Visa help please.
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I'm afraid I've overstayed. Please someone tell me the rules. I'm afraid to go to immigration unprepared. I arrived 3/3/2014. I have not left the country.
My question is it one year or less that I must exit and return?
Is there a monetary fine? If so; how much? Am I in danger of deportation? I'm a retiree and I love it here.
impossible to tell -what visa u came on  ,of course there will be a fine and other possible effects
what's your visa when u came in? if u arrange a visa in our embassy from India i believe your visa is 90 days to stay in Phils but you arrived March 2014 and it's almost a year now. You should not be afraid going to our immigration office if you want to stay legally you only need to pay fines for overstaying and I guess there are rules where you could remain legal in our country. One option is to marry a local girl
greenetravel wrote:impossible to tell -what visa u came on  ,of course there will be a fine and other possible effects
I came from USA on a tourism visa
sirrobcentral wrote:I'm afraid I've overstayed. Please someone tell me the rules. I'm afraid to go to immigration unprepared. I arrived 3/3/2014. I have not left the country.
My question is it one year or less that I must exit and return?
Is there a monetary fine? If so; how much? Am I in danger of deportation? I'm a retiree and I love it here.
You NEED to report to Immigration and get it over with. Otherwise the fines etc will be worse if you try to leave the country, before you sort it out. If you wait till you leave you will probably miss your flight with all the hassle you will get.
You will have to pay all the visa fees that you have avoided PLUS: Fine for Overstaying – (additional) Php 500.00 per month.
Normal Visa fees are about PHP 5,000 every TWO months.
On arrival you would have got a 14 day Visa. (it is now 30 days)
Maybe you will have to pay about PHP36,000Â ??
But the longer you leave it, the worse it will get.
Thanks ABC.... Hey one more question is it one year or longer that I have to exit?
sirrobcentral wrote:Thanks ABC.... Hey one more question is it one year or longer that I have to exit?
From what I read it is 16 or 18 months, before you need to leave the country on what can be called a Visa run.
However, I have seen some sites say it can now be 2 or 3 years ?
All I can say for sure is that it is at least 16 months.
Foreigners holding temporary visitors visa pursuant to Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 and aliens admitted under E.O. 408 may extend their stay in the Philippines every 2 months for a total stay of 16 months. Extension of stay after 16 months, up to 24 months need the approval of the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division. Extension of stay after 24 months need the approval of the Commissioner. (MCL Memorandum dated 31 July 2007)
This has been updated with the 6 month extensions.
OK I'm cooking with grease now. I'm no longer scared of INS...A small price to pay. Very good,
1 year,you'll have to pay a penalty but don't know how much it will be.
I have overstayed my Tourist Visa for about 18 months. I am retired career military and hope to remain here in Philippines. Will I be allowed to pay fines and updates to remain?
I entered Philippines via military aircraft at Manila Ages facility. Workers there took my passport and had it stamped with VFA stamp. So I find out later that they stamped it with wrong stamp.{Visiting Forces Agreement.) I saved the email from that facility saying I have nothing to worry about, but seems I have not been told the truth. How can I explain this to customs and have my Visa corrected. And where do I go? Thanks
Caution for other retirees entering Philippines. Be sure to read the Visa stamp closely to insure it is the correct stamp..
sirrobcentral wrote:greenetravel wrote:impossible to tell -what visa u came on  ,of course there will be a fine and other possible effects
I came from USA on a tourism visa
hi.. a tourist visa holder now have a maximum stay of 3 yrs.. it was 2 yrs before .
i am exiting this sept 2015 and i have come here on a tourist visa last nov 2012
before i was doing an extension of every 2 months but have to known that i can do every 6 months  which is a lot better than going to manila every 2 months.. it cost you more or less 7k for a 6mos extension.
there is a penalty of course of not doing extension but do not be afraid to go to immig people and ask
  their help just be ready for the penalty cost.
Hi there,
There 's a looong list of option for the visas but one of them the Retiree visa is a really good option (starts at 35 years old)
Ask for Patty here, very serious lady
Cheers
From my own experience, I arrived here in Sept 2010 and never went to immigration. I finally went in May of 2013, my total charges including all fines etc were 89000 php. Since then I went back and forth to the USA at least 3 times. I believe the maximum length of time you can stay without leaving in either two or three years. Just go and pay the fees and all will be forgiven
ABCDiamond wrote:sirrobcentral wrote:Thanks ABC.... Hey one more question is it one year or longer that I have to exit?
From what I read it is 16 or 18 months, before you need to leave the country on what can be called a Visa run.
However, I have seen some sites say it can now be 2 or 3 years ?
All I can say for sure is that it is at least 16 months.
Foreigners holding temporary visitors visa pursuant to Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 and aliens admitted under E.O. 408 may extend their stay in the Philippines every 2 months for a total stay of 16 months. Extension of stay after 16 months, up to 24 months need the approval of the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division. Extension of stay after 24 months need the approval of the Commissioner. (MCL Memorandum dated 31 July 2007)
This has been updated with the 6 month extensions.
sirrobcentral wrote:
I'm afraid I've overstayed. Please someone tell me the rules. I'm afraid to go to immigration unprepared. I arrived 3/3/2014. I have not left the country.
My question is it one year or less that I must exit and return?
Is there a monetary fine? If so; how much? Am I in danger of deportation? I'm a retiree and I love it here.
You NEED to report to Immigration and get it over with. Otherwise the fines etc will be worse if you try to leave the country, before you sort it out. If you wait till you leave you will probably miss your flight with all the hassle you will get.
You will have to pay all the visa fees that you have avoided PLUS: Fine for Overstaying – (additional) Php 500.00 per month.
Normal Visa fees are about PHP 5,000 every TWO months.
On arrival you would have got a 14 day Visa. (it is now 30 days)
Maybe you will have to pay about PHP36,000Â ??
But the longer you leave it, the worse it will get.
I came in last 22 Nov 2012 on a tourist visa and was granted a 30 days stay. After that i did an extension of every 2 months stay. However, soon as my filipina wife have known that i can do 6 months extension before the end of 2013, i did an every 6 months extension to save effort, time and money of travelling to and fro from where i am staying plus the fat that the difference of money you get from a 2 months extension and a 6 months extension is not that big. By 2014 the immigration here had changed the law of tourist visa holder's stay from 2 yrs to 3 yrs. so i am now exiting by this year. Getting an approval for every 6 months stay is not that too strict so there is nothing to worry at all.
Also, i would like to add that immigration may also charge you with your I-card which is renewed every year. So that is an additional expense.
Hi,
before leave after in PH for more than 6 months you need to process a Exit Clearance Certificate.
how much is the cost ? and is it many requirement for it?
thanks
coders wrote:Hi,
before leave after in PH for more than 6 months you need to process a Exit Clearance Certificate.
how much is the cost ? and is it many requirement for it?
thanks
500 pesos is what I paid in November.
Requirements for an ECC
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration (BI) has stated that the following are needed to get an ECC – Exit Clearance Certificate (also called Emigration Clearance Certificate)
Completed application forms. (They supply numerous forms for you to fill in !!)
6 pcs. colored photo (size 2×2 ) white background. (NOTE: SIX were needed, not the FIVE that web sites say.
Photocopy of passport (3 Pages: biopage, latest arrival stamp and last visa extension stamp).
Photo of both sides of Alien Certicate of Registration ACR card.
Photocopy AND Original of the Receipt for payment of last visa extension fees.
A personal appearance is required for fingerprinting, both electronic scanning and manual ink, and photograph.
Te cost is 1200 Php and the application is on Bureau Of Immigration website. You will be interviewed as part of the process, you need a copy of your plane ticket, several photos, copies of your passport and latest extension stamp.
madhatter868 wrote:Te cost is 1200 Php and the application is on Bureau Of Immigration website. You will be interviewed as part of the process, you need a copy of your plane ticket, several photos, copies of your passport and latest extension stamp.
The Philippines always amuses me, Its either laugh or cry). At it does say:
Php 700Â Â Leaving for good: ECC/CE
Php 10  LRF
Php 500  Express Lane Fee
Php 1,210Â Â TOTAL
Fees are updated as of 06 March 2014 and may change without prior notice.
However, it only cost me 500 pesos last November (2014), so how they decide to charge for things I have no idea.
I also didn't have an airline ticket at the time, but booked it the day AFTER I got the ECC.
Maybe this is all different at different Immigration Offices, as I wasn't interviewed either (except the year before when I tried to leave without an ECC ).
Seems Visa questions have different answers no matter what the question or where a visitor goes for help. I suspect the Spainish left most of the confusion here when they established their form of "wait and see" attitude. One never gets the same answer at another office when asking for help seems.
Hello sirrobcentral,
you have got various replies and some are relevant and some not. You can do it all yourself or we can find out about your status before you walk in to BI.. We are BI accredited and lucky to have an ex-BI immigration officer in charge of all our case officers.
There are a number of factors that will come into play. Both with upgrading and selecting a visa to stay. As a retiree you may want to look at one of the permanent SRRVÂ programs of which we are also registered.
It is alot of hassle to go through the process of upgrading your overstay status. If you want some professional help that will not cost you the earth then contact me at mike@vsivisa.com and I get somebody to walk you through the process. Most can be done electronically unless you need to front up for an interview.
Cheers
Mike.
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