Staying illegal In the Philippines.

The very best thing that you can do for your friend is to simply be a friend. Tell him that you understand his problem, sympathize with him in his difficult situation and if he needs somebody to talk to, unburden himself that you're there willing to listen.

Beyond that you should do NOTHING at all.

Staying illegal in the Philippines is easy to do if you have money coming in. And no problems here.  But he does need talked to. He needs to go to immigration and catch all up and pay the fines there. Once that is strait he needs inform them he is leaving and have that done.  Now he can leave.  Go back to America and file for a visa for her to come there. The legal way to do things here.   With out all caught up with immigration he can not leave by plane. Unless a small private plane to some were.  Like Guam or such a U.S. possessed place. And return from there.  But then he better not return here.    Other wise and there are a few here. Straiten out his life here fast, Get cleaned up, live with girlfriend here as a illegal till he dies, and instruct her to feed him to the hogs once dead. And hope his money to live on holds out.

Hi how are you? the best thing you should do is to contact his embassy here in Philippines or bring him to his embassy. tell them his situation and for sure they will help him to exit Philippines with out any problem. Thanks

The US Embassy does not pay to repatriate Americans who over stay their visa. All will do is advise to go to local officials.  He has broken the law and needs to man up.

Thanks Guys and Ladies.

It sounds like there is another fire brewing. This is an easy fix. The same thing happened to me in December. I was told I had to stay unless I paid up. I paid up. Just that simple. Now I owe again. So when its time to leave I will pay late fees.

What I dont suggest is not regestering with the local police. I am regestered with them and they have no problem with my visa not being current. They just want to know where I
am incase of emergency. Sometimes families try and have the Embassy locate loved ones. When that happens then all the Embassy has to do is ask the PNP. Its just that simple. They then will make contact. This guy has other issues brewing for sure. Because his fees for 8mos overstay are 60k not much from an expat.

There are other issues as well like getting a drivers permit and not being current. They can cancel your credit and debit card as well if they think fraud.

Hello Panth,

Unfortunately for your friend, he screwed up.  A friend of mine was here without doing his renewals and when he wanted to return to Australia, he could not go.  Your friend not only lost whatever he paid for his plane tickets that day, but will have to pay all the fines for his overstay.  I here a lot of people saying that it is OK to stay without renewing the visa.  Unfortunately, advice is easy to give because they do not have to pay for the trouble and penalties for someone overstaying their visa.

The best thing your friend can do is contact Philippine Immigration and do whatever they recommend to correct the problem.  The US Embassy will do nothing to help you out here!!   He will have to bring his status current, pay the penalty fees, renew his ARC card, pay his exit fees and find out what else they recommend for him in order to return home.  If he plans on returning to the Philippines, he should check and see how long he has to stay out of the Philippines before being allowed to return back.

On the part of his girlfriend, she needs her Philippine Passport, take a seminar on going to the USA and get her passport stamped with the seminar date, process her travel documents and obtain the correct visas to go to the USA and come back to the Philippines.  I am not sure if the USA requires a return flight ticket back to the Philippines for her in order to go there, like the Philippines does for visiting travelers here.

Hope this helps, RAC

I know of an American who lives in Isabella Province and has illegally stayed now for more than 20 years...He is a farmer...lol...Probably wanted in the USA..

WRONG....If he is indigent. The U.S. embassy WILL help him. They will loan him money for a ticket home and intervene with Philippine immigration to have his visa past due fees and fines lifted. He needs to contact American citizen.services at the embassy

This is 100% WRONG! With the exception of times of natural disasters like the Pinatubo eruption, the US Embassy will NOT lend money or repatriate citizens.

I'm sorry to hear your friend has these problems. As others have advised he needs to go to the Philippine BI and take care of his overstay problems.

I believe the US Embassy will help him get a return ticket but this may limit his ability to return to the Philippines. There is also a group known as the American Association that will help him. They are located in Manila and have a website. Good luck.

NO, you are wrong. Do your research before giving out wrong information! If he can't pay his immigration back fees and he makes it know to the U.S. embassy, they will repatriate him. All he must do is call American Citizen Services. Over 200 Americans a year are repatriated each year from the Philippines. There is a section in ACS devoted to just that!

Just contact American Citizen Services at the U.S. embassy. They will tell him what to do. The embassy will get him the cheapest ticket they can find. He will be required to pay the State department back. Listen to what I told you, not to what some people say here. I have given you accurate information

Well John you better tell them that first, because I actually went there with a friend for that purpose and, other than making free phone calls to his US family and friends so he could beg for an airline ticket out, no direct monetary assistance was offered to him by the Embassy.

I STRONGLY suggest that the OP calls the Embassy to verify the truth in this matter and then posts it on here. Thanks!

Thank you All very much for the inputs, I will give him and his partner all the replies. Panth.

philipperv wrote:

I STRONGLY suggest that the OP calls the Embassy to verify the truth in this matter and then posts it on here. Thanks!

Perhaps both you and John are partially right...

Your inbox is full I cant send a mail to you

there are ways to exit the  Philippines without going thru customs, ask those from India they come to the  Philippines all the  time  with out papers

Contact me through Philippine Visa Service, We can find out the current situation of your friend and can suggest ways for him to exit the country if he has not already done so. Cheers Mike

No the Indians don't. The only way to travel in and out "without papers" is to use the porous southern border and hire a boat, or stowaway, and sail to Sabah, Malaysia. This is done regularily by people on both sides.

Pay up get legal go home. Private unscedualed flight to Guam and fly home from there. Or stay sleep on the street be a minor problem till they ask you to leave then buy the ticket and let them put you on the plane. Or if not a problem here and have money to live on. Stay till you die. You have enough to live on no problem to them. They do not look hard for you here. But break no laws or be a problem here. Best to get legal is my advice to him. Go from there.

i said the  same  thing  they enter the  Philippines with out  going thru customs, my wife  worked for  a family from India and  they are always trying to hide from customs

Do you actually mean customs or immigration? Escaping either through a regular port of entry (i.e. airport, ship port) is impossible for regular people. End of story.

James, you are correct in your scenario coverage except that they don't politely ask overstayers to leave. They have a nasty immigration detention cell to put you in until you pay your late fees, fines, and penalties and then they deport and blacklist you when someone comes forward and agrees to pay your airfare out.

There are many many people who stay here illegally. Mostly if they get into trouble eg: jealous gf, enemy, accident, somebody they upset, talking to the wrong person, or bad timing, Then they will get arrested and locked up until they get rescued by a friend, family or legal representative. This will cost big time. Overstayers of a long time need to go to a hearing so they do not get blacklisted. They then can pay Bureau of Immigration (BI) the relevant fees and gain an Exit Clearance. PI is slowly catching up and as technology advances they will catch up quicker. We have an ex-BI executive on our staff. Of cos they like overstayers,.......more pesos.. we are just updating our website... Mike - Philippine Visa Service.

I don't have to go thru Customs or  immigration to leave the  Philippines i have  been so close  to Malaysia i can see shore and  once  went to get  ice  and  beer no customs  or  immigration it  is  common to leave the  Philippines on a  fishing  boat and  go to Malaysia no problem, if  you want  to leave  the  Philippines, but  than to leave  Malaysia is  another  matter it  can be  done for  sure, the  Philippines  is  one  of  the  easiest countries to enter or  leave

what if he is short on money to pay out the fines. Would he be in Jail for Number of Months before They decide He can leave Philippines.

Private flight to Guam a U.S. possetion  Not cheap but doable.  Or pay up bring the paper work up and do it the right way.

As the Bureau of Immigration becomes more up to date with technology it will catch up to all illegal immigrants. The process is reasonable simple.
1. overstay less than 6 months then its just I am sorry and pay the fines
2. overstay longer then its more serious and there is a legal issue that needs to be addressed.
3. if there is a complaint then there is a deportation investigation
4. if you get picked up and put in jail then you can get an attorney who can delay the deportation for years if necessary.

If you are overstayed a good Philippine Visa Service can assist in finding out how much it will cost to rectify your status.

Watch out for fixers because if you are caught you will have a second problem to deal with.

Mike..

Driveway355 wrote:

what if he is short on money to pay out the fines. Would he be in Jail for Number of Months before They decide He can leave Philippines.

I think he could be there until he, or someone else, pays the fines...

Once it is paid he can leave.

Is he in Jail already.. what is your email. I can send you something. Mike.

My first thought is that the man is mentally ill.  If so, his relatives in the states should be contacted and maybe they will help.  It being a health issue, albeit mental health, the US Embassy may have some way to assist him.  A local doctor could examine him and come forth with a diagnosis of depression or PTSD or something else.   Mental illness is no joke and these days gets some recognition from authorities.   He, or his friends should "re-package" his case, not as a "lazy bum" but as a person with a real illness.

For 6 months, it is only 3000 peso penalty plus fees just go get it cleared, then get an ECC for another 1200 pesos, but do not let go over a year, the penalty increases dramatically. It is no big deal.

madhatter868 wrote:

For 6 months, it is only 3000 peso penalty plus fees just go get it cleared, then get an ECC for another 1200 pesos, but do not let go over a year, the penalty increases dramatically. It is no big deal.

It was eight months in August 2014, it would be near enough two years by now

I wonder what did happen?

Damn then he is looking at a minimum of 20000 in penalties plus fees

seriously,,

this whole thing with the visa's

it's not a big deal,,

i have read all the comments on here,, and agree with some of them

6 months overstay is your real maximum before you can't just say oh i forgot,,,

your friend over stayed for 8 months,, hmmmm which is a little too much

but it will still boil down to paying the fine

the only issue they always have with expats is when they stay for years at a time without extending their visa, because let's face it,, that's taking the piss

i always over stay and it's not a big issue at all,,, they are more concerned with the people who don't renew,, than the ones who actually do

because it looks like you got something to hide if your staying here and not declaring it doesn't it?

Just have him go downtown Manila and buy an ACR-I card at (BI) pay the fees and then he can get an exit visa. The 8 months overstay will be costly,but so was the unused ticket to America, I am sure unless they brought Travel insurance. No need to keep postponing it is Just costing more each day he waits.
Philippines (BI) likes money as long as he goes there and renews those documents. He will be good to go. He can also contact her/family doctor to get note to bring BI that he was depressed. But lol he will still have to pay to get ACR-I card. Which I believe allows stays up to One Year after renewals. But it is not going to be cheap,but better than living in fear.

1. What is an ACR I-Card?

An ACR I-Card is a microchip based, credit card-sized, identification card issued to all registered aliens whose stay in the Philippines has exceeded fifty-nine (59) days.  It also has an embedded computer chip with biometric security features capable of data management and can be updated electronically.

Mixknight wrote:

But lol he will still have to pay to get ACR-I card. Which I believe allows stays up to One Year after renewals. But it is not going to be cheap,but better than living in fear.

With the ACR-i card, which is valid for one year, they still need to pay for all normal visas renewals too.

One thing that I found was that you can only renew an ACR-i card when you renew a Visa.

That can be awkward for those holding a 6 month visa, when the ACR-i card expires, mid term of the Visa, and you wish to leave the country before the visa expires.
To get the ECC you need the ACR, and to get the ACR you need to renew the visa, even though you leave before the current visa expires!

That was 5,785 for a Visa Renewal that I didn't need, to apply for an ACR card that I never collected (as I flew out before it was ready), just to get an ECC...