Philippines lifts ban on non-essential outbound travel on October 21

[Adventine 3,187]

2 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Transit through a Schengen country for a k1 has been banned for 6+ months 

I wasn't actually thinking about the K-1 transit to the US  More about the previous posters' plans above, to meet up in a third country with possible transit through a Schengen state.

[Cody&Razely 134]

On 10/29/2020 at 1:37 AM, Adventine said:

Head's up, the Schengen states are starting to lock down again so a transit through any of the affected countries may become difficult again.

Yep, thanks for the heads up, I think Spain is still in the clear for the time being and no entry restrictions as of the moment into Costa Rica from either Spain or Qatar, I called the Embassy and asked today. Hoping it holds out. It's already been a nightmare and a half negotiating the ridiculous PH Stalin Regime IO exiting requirements not to mention the major financial risk it imposes considering you have to book and pay for EVERYTHING in advance to bring that to the IO and you can only see the IO hours before your departure and if you get offloaded they don't give a ####### and there goes $4, $5, $6 thousand USD right out the window non-refundable and uninsurable for last minute changes and of which no insurance company covers not even Cancel for any reason heck they do not even offer coverage in our circumstance. It's pretty eye opening how ridiculous the PH Gov. is there and the things they impose on their people as well as what people are required to go through to have any hope to see one another and have any semblance of a life together. Yea Philippines 🙄

[top_secret 2,062]

On 10/29/2020 at 5:03 AM, Adventine said:

I wasn't actually thinking about the K-1 transit to the US  More about the previous posters' plans above, to meet up in a third country with possible transit through a Schengen state.

My fiancées ill-fated trip to Mexico in August transited Frankfurt Germany going to Mexico, who tossed her back to Frankfurt Germany,,,,, where we rebooked her from airside to Brazil.  The Germans were actually quite friendly and helpful the whole time.  Mexico, not so much.  There are a few exceptions but yea, transiting 'most' Schengen states is no problem at all for a Filipino Passport so long as the final destination will allow it.

[Adventine 3,187]

1 hour ago, Cody&Razely said:

Yep, thanks for the heads up, I think Spain is still in the clear for the time being and no entry restrictions as of the moment into Costa Rica from either Spain or Qatar, I called the Embassy and asked today. Hoping it holds out.

Fingers crossed. Let us know how it goes!

[top_secret 2,062]

14 hours ago, Cody&Razely said:

Yep, thanks for the heads up, I think Spain is still in the clear for the time being and no entry restrictions as of the moment into Costa Rica from either Spain or Qatar, I called the Embassy and asked today. Hoping it holds out. It's already been a nightmare and a half negotiating the ridiculous PH Stalin Regime IO exiting requirements not to mention the major financial risk it imposes considering you have to book and pay for EVERYTHING in advance to bring that to the IO and you can only see the IO hours before your departure and if you get offloaded they don't give a ####### and there goes $4, $5, $6 thousand USD right out the window non-refundable and uninsurable for last minute changes and of which no insurance company covers not even Cancel for any reason heck they do not even offer coverage in our circumstance. It's pretty eye opening how ridiculous the PH Gov. is there and the things they impose on their people as well as what people are required to go through to have any hope to see one another and have any semblance of a life together. Yea Philippines 🙄

 

My attitude towards the Philippine exit immigration is they are mostly actually trying to protect their citizens from dangers they may face overseas.  Although they do mess it up bigtime in the implementation sometimes, and I know two women who had trips unjustly destroyed by Philippine exit immigration, their intentions are mostly good and they are mostly trying to do what is right.  So prepare to prepare to  work through it with them rather than taking an adversarial attitude with Philippine exit immigration.

 

Do look at what the penalties may be if plans get upset because they very much may get upset.  We had about $2,000 prepaid resort reservations in Cancun but when we got tossed out of Mexico but we at least got those got those canceled and refunded in full.  We had free changes on airline tickets as well.   Due to COVID, allot of airline and other travel related industries are offering very favorable change and refund rules at the moment to bring back tourists.  Give your business to those that do have favorable terms for unexpected changes.

 

We are now also currently planning to try to get to Costa Rica in early December where we will marry at that time.  As far as I can tell, all foreigners need to marry in Costa Rica is passports and money to pay for a notary/attorney to process the paperwork.  I am trying to arrange the details of the notary/attorney now.   Then I will petition as CR-1/CR-2  (CR=Costa Rica😉) instead of K-1/K-2. The only other hang-up is my fiancée has a new passport application in with DFA in the Philippines getting her surname corrected and somehow (?) expedited processing is unavailable so she needs to wait until the end of November to get her passport back. So probably early December we will try.

I discovered an interesting fare rule with Turkish Airlines that may be of interest to some.  Outbound Turkish Airlines tickets purchased in the Philippines are often as much as $500 cheaper that the same tickets purchased outside the Philippines.  IE, If I buy the ticket from a Philippine travel agent rather than online.  We will probably fly Turkish Airlines Manila-Istanbul-Panama and then get a separate ticket from there to Costa Rica.

 

For fairly definitive information about travel restrictions and document requirements always check with the IATA (International Air Transport Association) web site.  That is perhaps the most accurate and definitive source of that information since they exist to serve the airlines and it is the exact same information the airlines will use in their check-in system to decide if they should let a Filipina board a plane headed for Costa Rica.

 

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

[flicks1998 1,044]

51 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

 

For fairly definitive information about travel restrictions and document requirements always check with the IATA (International Air Transport Association) web site.  That is perhaps the most accurate and definitive source of that information since they exist to serve the airlines and it is the exact same information the airlines will use in their check-in system to decide if they should let a Filipina board a plane headed for Costa Rica.

 

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

I have access to several paid services that track entry/exit and current covid requirements in each country of the world. I cannot post these on an open forum as it violates the TOS of those companies. If you want Costa Rica I can PM you it. 
 

Also I’m a member of an FB group for people who have traveled to every country in the world. There are a few questions you need to answer to get membership but if your interested in that I can send you that group info. Your question about marrying in Costa Rica may be answered there as you will never find a group of people who has so much collective information on traveling, requirements, etc. I do know US government agencies, as well as others, monitor that group because the info is so rich. It’s all up to date and it’s an incredible resource.  Someone there may be able to answer your questions on marrying. I’m sure there are some Costa Ricans in the group. They come from every country. 

[jameyj 73]

On 10/31/2020 at 8:43 AM, top_secret said:

 

My attitude towards the Philippine exit immigration is they are mostly actually trying to protect their citizens from dangers they may face overseas.  Although they do mess it up bigtime in the implementation sometimes, and I know two women who had trips unjustly destroyed by Philippine exit immigration, their intentions are mostly good and they are mostly trying to do what is right.  So prepare to prepare to  work through it with them rather than taking an adversarial attitude with Philippine exit immigration.

 

 

 

My fiance is pretty nervous about the exit immigration  too, more than anything else. She's been out of PH once before with me but I escorted her myself. This time, as we plan on going to Costa Rica, I won't be able too. 

 

My plan is to gather all the documents I need, including returning tickets and submit them via email to PH Immigration in advance and hopefully get some feedback that says "all looks good" or whatever more they need.  Obviously, it will ultimately be up to the immigration officers on the ground but if I have supporting documentation and authorization, I hope to have a better chance going in. The fact my fiance and I have already gone to HK and returned gives some precedence to this trip. I asked the immigration officers at the time of the "outbound shakedown" if my fiance would have to go through this every time. They said no. At the end of the interrogation, all I had to do was sign some piece of paper that said she wasn't going to Hong Kong to work..... have no idea how that's supposed to be enforceable on me. ... anyways we're just trying to go to CR for vacation and catching up time. It's been a lot of months since we last saw each other. 

[top_secret 2,062]

57 minutes ago, jameyj said:

 

My fiance is pretty nervous about the exit immigration  too, more than anything else. She's been out of PH once before with me but I escorted her myself. This time, as we plan on going to Costa Rica, I won't be able too. 

 

My plan is to gather all the documents I need, including returning tickets and submit them via email to PH Immigration in advance and hopefully get some feedback that says "all looks good" or whatever more they need.  Obviously, it will ultimately be up to the immigration officers on the ground but if I have supporting documentation and authorization, I hope to have a better chance going in. The fact my fiance and I have already gone to HK and returned gives some precedence to this trip. I asked the immigration officers at the time of the "outbound shakedown" if my fiance would have to go through this every time. They said no. At the end of the interrogation, all I had to do was sign some piece of paper that said she wasn't going to Hong Kong to work..... have no idea how that's supposed to be enforceable on me. ... anyways we're just trying to go to CR for vacation and catching up time. It's been a lot of months since we last saw each other. 

 

It is a huge benefit that she has successfully traveled before and especially if it was with you.  Bring proof of that.  Hong Kong doesn't stamp passports but she should have Philippine Exit and Entry stamps in her passport to show for it and you too.   Send her copies of your passport and Philippines stamps related to the Hong Kong trip.   If you both didn't throw out those little slips of paper HK Immigration gives you instead of stamping passports that would be good to.  The real key is that if she is dependent on you to be able to pay for the trip, she had better be able to prove that relationship.  IMO you would be a useless endeavor and just wasting your time e-mailing PH Immigration in advance.  

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

39 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

It is a huge benefit that she has successfully traveled before and especially if it was with you.  Bring proof of that.  Hong Kong doesn't stamp passports but she should have Philippine Exit and Entry stamps in her passport to show for it and you too.   Send her copies of your passport and Philippines stamps related to the Hong Kong trip.   If you both didn't throw out those little slips of paper HK Immigration gives you instead of stamping passports that would be good to.  The real key is that if she is dependent on you to be able to pay for the trip, she had better be able to prove that relationship.  IMO you would be a useless endeavor and just wasting your time e-mailing PH Immigration in advance.  

 

The problem that those little slips of paper have given out by Macau, HK, Singapore immigration is that due to the high humidity, they fade to a blank piece of paper within a year, or less.  Its not universal with all countries, but sometimes when the PI scans the passport, they can see the countries where the passport was previously scanned and where the Philippine citizen has traveled too.  This is one reason why countries have stopped stamping passports and more and more will continue to do so.  

[Talako 756]

27 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

...when the PI scans the passport, they can see the countries where the passport was previously scanned and where the Philippine citizen has traveled too.  This is one reason why countries have stopped stamping passports and more and more will continue to do so.  

Do you know if they access a database of some sort or is the trip recorded on the passport chip somehow?

[flicks1998 1,044]

4 minutes ago, Talako said:

Do you know if they access a database of some sort or is the trip recorded on the passport chip somehow?

My understanding of the system is that there is no central database that connects all the countries in the world and any immigration officer can just go to that database.  That does not exist, but would be the ultimate dream for these people if it existed (but would pose significant security risks for travelers if that ever came about)

 

My understanding is this information is saved on the barcode of your bio data page.  I know for a fact the US and Philippines, as well as other countries immigration can scan that and see what countries you have been too.  However, Im not sure if they can see all of the countries or if just some of them come up.  Also, I dont know for sure if US immigration can only see info for US passports whereas Philippine immigration can only see their country's passports.

 

Last time arriving US immigration, my passport was scanned, the officer look at the computer screen, closed my passport and told me to follow him.  Nobody looked inside my passport, but they started questioning me on why I had traveled to certain countries.  However, other countries immigration will go page by page to check my stamps.  For example, Lebanon will go 2 to 3 times through your passport to see if there is any proof on previous trips to Israel.  Other countries that do this are Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi, amongst others.  It tells me they cannot read the countries off of the bio data page strip (which is good).  Its also one reason I have two US passports in case one country is able to tell that I have been to certain "black listed" countries in the past.

 

I do know for a fact that Philippine immigration can tell the number of times you have entered the country for the current calendar year.  Every weekend for 3 years or so, I flew into the Philippines on Friday nights and back out on Monday mornings.  When the new calendar year came, I would always get the general questions from immigration as to how long Im staying, purpose of travel.  But from about mid Feb or so, these questions stopped completely until the next January.  When I moved permanently to the Philippines, part of my job involved working with Immigration and I asked when I was at one of the offices if they can see the number of times a person enters the country and they confirmed to me that they can, but at the immigration booth, they can only see current year info. 

 

I dont have a complete picture on how it all works, but just pieces here and there.  

 

 

 

 

 

[top_secret 2,062]

On those exit interviews it is not exactly high tech CSI.  They more just go digging for clues that would give them an opinion as to what the motives and situation of the traveler is.  The only time I ever went through one with my girlfriend quite some time ago the officer doing the interview wasn't even at a computer and the questions were not of a nature that could readily be verified in real time on a computer.  They would most likely have access to the airlines PNR where they would be most interested in who's name was on the credit card that purchased the ticket/ how was the ticket paid for.  You would think they could look up previous entries and exits from the Philippines but I wouldn't bet that is 100% of the time.  I very seriously doubt they could cross reference a foreigners passport as having traveled together with a Filipino passport on a previous trip.  They will for sure look for matching passport stamps for that.

 

Now for US and more big brotherish nations, PNR data from the airlines is available for just about any flight anywhere and no doubt there is a vast amount they may draw from that.  And of course some nations would share immigration data and some nations would not.

[Cody&Razely 134]

7 hours ago, jameyj said:

 

My fiance is pretty nervous about the exit immigration  too, more than anything else. She's been out of PH once before with me but I escorted her myself. This time, as we plan on going to Costa Rica, I won't be able too. 

 

My plan is to gather all the documents I need, including returning tickets and submit them via email to PH Immigration in advance and hopefully get some feedback that says "all looks good" or whatever more they need.  Obviously, it will ultimately be up to the immigration officers on the ground but if I have supporting documentation and authorization, I hope to have a better chance going in. The fact my fiance and I have already gone to HK and returned gives some precedence to this trip. I asked the immigration officers at the time of the "outbound shakedown" if my fiance would have to go through this every time. They said no. At the end of the interrogation, all I had to do was sign some piece of paper that said she wasn't going to Hong Kong to work..... have no idea how that's supposed to be enforceable on me. ... anyways we're just trying to go to CR for vacation and catching up time. It's been a lot of months since we last saw each other. 

yeah let me know how the email goes, I did the same and here's what I got in response lol:

Btw, everything they said here, I already listed as we will submit as well as showing them absolutely everything else we plan to submit, yet this was the response I got, them repeating me and not addressing anything,

 

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

 

In the 79th meeting, the IATF lifted the restriction of non-essential outbound travel of Filipinos effective October 21, 2020.

 

However, travelers will have to comply with the following requirements:

●      Submission of confirmed roundtrip tickets

●      Adequate travel and health insurance for those traveling using tourist visas (COVID-19 coverage)

●      Execution of an immigration declaration acknowledging the risks involved in traveling

●      Negative Antigen test result taken within 24 hours before departure

 

Reminders:

■      If your destination country requires RT-PCR Test/Swab Test with necessary duration/expiration of test, then you'll have to comply accordingly. You may not complete the Antigen Test at this time since you'll have the RT-PCR Test/Swab Test which is DOH's gold standard in detecting COVID-19.

■      Make sure to check and comply the necessary requirements/documents of your destination country.

Please be advised that holders of the aforementioned visas will still undergo primary inspection.  Thus, the final determination whether or not a certain passenger is allowed to travel out of the country based on the sufficiency of documents in relation to the purpose of travel rests upon the immigration officer who will be conducting the primary inspection.

 

Please take note as well the Travel Restrictions imposed by the country of your destination.

 

Thank you.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Cody&Razely

[JonSeattle 201]

6 hours ago, Talako said:

Do you know if they access a database of some sort or is the trip recorded on the passport chip somehow?

 What I have read says that the passport chip has only your ID and biometric info. 

 

https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-decrypted-truth-about-the-security-of-your-passport

 

The most important information they will be looking for are things like a report of a stolen passport, which won't be on the chip, so they need to connect to a database anyway.

Edited November 3, 2020 by JonSeattle

[top_secret 2,062]

Well I booked the tickets for first week of December.  Manila-Istanbul-Panama on Turkish Airlines.  I'm flying in on Copa Airlines from LAX to Panama at the same time so we can rendezvous on the connection and fly from Panama into Costa Rica on Copa Airlines together.  Planning to get married in Costa Rica.  I'm still working out the details of that but there does not seem to be any major obstacles.  Marriage of foreigners seems very easy and straightforward in Costa Rica.  Maybe throw in a honeymoon in Cartagena Colombia while we are in that part of the world.