Flying to Phils on the 23rd March with Etihad, my return ticket is for 7th June. Obviously that's more than 30 days but I intend on extending my visa at Manila on arrival or at the Immigration place in General Santos. Will I be allowed to board the plane at Manchester and also be allowed into the Phils ? Dave
Yes that’s not a problem Dave . I booked my flight there with a return flight 8 weeks later . The important thing is that you have an onward ticket to somewhere if not a return . They are aware that you can extend your initial visa as soon as you arrive . I extended my stay to 59 days before I left the airport .
@OTT did you extend it at the immigration desk ? or do you have to go to another area for the extension ?
I would phone the airline and ask for clarification, explaining what your intention is. My experience is very out of date, as I have not had an extended stay for a long time but on numerous occasions at Glasgow Airport the girl at check-in was counting the days and making sure that my stay was valid. The only time I extended at NAIA (the old Terminal 1) my ticket was within what at the time was the 21 day rule, I extended this to the 59 days I think and later changed my return flight, so it cost me extra. In the past others have had an onward throwaway ticket within the old 21 days but their actual return was say 40 or 50 days in total. As I said my experience is quite old and yes I do believe that what you are planning to do is allowed now but you never know if there can be misunderstandings at the check-in desk, not every lad or lassie working at these desks and on the flights knows all the rules off by heart.
I had a 2 month visit last summer . Extended my stay later at our nearest BI office (Dagupan). It's not a problem. I'm flying Etihad too ... beginning of June, but only for 30 days this time. If you're getting paranoid about it. Phone the airline. All they do is double-check entry requirements for Brits entering the Phils.
The requirement is that you hold a ticket dated in the future and whose flight date can be changed. Before becoming a resident, I would arrive with a KLM ticket dated 11 months in the future (the initial maximum that can be booked for a round trip ticket): I never had any problems either at Cardiff, wbere I started my journey or at Manila.
At Cebu airport , there is a small office right next to passport control . I just went in there and asked to extend my visa to 59 days . It only took about 10 minutes to get the paperwork and then go through passport control. I can't remember exactly how much it cost but not expensive .
It should be under 3000 peso, I think it has to be paid in peso but not sure about that, from memory my last extension was about 2600 peso.
