I checked with HSBC today and what I thought was the case, is the case. Non-resident foreigners can not get any form of credit in the Philippines, be that a credit card, car loan or house mortgage. That is a BSP rule and all banks and lenders are required to abide. Your best bet would be to apply for a Permanent Residents' Visa (Section 13(a)) at the Philippine Embassy in London. That's simply a paperwork exercise and, once granted, that Visa is truly permanent, unlike 13(a)s applied for in-country. You will have to visit BI in Olongapo on arrival and hand them the sealed envelope you receive from the Embassy and pay the Peso equivalent of US$50 for your ACR Card (which has a life of 5 years). One caveat though: you will have to report to a BI office within the first 60 days of each calendar year (ie before March 1) to make your "annual report". That may or may not fit with your work rotations. The only drawback will be having to visit BI prior to leaving the country for an Exit Clearance. (I believe that the Passport Agency will issue a duplicate Passport to those who travel frequently and may need to do so whilst their main Passport is at an Embassy for Visa purposes.) Once you have that Visa - or, more importantly, its associated ACR Card - then more things become available to you, including a car loan. Alternatively, if your wife currently holds a Philippine bank account and it is in good standing (ie: is being used and a credit balance is the norm), she might qualify for such a loan. One point worth mentioning here is that BI is currently reviewing and overhauling the Visitor Visa and Visa Waiver schemes. One new change that is being rolled-out currently is a new 6 month Visa Extension. This exercise may impact on the initial period of time you can stay in the country holding a Single or Multiple-Entry 9(a) Visa; there's talk of it being reduced to 14 or 21 days (from 59 days). As soon as I find out anything definite, I'll make a post on the subject.
Markham made a couple of interesting points in the thread about buying a car in the phils, so I thought I'd copy them to another thread about the 13a visa process. I looked into this a little while ago both doing it in the UK and in the phils. My finding where (if I can remember them!) where to do it in the uk was pretty expensive and a mass of paperwork involving paying for x-rays etc. But as Markham says you get your 13a straight away with no probationary period on the temp visa. If you do it in the phils i believe they've recently made the process more complicated. You apply for a temp visa (I think this is the ACR card although that could be the full residency card thinking about it), I think you have this for a year and then apply for your 13a proper. If you only have one passport you can't leave the country once they've stamped the passport as there can be no changes to it during the application process. I know the above is a bit vague. Now for some questions. I believe there is a temp visa you get at the start, is it while you have this that if you leave the counrty and get stamps in your passport that it makes it difficult to apply for the 13a? Can someone tell me what this sealed envelope is that you get from the embassy is and is that for the 13a or the ACR card? What is required involved in the "annual report"? Do you have to get an exit clearence stamp every time you leave the phils and how much does that cost? Its going to be a real pain if you can only stay in country for 14 or 21 days instead of 59 on a multi entry visa
Few points here: The cost of applying for a 13(a) Visa in the UK is about the same as the cost of the one year probationary and the permanent Visa applied for at a BI office. For the Probationary Visa: it is not a good idea to have multiple lengthy stays out of the country for that year. The Visa is for residency, after all. The requirements for applications at Embassies is almost the same as at a BI office, the only major difference being that you need to provide chest X-Rays if applying at an Embassy. They do take the view here that you should be ordinarily resident if you're applying for permanent residency so many and/or lengthy trips out of the country may make it more difficult to obtain the change of status from probationary to permanent. Bear in mind also that you have to apply for the permanent visa during the ninth month, so you need to be in the country during the last 3 months of your probationary visa. It's quite simply your paperwork bundle which they get you to hand carry to the Philippines rather than pay for a diplomatic courier. You, your passport and ACR card, about 300 Pesos and around 10 - 20 minutes of your time. You should also retain all your Annual Report receipts: some BI offices require you to produce them at your next Annual Report and may "fine" you if you can't produce them. It's not a stamp, it's a certificate and it costs around 1600 Pesos. No decision has yet been made but it is an idea that's been mooted.
Thanks again for more useful pointers Markham. I'm actually at an advantage I think as I have two passports for work so as long as I use one for travel (work) I could use the other for my 13A visa I think I'm going to look into getting a 13A from the embassy in london then.
This is lifted straight from the BI website 13(A) The wife or the husband or the unmarried child under twenty-one years of age of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or following to join such citizen; Checklist of Requirements for Conversion to Non-Quota Immigrant by Marriage Under Section 13(a) 1.Request Letter from the petitioner with a statement that all documents submitted were legally obtained from the corresponding government agencies; 2.Duly accomplished and notarized Consolidated General Application Form (BI Form No. RADJR-2012-01); 3.Original copy of NSO issued Birth Certificate of the Filipino Spouse; 4.Original copy of NSO issued Marriage Contract or if the marriage was solemnized abroad, the Original copy of the Marriage Contract Authenticated by the Philippine Embassy/Consulate in or nearest the place where the marriage was solemnized, with English translation if written in other foreign language; 5.Photocopy of applicant's Passport (bio-page, admission and authorized stay of at least twenty (20) days from date of filing); 6.Original Copy of Bureau of Immigration (BI) Clearance Certificate. 7.Joint Affidavit of applicant and petitioner attesting to the authenticity and genuineness of all documents submitted in support of the application; 8.Proofs of financial capacity of applicant and/or petitioner during their permanent residence in the Philippines.
A link to the form from the philippine embassy website for those wanting to complete the 13A in the UK Form 3 http://philembassy-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/visaform3.pdf Form 11 (medical) http://philembassy-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/FAForm11.pdf
Ha. Yes. I used to have two at one point in time when I was working overseas a lot, no doubt for the same reasons.
Sorry, Stu, forget everything I said regarding 13(a) applications in the UK. Having read the revised application form, it's clear that DFA and BI have (again) changed the rules. Whereas before a 13(a) granted outside the Philippines was the full permanent residents' Visa, this is now no longer the case. Here's the killer: Note: The non-quota immigrant visa is a one-year multiple entry visa which should be renewed in the Philippines for three (3) consecutive years. On the fourth year (3rd renewal), the applicant may apply for permanent residency in the Philippines. In other words, you have to apply for 3 probationary visas before you can apply for the permanent residency one. Bummer! The only good thing is that it is cheaper - a probationary visa issued in the Philippines costs around 15,000 Pesos (£240). The big disadvantage for you, though, is the need to reapply after 9 months as it takes BI some two months to process and approve (or not) applications. And you have to pay a further $50 for an ACR Card each and every time. It would seem that your next best option would be to meet your wife (say) in Hong Kong at the beginning of each leave and she ask for a Balikbayan Privilege at Manila Airport. Or, you get a one year multiple entry visa and have your company obtain a new one in your other Passport when the existing one has almost expired (otherwise you'll have to spend at least 2 or 3 days in London getting a new Visa).
Sorry for not replying to your post Mark but it s been a bit mental at work. That is indeed bad news regards the 13A appication, wonder why they are making it so difficult now? I think as you say I'm going to go down the road of getting a 12 month multi entry visa and just return to the UK every year and renew it. I'll tie that in with visiting the family and friends. Thanks for all the pointers Mark, big help.
This is getting a little confusing and as you say,this new rule is bad news for those applying in the UK. It doesn't seem that these rules apply though when the application is made in the R.P.. Still just a one year temporary visa before the permanent one.
