I received an e-mail yesterday from a reader of this blog. I am not going to identify him, because what he wrote me about is something that I believe could cause him some danger if his name was published with the information that I will be posting here. You see, this fellow and his wife are foreigners who are interested in moving here from a western country. They want to retire here and maybe start a small business where they could employ some people and contribute to the local economy. They were basically unaware of the immigration procedures involved in making their dream come true, and when the went to the Immigration Office in the town where they are staying they were in for a rude awakening.
In the e-mail which I am posting below, let me be clear that I have done some editing. I do not want to post exact details of what happened to them, because it could identify them to the wrong people, and that is not something I want to do. So, I have removed the town where they are and certain specific details that would tend to make them identifiable. Anyway, here is the (edited) e-mail that I received from them:
Hi Bob,
My wife and I have just moved to the Philippines with a view to starting a business here. We are both XYZ Citizens which seems to make it a bit more complicated.
We have been told we need a quota visa to make our stay permanent and legal to run a business here, but upon visiting the main Immigration offices in our town to find out about the visa we were unable to get past security and told to wait across the road at a restaurant and someone will see us there. Someone did come to see us and told us they can get our visa but it will cost Php 150,000 each!!!!!
I was wondering if you knew the real cost?? is it possible for us to do this ourselves or is it too complicated for non Filipinos?? if so can you recommend someone (a lawyer maybe) who can help us.
We look forward to your reply
Needless to say, this really angers me. First of all, if this transaction was purely on the up and up, these folks would not have been told they can’t enter the Bureau of Immigration and told to wait across the street! There is only one possible exception to this, and that is if the couple were wearing attire that is not acceptable in the office. You cannot wear shorts to most BoI offices here, so make sure you wear long pants. Regardless, if their attire was not in line with the requirements, they should have been told to go change clothes and return. Telling them to go off-site and somebody would come and meet them – to me that is basically confirming that this was a scam by somebody inside that BoI office. Somebody wanted to shake them down for some easy bribe money.
In my opinion, and in my heart, the Philippines is a wonderful place to live. I know that I have a great life here. My biggest problem here, though, is that the corruption is rampant. Here you have a couple who sincerely want to live here, bring some jobs for the people here and be constructive members of the society, and some government official tries to shake them down and scam them?
The next problem for our friend is this – what can he do? If he goes to try to report this scammer in the BoI, he may well have serious problems. If the person who he reports it to is also dishonest, the foreigner may end up the one in trouble! What can he do? His options are limited at this point. It would be my feeling that his best bet as of now would be to go to a different BoI Office in a different town to see if he would have more success. It would be my opinion, at least, that this would be the method that would most likely keep him safe and out of trouble.
It’s a shame when you can get into trouble for the actions of others. It’s also a shame when a nice country like the Philippines has so much corruption that literally drives away people who want to do good here.
It strikes me that it would always be best to arrange the visa before entering the Philippines in the first place. I am in the process of getting a 13A visa but I decided to get it here in London to avoid any such problems.
If paying Php 150,000 per head is their only option it would be cheaper to fly to their country of origin, get the visa at the Philippines embassy there and fly back again.
It could be that they are going to have a short visit to their home country at some future point and they might arrange the visa then.
Regards,
Scott
Scott is of course right !, the 13A visa can be applied for at the Philippine Embassy in the country of embarkation, and of course, there is no scamming at the Embassies, when I visited the Philippine Embassy in London, I went in about one matter, actually it was about obtaining a bank account.
When I was in the Philippines in 2004-2005, as I did not go back during 2006, I was tired of being fed a merry go round, asking for such things as "Alien Certificate of Registration" BPI and Metrobank were awkward, in the end I decided to give up and wait until I got back to London.
In London when I was working, I popped into the Philippine Embassy, and I explained my problem, the consular officer telephoned Metrobank in London, and assured me that I did not need an Alien Certificate of Registration, arrangements have been made with accounts opening officer in Metrobank in Bacolod City to receive me when I arrive, they even posted the application forms to me in UK, and told me to bring them and an account will be granted.
Whilst in the Embassy, the Consular officer was so disgusted at my treatment, that she called upstairs for the Vice Consul, and a certain Ms Lazar came downstairs to apologize at my treatment, she then said " I have brought the permanenet residency application for you, as it would be better if you applied for permanent resident, just bring the forms back to my assistant, and there should be no problems in admitting you" she then went on to say, you will have no problems in the Philippines in the future with the permanent residency visa."
I was actually impressed by this, as it gave me the impression, that they don't want foreigners to be scammed or mis-treated, unlike in the story above, where clearly some local BOI staff member is the bad apple in the cart, and gives out a bad impression that all Filipinos are corrupt, good story Bob, but my advice, and Scotts is clear, apply in your own country, then you won't get scammed.
Hi Bob,
It always hurt me to hear stories about this about my birth country but it is true. This is most common in rank and file positions in the government offices specially in a third world country. When I was in my senior year in college and had to make a paper about our public servants I was getting the run around that I had to practically bribed them just to get my paper done. I'm guilty of bribing(like bringing cake to them) but I don't want to fail my course either. Same is true when I applied for jobs, there are a lot of legal documents to go through before you can push your application. I don't know if you heard this phrase down there: It's not what you know but it's whom you know. Specially in government jobs. Lucky for me I found jobs in private sector and it's base on what I know. As you found out Philippines is a nice country and so are the people but there are always these bad apples that give it a bad rap.
Liklik
It cant be emphasized enough,Homework,Homework,Homework do it before you go anywhere.
Sad to say but we need experience like that to open our eyes and to be prepared before going there and personally I think that my best allied in this future project to move to Philippines will be my wife..being a filipina, she knows how it is there so I trust her all the way for that. I think the best thing to do, like all others wrote, is to arrive there with all the proper papers in hand; this way you avoid, I think, a lot of problems. As for me, I will definitelly visit the Philippines Embassy here in Canada to be well prepared…
Regards,
Patrice
Hi Scott – I have always recommended getting your resident visa before coming to the Philippines. It's cheaper that way (no bribes), easy to get done, etc. It is also much quicker than doing it here in the Philippines. So, we are complete agreement.
Hi Pete – In addition to the Philippine Embassy, it can also be obtained from any Philippine Consulate as well. I agree with you, Pete, as well that most Filipinos are disgusted at stories of corruption and rip-offs of foreigners in their country. Unfortunately, just a few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel, right?
Hi Liklik Paul – I think that working in the private sector is much more rewarding than government work anyway! Good for you that you were able to get through the system without too much need for "SOP".
Hi John – Right on!
:oops:what ashamed its a nice country,full of crooked people,
Hi emma miles – I don't think the country is "full of crooked people," there are crooked people in every country.
Hi Bob- Like Scott and Pete I would recommend to anyone residing in the UK that they complete any immigration requirements at the Philippine Embassy in London before travelling. The staff at the consular section travel around the various Bario Fiestas held each year in towns and cities and give advice as well as processing immigration requirements provided that you have contacted them in advance and completed the necessary paperwork and provide the information and photographs requested etc.
I would always advocate for seeking assistance and advice whether foreigner or citizen at the Philippine Embassy in London the staff there pride themselves in assisting all who ask.
Hi Jim – I'm with you! I really believe that getting the paperwork that you need to have done in your home country is much more efficient than in the Philippines.
Hi Bob I just accidentally come across this article. Were you able to give them the right advice? Was there a happy ending? Rampant corruption is a sad reality in the Philippines and in most third world countries. I love the Philippines but not the politicians. I totally ignore them when I'm in Manila for a visit otherwise they will certainly spoil my holiday. 😆
Hi Eric – I never heard back from the couple again after that, so I can't be sure what the outcome was.