Wife just acquired her USA Visa. Question about her exiting country.

[Todd H 2]

Hello,

My wife just attended her interview at the US Embassy in Manila and her Visa was approved.  Question 1: What do we need now to get her out of the country.  I was made aware of the Pre Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). I was also curious if she needs a Emigration Clearance Certificate(ECC). Question 2:  I have two children, born in the Philippines and never exited country, that have Philippine and USA Passports.  Do I need to acquire an ECC for them?  And is there anything else required to get for the children to exit the country.

 

Thank you for your comments.

Gregory Hall

[top_secret 2,715]

ECC is only for foreigners who have stayed in the Philippines over 6 months.  So long as the wife and kids hold Philippine passports it does not apply to them. The wife needs GCP (Guidance and Counseling Program) from CFO, not PDOS. If the kids are duel citizens they should need nothing from CFO. Just show both passports.  If it's their first trip I 'think' they still need to pay travel tax.  They would get travel tax exemption on future trips.

[maryaaaa 136]

CFO / GCP

https://cfo.gov.ph/cfo-hybrid-frontline-services-for-guidance-and-counseling-program/

 

E-TRAVEL

https://etravel.gov.ph/

 

TRAVEL TAX (check   if included in the airfare)

https://tieza.gov.ph/travel-tax/

[thonati 70]

How long did it take to get the Passport/Visa returned after the interview?

[Todd H 2]

We got an email within 24 hours that the passport with visa is available for pickup and it was.  Very fast service.

[jandk 9]

On 4/1/2025 at 6:48 PM, Todd H said:

Hello,

My wife just attended her interview at the US Embassy in Manila and her Visa was approved.  Question 1: What do we need now to get her out of the country.  I was made aware of the Pre Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). I was also curious if she needs a Emigration Clearance Certificate(ECC). Question 2:  I have two children, born in the Philippines and never exited country, that have Philippine and USA Passports.  Do I need to acquire an ECC for them?  And is there anything else required to get for the children to exit the country.

 

Thank you for your comments.

Gregory Hall

Hey congratulations to you. Do you remember how fast you were able to get the CFO scheduled after you got her visa?

 

thank you!

[Todd H 2]

1 hour ago, jandk said:

Hey congratulations to you. Do you remember how fast you were able to get the CFO scheduled after you got her visa?

 

thank you!

Hello. Getting the CFO appointment was easy.  I believe they offer 47 morning and 47 afternoon slots.  There were openings available like 2 days after we picked up the visa.  You must have visa in hand before you can schedule the appointment.  They want the Visa number.

[jandk 9]

1 hour ago, Todd H said:

Hello. Getting the CFO appointment was easy.  I believe they offer 47 morning and 47 afternoon slots.  There were openings available like 2 days after we picked up the visa.  You must have visa in hand before you can schedule the appointment.  They want the Visa number.

That sounds great! Thank you for your information !!

[KennM 1]

On 4/2/2025 at 1:42 PM, top_secret said:

ECC is only for foreigners who have stayed in the Philippines over 6 months.  So long as the wife and kids hold Philippine passports it does not apply to them. The wife needs GCP (Guidance and Counseling Program) from CFO, not PDOS. If the kids are duel citizens they should need nothing from CFO. Just show both passports.  If it's their first trip I 'think' they still need to pay travel tax.  They would get travel tax exemption on future trips.

 

Why does a child who is a U.S. citizen with a U.S. passport need the PH passport to exit the Philippines? Is the same true if they travel back to PH for any reason? I can imagine renewing the PH passport while out of country may be difficult. 

[Edward and Jaycel 1,962]

7 hours ago, KennM said:

 

Why does a child who is a U.S. citizen with a U.S. passport need the PH passport to exit the Philippines? Is the same true if they travel back to PH for any reason? I can imagine renewing the PH passport while out of country may be difficult. 

 

The should not need it to exit the Philippines but you should bring it with you so that they can re-enter the Philippines on that passport as a Philippine citizen. Renewing here in the US is not too complicated - You just have to make an appointment and go in-person to a Philippine Consulate. There are several around the country

[top_secret 2,715]

7 hours ago, KennM said:

 

Why does a child who is a U.S. citizen with a U.S. passport need the PH passport to exit the Philippines? Is the same true if they travel back to PH for any reason? I can imagine renewing the PH passport while out of country may be difficult. 

 

The issue is, if the child would be treated by Philippine immigration as American or Filipino.  Having only a US Passport is fine for entering and leaving the Philippines as a tourist.  The child would even get a Balikbayan stamp allowing a one year visit.

 

The problem in the above case is that the US Citizen child born in the Philippines has no Philippine entry stamp in their US Passport and may have accrued a serious overstay if they didn't have a Philippine Passport to show immigration.  In the past Philippine immigration has actually fined foreign babies born in the Philippines for overstays.

 

Renewing a Philippine Passport overseas is quite simple and efficient if you are anywhere near a Philippine embassy, consulate, or consular outreach location.  Its not required, but also not a bad idea for dual citizens to keep passports for both citizenships.

Edited May 17 by top_secret

[Edward and Jaycel 1,962]

10 minutes ago, top_secret said:

The problem in the above case is that the US Citizen child born in the Philippines has no Philippine entry stamp in their US Passport and may have accrued a serious overstay if they didn't have a Philippine Passport to show immigration.  In the past Philippine immigration has actually fined foreign babies born in the Philippines for overstays.

 

Ah I did not consider the entry stamp doh.... Thank you for that reminder  

[top_secret 2,715]

17 hours ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

Ah I did not consider the entry stamp doh.... Thank you for that reminder  

 

It would seem almost unbelievable that any country would actually, really, fine a baby born within their borders for an overstay, but Philippines BI has really done that 

[Edward and Jaycel 1,962]

6 hours ago, top_secret said:

 

It would seem almost unbelievable that any country would actually, really, fine a baby born within their borders for an overstay, but Philippines BI has really done that 

After dealing with them for over a year of tourist visa renewals and having one of them not so discretely follow me out of the office in Cagayan de Oro one of the times and offer me  a permanent resident visa for 500,000 PHP, nothing with them surprises me 🤪

[RO_AH 1,684]

On 5/17/2025 at 3:33 AM, top_secret said:

Renewing a Philippine Passport overseas is quite simple and efficient if you are anywhere near a Philippine embassy, consulate, or consular outreach location.  Its not required, but also not a bad idea for dual citizens to keep passports for both citizenships.

I just renewed my 2 sons passports last week. Luckily the Consulate is very close to us.