit of support), for Tourist Visa (for pleasure only).

6.  Additional documents for foreign spouse and parent of Filipino nationals:

      -   Proof of Marriage - PSA-issued Marriage Contract, for Philippines-issued documents or apostilled/authenticated, for documents issued by foreign governments

      -   Proof of the citizenship of the Filipino spouse (copy of Philippine passport or dual citizenship documents) 

      -   Proof that the Filipino spouse is living and currently in the Philippines (e.g. barangay certificate)

      -   Proof of parentage to the Filipino child - PSA-issued Birth Certificate, for Philippines-issued documents, or apostilled /authenticated, for documents issued by foreign governments

      -   Proof of the citizenship of the Filipino child (copy of Philippine passport or dual citizenship documents)

      -   Proof that the Filipino child is living and currently in the Philippines (e.g. barangay certificate)

      -   Letter from the mother allowing you to visit your child

 

Should we find your request valid, we will endorse your request to DFA. Please note that there is no guarantee on the approval of the issuance of an entry exemption.

[flicks1998 1,044]

27 minutes ago, RO_AH said:

As with anything to do with the Philippines you may seek info from various sources, but only rely on the requirements given to you from the actual source. You acquire your 9a visa through the Philippines Consulate that services the area that you reside in. That is where you need find out exactly what you need. It took me about 2 days to get everything that I needed together and send in. Nothing needed to be notarized. Now maybe they will come back asking me for more things, but as of now my request was endorsed by my local consulate and forwarded to DFA in Manila and I am awaiting their response. I believe @flicks1998 is correct that it will take around three months so if you want to go by end of year, you should start the process sooner than later.

 

These are good points.

 

@Kby175, you should check the particular requirements at the Consulate that has jurisdiction over your state.  If you dont know, the Philippine Embassy DC site has that.  I do remember when I went through this process, the requirements slightly differed between NYC and the LA consulates.  It wasnt a big difference, but there were some things that werent the same.  This could be the case for Honolulu as well.  I think its important you write to the Consulate youll apply at and reconfirm everything.  

[RO_AH 1,656]

2 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

This could be the case for Honolulu as well.  I think its important you write to the Consulate you'll apply at and reconfirm everything.  

When I first contacted my consulate they were not even aware of the process. I had to show them my conversation with the BI and then they contacted their DFA headquarters and then provided me with what was needed.