We are currently struggling with this same issue so I can report not much has changed. We tried every bank in her area and none would issue a money order or bank draft in HKD. We tried ChinaBank, BPO, BPI, Western Union and the Philippine Post office. The website of the Philippine post office states that they will issue money orders in HKD but when she inquired in Dipolog City she was told they are not allowed to issue those in Mindanao.
So, like others, we resorted to having her contact an acquaintance in Hong Kong and sending the documents over to her to hand carry to the police station there. On a side note, none of the international courier services will allow cash to be included in a package with the forms. LBC will deliver cash but it has to be in a separate mail package for some reason. Perhaps its a customs issue. She also had a hard time getting the fingerprints in her city. The first time she went they said they did not have the proper paper. The next three or four times she contacted them they said that only one individual is qualified to make those prints the way Hong Kong requires and that individual was not there that day. After about three weeks of trying she finally caught that person there and got her fingerprints done.
My recommendation to anyone going into this process with Hong Kong is the following:
1. Start very very early gathering the documents needed and completing the forms for Hong Kong.
2. Identify a friend or some person in Hong Kong who will agree to hand deliver this package to the police station in Wan Chai.
3. Gather up all the documents and mail those to the friend in Hong Kong even before you receive the required letter from the NVC or the embassy.
4. Once you receive the letter, scan it and send via email so the person in HK can print it there and add it to the package. At the same time you can wire the money via Western Union or some equivalent money service. They can print the NVC letter, pick up the money and then drop it at the police station without you needing to wait a week or so for the documents to be delivered to them. This should save you about two or three weeks overall.
I wish someone had told me all this a few months ago. We could have saved ourselves a lot of headaches.
Manila: Hong Kong Dollar bank draft for police certificate
in Philippines
Posted
We are currently struggling with this same issue so I can report not much has changed. We tried every bank in her area and none would issue a money order or bank draft in HKD. We tried ChinaBank, BPO, BPI, Western Union and the Philippine Post office. The website of the Philippine post office states that they will issue money orders in HKD but when she inquired in Dipolog City she was told they are not allowed to issue those in Mindanao.
So, like others, we resorted to having her contact an acquaintance in Hong Kong and sending the documents over to her to hand carry to the police station there. On a side note, none of the international courier services will allow cash to be included in a package with the forms. LBC will deliver cash but it has to be in a separate mail package for some reason. Perhaps its a customs issue. She also had a hard time getting the fingerprints in her city. The first time she went they said they did not have the proper paper. The next three or four times she contacted them they said that only one individual is qualified to make those prints the way Hong Kong requires and that individual was not there that day. After about three weeks of trying she finally caught that person there and got her fingerprints done.
My recommendation to anyone going into this process with Hong Kong is the following:
1. Start very very early gathering the documents needed and completing the forms for Hong Kong.
2. Identify a friend or some person in Hong Kong who will agree to hand deliver this package to the police station in Wan Chai.
3. Gather up all the documents and mail those to the friend in Hong Kong even before you receive the required letter from the NVC or the embassy.
4. Once you receive the letter, scan it and send via email so the person in HK can print it there and add it to the package. At the same time you can wire the money via Western Union or some equivalent money service. They can print the NVC letter, pick up the money and then drop it at the police station without you needing to wait a week or so for the documents to be delivered to them. This should save you about two or three weeks overall.
I wish someone had told me all this a few months ago. We could have saved ourselves a lot of headaches.