Settled on the KLM flight to Manila. I leave Manchester on Monday 26th January and leave Manila on 26th March This gives me exactly 59 days in the Philippines, plenty of time to get everything sorted Overall the flight was £691.81. I could have flown with Etihad for about £650 but really wanted KLM after your rave reviews and some good things I have been told about them in the past. Also, Opodo were not the cheapest for this flight, but I doubt they are going out of business so for the sake of a few £££ it was a done deal. Now, need to sort out the visas and stuff
That looks like a pretty good deal for these days Kuya. Well done. 59 days sounds a lot but just keep updated on the start to end process as some things can change in time scales. So far so good.
Very pleased for you, mate. 59 days is more than ample for what you intend to do, and it will give you real prime time with your asawa, and maybe, if you play your cards right, you could even wait for her to get the visa and travel back together....
Well done Sean, although I work that out as 60 days on the ground if you are flying KLM mate hope you haven't jumped the gun as at that price it won't be an easily changeable ticket? It's 59 days exact elapsed time give or take an hour or two, but 60 days including the Monday you return (Feb 2012 is a leap year), also the KLM desk will check your visa and do the arithmetic on the time you will spend there, I have had arguments with the check-in desk before and I was once refused on the flight because I had less than 6 months left on my passport.
It's not a problem once you are out there they will assume or at least understand that you will extend after you arrive, it's convincing the carrier to let you on the flight on the way out of the UK that is the problem. It would be churlish of them for just one day particularly as you are going to get married and would have the right to apply for a 13A before you came back, but the check-in folk can be right nasty sometimes, it's not just a KLM thing all the carriers are the same as they get fined by the Philippine government if they let people in that breach the regs. I've also been in the queue when the guy in front got bumped from the flight because he had no return ticket, he wasn't planning on coming back direct to the UK but he did not have an onward ticket to HK or the likes which is another big no-no with the Phils. Saying that I have turned up without proof of an onward flight and been allowed through but I had been sneaky and bought two very long overlapping return tickets in opposite directions at the same (it was price effective at the time), the girl at the desk in Manila was really confused and had to get her supervisor because I was returning to the UK on an outbound ticket purchased in the Phils but I had arrived there on a 21 day visa. So on that occasion the check-in desk had no problem with me on my way out although my return part of my ticket was way more than 21 days.
Oh, I can just see the debates I will have now.... Well, when I am at the Philippine embassy in london this December, I will ask them to write this down on something so I can show it to the people at the desks and simply say "Look, I will get an extension and you will not get fined". Then it should not be an issue for them.
There is another trick but it ties up capital for a few days, you could purchase a one way full economy ticket that comes back on the right day and then cancel it as soon as you set foot in the Phils, a full price economy ticket is refundable without charge.
Think I should just call KLM and speak with them tomorrow about it. If they says it won't be a problem so long as I clearly get an extension then all should be fine getting on the flight. If they ooh and ahh about it.. Well, then I will try other sneakier methods.
Mine too Peter and yes always worth keeping things simple but the reality is that there is a small chance that he will have trouble on the way out there in January and he probably can't change the ticket because of the fare class. In the absolute worst case he gets to the desk and they refuse to let him on the plane because his trip is longer than his visa, at that point the easiest and simplest thing to do is to go to the KLM desk buy a ticket that returns him on the correct date, price is irrelevant, 10 minutes later he is past check-in and waits till he arrives in Mindanao, once there he cancels the expensive one way ticket he bought to get over a technicality. I am not advocating this approach but on the 26th of January if he gets any problems at all, remember he has a lot riding on this, the solution I propose will work. It's a last ditch option but the pressure you are under when the check-in desk is about to refuse you access to your flight is terrible, chances are they won't even notice but if they do he needs to be prepared.
Sean when you speak to KLM make sure they understand you will have an extendible 59 day visa, the official line on the 21 day visa is that you cannot just extend once you get there, at least that was what I was told in person when I asked the question at the Philippine embassy in 2005, in reality you can extend even the 21 day visa however the single and multi entry visa's are explicitly extendible.
I've booked one-ways to Philippines and Hong Kong before and had no problem either end, maybe I'm just lucky, but I think Immigration in both countries are more concerned your passport is in order rather than when you are likely to return. Being from Europe, they seem to think you are low risk so I've been told by someone who works in Immigration. Overstaying in Philippines seems to be a common problem anyway, and I understand they fine people on the way out through Manila airport rather than hunt them down and jail them like other countries do.
Yep that is really the purpose of the 21 day visa Rob, it's a revenue earner one way or another, either you pay when you leave via fines or you pay in advance to get a couple of months stay. The only thing I can say about the one-way is that I really did see a, rather dodgy looking, guy get refused boarding to a KLM flight in Glasgow going to Manila because he had only bought a one way ticket and had no exit ticket of any kind. At NAIA sometimes they check my exit ticket usually they just ask me how long I am staying, I'd say out of 22 trips they checked the exit ticket maybe 8 times, rest of the time and particularly recently they just ask how long I'm staying, which means what date am I leaving, they seem to take my word for it but then again I can't stay 21 days these days. The issue for Sean is the tiny possibility that the KLM check-in could give him a headache that he does not find out about till the 26th of January, my motto is always be prepared
Buy a cheap throw away ticket. Tiger airways etc, to Hong kong, just make sure the date is before your 59 days visa expires.
Well, I spoke with KLM customer services and they say it will be fine. Though it was difficult getting the agent to understand what I was suggesting....
That's great news Sean now the only thing you have to decide is whether you bother to actually extend the visa once you are there.
Your welcome to come Yuna, though the wedding is in Mindanao.. Also, hope to meet you in Manila come January
