Stevephoto

Soooo….I was going to post how efficient and responsive some of the PI government offices were to my panicked emails (Bureau of Immigration and Bureau of Animal Immigration)…and they were. Everything went smoothly with our cat (aside from the extra $400.00 to Philippine Airlines). …and then we got here…on Sunday with a holiday on Monday. Gave my passport and the sealed packet (I applied for the 13A in America) to immigration on entrance and was told to go to the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros—about 1 1/2 hours from our home and P5000 for the car/driver—within 7 days (remember, Monday was a holiday). Thank goodness we started on Tuesday. We got there and were told that everything was in order and they directed us to the Bureau of Quarantine to have my passport stamped. It was nearby so we stopped by. Turns out that I needed to be screened by one of their doctors even though I had all the tests done in Hawai’i…but they were fully booked and were unsympathetic about our travel time and expense. Sooo….back we go at 6 on Wednesday morning to get the first appointment. They checked all my documents and everything was good…except that I did not have a blood test done for…Syphilis! Took the blood test and 1 hour later learned that I do not have syphilis! Whew! I was really scared there for a while I also needed a polio vaccine booster! WHAT?? Got the stamp in my passport and we were ready to go back to Immigration…except…they CLOSED BECAUSE IT RAINED LAST NIGHT and was drizzling that morning! We hired the guy to drive us back AGAIN on Friday because this needed to get done and we had furniture scheduled to be delivered on Thursday. I kept checking the weather reports in panic all day on Thursday. The heavy rain predicted never came and the forecast was better for Friday…oh did I mention that Friday was declared a no work holiday for parts of Manila and the Philippines, so I really did not know if the BOI would even be open! Anyway, Joan and I were awakened by torrential rain about 1 in the morning! So much for sleep that night! Friday morning turned out to be a very pleasant day and the office was open. My ACR-I was finally approved after the usual "go here go there stuff" but we need to call (land line only) and then go back AGAIN to pick up the card in about ten days. P20,000 later! Here are my take-aways: Remember that the 13A visa is just that: a visa.It allows a 59 day stay. It does not provide residence status. The ACR-I card does (think of it as a green card in America). Save yourself some heartache and travel/expenses: you will need to have a medical screening and review of your documents even if everything was completed in the US (be sure to include a syphilis test in your blood tests!) Schedule your screening for early in the morning, do what you need to do, get your passport stamped THEN go over to the Bureau of Immigration! Bring your marriage certificate and your spouse’s passport. You will need to make photocopies of five things including the stamp, last entry date and visa from your passport. Copies at the Bureau cost P25 each. OH! Cash is ok at immigration but not the Bureau of Quarantine so load up on Gcash. You can also create an online account and pay by credit card. …and that is the saga so far!

Salamat for the email information J.M. This is the response from the Veterinary Quarantine Service at NAIA: SPS Import Clearance Fee - P100.00 Inspection Fee - First two heads P250.00 (In excess of 2 heads P300.00/head) SPS Lodgement Fee - P55.00 So glad I was wrong! Thanks again for the help everyone!

Salamat!

UPDATE: I emailed the Bureau of Immigration and got a response in about 2 hours! This was the reply: Dear Sir/Ma’am, Good day Please be advised that foreign nationals with valid and existing visas at the time of entry into the Philippines, may be allowed entry. Immigrant and Non-Immigrant visa holders issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) must ensure that their visas, ACR I-Card, and Return Permit (RP)/Special Return Certificate (SRC) are all valid upon arrival into the country. Please refer to the link below regarding your concern: Looks like we are good to go! Now, any advice on the short-term insurance issue? Salamat!

Yes, there is So much misinformation. To be honest, I was in a state of panic even before I read that. I read that Dune needed his rabbies 30 days out from flying and we had just booked the flight (it is 14 days--at least for Hawai'i--vet confirmed!) and also that he needed a pet passport--also takes 30 days (No pet passport needed--again at least in Hawai'i--the vet fills out what is needed beyond our permit application (also vet confirmed!). THEN I read about the 50K! That may be why I missed the "total" part of the sentence! But thank you for the clarification. Speaking of questionable online information, can any of you comment on whether I need a cheap outgoing plane ticket when entering the Phils with a 13A Visa? Thank you all. This has been such a great resource for so many years.

THANK YOU!!! That makes much more sense! I have rarely been as happy to be wrong a s I am now! I guess that was a poorly worded post on the other forum. Yes, it would be about $900.00 when you add the carrier, vet fees, airlines etc. WHEW! Yes you are right. That information is nearly impossible to find! Thank you for searching for us.

For what it is worth, this is the only place I have seen any notice of entrance fees. I freaked out because the "total" fees were mentioned while discussing picking up your cat at the airport. Again, I would be VERY happy to be wrong! Salamat!

THANK YOU! That's what I thought! I truly hope that I misinterpreted the statement and that the total cost listed includes the vet visit including shots and airline fees (and the carrier) and not an entrance fee. I would be very happy if someone could tell me I am wrong. Here is the quote and source: Once you have registered with the BAI, a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) can be obtained from the BAI National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division (NVQSD) prior to importation. Do this by logging in on the BAI website using your registered email address and password to get to the 3-page SPS Clearance Application (import permit). Print this and present it at the Philippine quarantine station in the airport. Approval usually takes 1-2 days, while the validity of the SPS permit is two months. The total estimated fees/ cost to bring your pet to the Philippines is approx php50,000/USD 900. https://www.expat.com/en/guide/asia/philippines/12881-traveling-to-the-philippines-with-your-pet.html#:~:text=Approval usually takes 1-2 days%2C while the validity,pet to the Philippines is approx php50%2C000%2FUSD 900.

Thanks for the reminder! I remember having to do that last time...I wonder if we need to register Dune (our cat) on etravel!!! 🤣 OH speaking of bringing in pets, we just learned that there is a P50,000 entry fee for the cat! YIKES!

Aloha again! We finally have a move date! We will be boots on the ground in the Philippines towards the end of August! We are applying for health coverage beyond Philhealth but there will be a gap in coverage of about 45 days. Does anyone know of inexpensive short term health care I looked at Allianz and it was very expensive. Here is our update for those following: we were able to purchase one-way tickets from Philippine Airlines (which I believe is all that is needed with a 13A Visa)—if anyone knows something different then please tell us!) I read a horror story on a different forum about someone getting his ACR card from a 13A obtained in the US. Can someone who has gone through the process let me know what the steps are? My impression was that I just needed to go to the Bureau of Immigration with my passport/visa, application and paid fees. Is there more? Salamat!

Great answers. Salamat. I will look at them very closely. Yes, I did not mention that we will maintain an address in the US for the very reasons you stated. We appreciate your input.

Here we go! My turn again to ask more questions. They are numbered for ease of reference. 1. As I mentioned in a recent post, I have retired and have my 13A Visa in hand with a sealed envelope that I am to give to the immigration officer at NAIA. Is that the same person that we show our passports to or is there a separate office to find? I know that I need to use my 13A Visa to get my yellow ACR-I card. 2. Can I go to the local Bureau of Immigration with my visa, photos, application and receipt of payment of the fees within a few days of arrival or is there something in that packet that I need to wait for? 3. Am I correct that the ACR card is valid for 5 years but I need to “check-in” every year? We are installing as high speed internet as possible and will add VPN once we get there. I know that I asked the next three questions before, but that was a while ago. Please forgive the repeated questions! 4. A VPN would allow us to continue using US-based remittance websites, correct? (We are going to look into the great idea mentioned in a much earlier post about depositing a a US check into a US dollar account, but we want to keep access to the remittance services for emergencies and Remitly told me that they would cut us off after 6 months in the Philippines). 5. VPN also allows access to bank, credit card, SSA, etc. websites, right? Netflix is not crucial, but a nice bonus. 6. Does anyone have recommendations for a good VPN service? The big question now is phone service. We need our phones to access our US accounts (two-factor authentication, etc. I know one big option is porting the numbers over to Google Voice, although to be honest, I haven’t quite figured out that process. 7. Is Google Voice the best overall option? 8. My current cellular plan gets cut off once the numbers port over to Google Voice. Is that correct? 9. The question I thought of was: what happens when you are away from wifi or when the internet goes down? Local SIM card or e-sim card? Any and all suggestions are welcome. I thought about keeping one off the phones connected to a US cellular carrier, but I heard that they will also cut you off after 6 months (even Google Fi), so that does not seem to be a great option. Salamat! I may have more questions over the next few weeks because this is now very real!

@RO_AH can elaborate, but it does not sound like the balikbayan visa is an option for you. Essentially when I entered the Philippines with my wife I was given a one year visa. When I traveled to see her alone back in the day I was given a 30 day visa each time. I visited 4 times in 12 months (never longer than 30 days on a given trip) and there was never a problem. Members, PLEASE correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the 30 day visa can be extended at least once by visiting the Bureau of Immigration, but again, my caveat is that most of my information is over 10-years old and things do change.

Nathan, as @RO_AH said, we all in this to help each other out. From what I can see you are at the "H*LY SH*T phase. We have all been there. EVERY step in this process can feel overwhelming. Break it down into small bites and tackle them in order--I went so far as to have five different labeled envelopes for Joan's interview--each one dealing with different requirements! PLAN on hiccups to occur during the process: when everything is broken down into bite sized pieces then you can just slide in the hiccup without feeling like the pile just got higher. I think it was a different post and I think it was either @top_secret or @RO_AH that talked about going back again. I was there 4 times in a year and was lucky enough to be there for Joan's interview. It was an amazing experience. I said this in a different post: breathe. It will happen. Please feel free to PM me if you want someone to @#@$#%## at. My actual information is old, but the feelings are still valid. Hang in there!

YOUR birth certificate? I have always used a certified copy (I am 62 years old so I had NO idea where my "original" was). The only thing we ever got apostillized (sp?) was a power of attorney to buy land in the Philippines. Everything else was certified copies...including notarized documents for my recent 13A Visa. YMMV!