You will then casually make your way down to Immigration, at this point you should have your documents ready, such as Passport, Customs Declaration and most importantly the Filipino Landing Card, which you were issued with on the aircraft. At this point you should be in the queue for Immigration, there are lots of lanes, try and get in one that is moving faster, sometimes a Filipino gets stopped for some reason, because they dont have the right paperwork, and then it slows the system down, this is how it looks at your left. Filipino Bureau of Immigration officers are generally quiet and stone faced, don't be too worried by this, sometimes a nice smile and a polite, thank you sir/maam goes a long way, often female immigration officers will give you a quick smile when you pass through their booth, but remember one thing, do please comply with the request to stand behind the line and wait, they have the power if they want to refuse you admittance to the Philippines if they think you are being rude or discourteous, you dont want to fly all that way to be ejected on port of entry, just go with the flow and be silent, after about 20 minutes all the fuss will be over and you will be in the baggage area.

Meeting the lady you have been waiting to see for so long is an exciting time, you have probably been communicating online for several months and now its finally upon you, that initital meeting, haha, your probably nervous, aprehensive, tired, hot, and disorientated.

In a few moments it will all be happy smiles, so where is your girl ? is it the one with fluttering eyelids, waving her arms, and coming over to put her little hand inside yours, you guessed it !, and no doubt you will be totally hooked on her ! trust me everyone who ever goes gets hooked one way or another.

Lets be truthful now, you are going to be expecting sex ! at some stage, however, be prepared that you might not get it immedeatly or within the first couple of days, however if you get lucky, then a good peice of advice is this, think carefully about family planning, try and get to a pharmacy, there is one in Glorietta's and get her straight on birth control as soon as possible, the last thing you want, is to get back to UK and find after 2-3 months, she is pregnant, thats a little more evidence of relationship than you really need at this stage, and in any event, fathering a child with a Filipina on visit number 1, will not get you any favour with the British Embassy

If you are going to have sex, then the obvious point is practice it safely, certainly discuss it with your partner, most Filipina's are receptive to a discussion along these lines, and STD's and HIV are not as prevalent in the Philippines as in other countries, however that does not mean its not around, obviously, common sense will prevail here

That's a hard one to answer, depends on what you are execting ? with a Filipina you could almost expect anything ! Filipina's are generally charming, and loving, and very attentive and helpful.

They are fully aware that it is your first time in the Philippines, she will want to look after you and take care of you in a strange country, she is well aware that you took the time to travel there just to see her on an exclusive basis !, she will be flattered by your actions, much more than your words, this is something she will take very seriously, as if she is genuinely interested in a love relationship with a view to marriage, she will want to make your stay as comfortable and as enjoyable as it can be.

Travelling to the Philippines to see lady on an exclusive basis is something highly prized, Filipinas are fully aware that some foreigners are butterfly visitors, some are the proverbial 'sex tourists' that I talk about in The Bar Girls of the Philippines some butterfly types often are predator style visitors, who chat to many girls, and expect to turn up in the Philippines in one place for a week, take girl to bed, and then dissapear to other islands, and meet totally different girls, their object is to sleep with many, often some of these girls end up pregnant on the promise of marriage, and the elusive foreigner just dissapears out of sight forever, despite attempts to contact them, they can never be found, and often give false addresses.

So going back to what I said, visiting her on an exclusive to her basis, is very important, you can expect her to be very nice to you, she will want to take you around, she will want to go and eat, and probably will want you to take her shopping, she will feel most proud to have you walking around with her, this almost appears to be a "Parade" process, its quite chic in the Philippines to have a British or American boyfreind, dont be suprised if you get a few stares from other Filipina's or Filipinos, its only that they are most probably admiring.

The sensible thing here to note, is that if you treat a Filipina as your "Princess" there is no boundary's to what she will do for you, that is why it is highly annapropriate for you to be staring at other Filipina's whilst in the company of this lady, this is actually considered to be rude, and may cause your lady to exhibit a strange kind of behaviour kown as "Tampo"

Tampo or 'Tampuhan" is a form of pouting or sulking, she may squeeze your hand, and although you might think the look she gives is harmless, its not, she is serously displeased.

A Filipina can be quite stubborn and awkward if you displease her, they don't want a guy to come all that way and start looking around at the local talent, after all, they can get someone who does that right at home, some Filipino's that is 'Pinoys' as opposed to 'Pinays" are known for having mistresses, one of the reasons why young Filipina's are attracted to the idea of a foreign husband is that they are absolutely convinced that foreign men do not cheat on their wives, or at least the majority do not do it, in general, Foreigner-Filipino relationships dont involve extra-marital relationships or the taking of Mistresses

Many Filipino Officials and local Politicians careers are dogged by scandals surrounding Mistresses, although in the Philippines its kind of accepted that they will have one or two, this is seen as a bi-product of the Philippines very strict laws regarding marital break ups, divorce is not a term used, and the only way a marriage can be dissolved is through an anulment with the blessing of the catholic church.The main thing here to remember, is that a Filipina can be the most accomodating woman in the world, that is to say, that nothing is a problem for them, treating you like a man should be treated, comes natural, Filipina's treat their men like Kings, this behaviour is often seen in Western Countries as subservient or submissive, this is in fact totally mis-understood, Filipino husbands regularly expect their wives to provide a full body massage each evening, they expect their wives to ensure they are adequately fed, and taken care off, such things as taking the husbands socks off after a hard days work, massaging his feet, are not thought to be anything other than the loving and caring attention of a honourable Filipino wife, fetching his beer from the fridge with some fries or snacks is considered normal, so why would she not do the same for her husband if he is foreign ?

Philippine women are convinced that Western men are Gentleman through and through, they expect the western man to be loyal, to be a one woman man !, to be generous, faithful, loving, caring, and doting, above all they are looking for 3 things in a man, first trust, they expect there to be a trust situation, secondly, fidelity, they do not expect him to be having infidelities, and thirdly, honesty ! they expect him at all times to be honest with them, in a practical way, they expect him to provide for them and take care of them, A Filipina expects to be treated as the only woman in your life.

Often the starting point of a relationship is a friendly date. This is not always the form of the British-Filipino courtship, this is because much of the freindly dating has already taken place in cyber world, in the Filipino courtship, the couple will go out together in public places as friends only and will be accompanied by other friends. During this stage of courting there will be no public displays of affection, the man has to be discreet and friendly or he will be accused of being too arrogant. It is too early for kissing or holding hands at this point.

This style of courtship is often associated with relationships where both parties are Filipinos, although it has to be said things have been changing at a rapid pace for sometime now, its nearly always the case that internet couples are actually closer notwithstanding they have not met at that point, nevertheless the relationship has been firmly established and its not normally long before a full sexual relationship is cemented

There is a tacit rule here that says: “When courting the Filipina you are not courting just her, you are courting the entire family”. Following this rule will help you earn her respect by entrusting her family with high regard, many British suitors who travel to the Republic of Philippines fail to understand just how important this general rule is, even though the relationship started via internet or in some cases, by face to face visit either in the Middle East, the Philippines or in UK, there are certain traditions that have to be observed when visiting the Filipina’s family.

For example, if the man wants to be acceptable to the girl’s family, he has to give small gifts (pasalubong) every time he drops by her family's house. If you have any questions regarding which traditions you should observe, you may discuss them with the older siblings, you may also note this was firmly established in your preparation to go in country, if you have prepared for the Pasalubong before hand, your gifts should remain in your suitcases until such time as they are required, but believe me, they will be required at some point.

After being a couple with your Filipina for quite a time and almost probably you will do this on your first visit, and decide to get married, the first thing you should do is pamanhikan, ask the girl’s parents for her hand in marriage.

After being a couple with your Filipina for a qualifying period, normally anywhere from as little as 4 - 6 months to 2 years, (these periods are very short compared to Filipino courtships which could last for years), you may wish to decide to cross over from being single to getting married,.

Tthe first thing you should do is Pamanhikan or ask the girl’s parents for her hand. Pamanhikan is a tradition where the groom and his parents visit the bride's family to formally ask for her hand and to discuss plans for the upcoming wedding over lunch or dinner. In the case of the British suitor, he would normally consult with his Girlfreind to ask when it is convenient for the girls parents to meet him formally.

It is customary that the the visiting family bring a gift (often, the mother's best home-cooked specialty in joint Filipino relationships) for the hosts, however in this case, an appropriate gift for each of the parents would now be needed, Pamanhikan can be a really uneasy situation if it's the first time for both sets of parents to meet; moreover matters like the wedding budget and the guest list have to be discussed.

If you wish to take a look at the typical Filipino wedding customs, you can navigate to The Filipino Wedding Customs to see what is involved in that project that you are more than likely to be involved in.

Though less formal than the pamanhikan, pa-alam is still a gesture appreciated by Filipino elders as a sign of respect. It is a custom where the couple pays some visits (mostly to elder relatives not present during the pamanhikan) to inform about the upcoming wedding (they may choose to hand over the wedding invitation at this time). Since the “hard time” is over with after the pamanhikan, pa-alam should be a breeze, though some elders may ask about the couple's love story or ask the groom about his work or family background.

Pa-alam should not be dismissed, for the British man, this is expected, and actually in my experience can be quite enjoyable, perhaps it would be better for the British man to rent a car for the day, and travel around to visit other elders within the family, also a visit to the Principal sponsors, so that they can meet the prospective groom is helpful, also they may wish to hear about the courtship story as well.

Further information about Filipino wedding customs can be found at the link above "Filipino wedding customs", that completes this section of "Preparation to go in country, how to make your 1st visit a roaring success, we hope you have enjoyed it.

Summary: Preparing for the Philippines by doing some online research, some heavy reading and some practical application will certainly help you when you arrive in country, We would like to thank you for stopping by our website, with a little patience and understanding everything will be worth it, good luck with your courtship.

Many people who visit the Philippines have questions and value somones opinion, we are always happy to give it, please ask any questions you would like, we endeavour to respond within 72 hours, hit the mail icon.

have you had a look at our Trip to Thailand

Thank you for stopping by The Preparation for the Philippines Page, their are lots of other pages for you to view, if you want information on Hong Kong or the Kingdom of Thailand or the province of Visaya, see Cebu or Bohol please stop by, and let us know what you think, by signing our guest book on the main page or maybe its immigration information, or if you want help you can link back to other pages where you will find good information to help you with your visa requirements.

The music in this page is by the Sex Bomb Girls, its called Kung Ako'y Magkakjowa (When I have a Boyfriend !) the lyrics talk about a Filipina's requirement for a boyfreind in that she would want a guy who would be loyal to her, not a playboy, married man, he doesnt have to be good looking or macho, but loyal and not making false promises - enjoy it