LSSVE Costs

Hey moonunit, wish I could do the 6 month tourist extension here, according to BI in San fernando city I have to travel some 6 hours to Intramuros to secure, no idea why they can't process a 6 month visa extension there but a no no according to them, not sure the cost difference and it wouldn't be much, the saving grace is a 6 monthly visit apposed to a 59 day visit but at 35 minutes away is easy as the 2 or 3 times I have extended my visa there were no other bodies in the building apart from staff, interestingly I still paid the 500 peso x 2 express lane fee every time, love to know how that works and if it can be negated.
If you have been here 59 days and wish to extend your tourist visa you will need to pay the 50 US bucks as well for your ACR1 which in reality means little from my perspective trying to open bank accounts etc. not really sure what it does apart from taking your money. If your local BI office is quiet like ours here simply do it every 2 months.

would love to hear from those that know how to negate the "express lane fee".

Cheers, Steve.

bigpearl,

I have not had to deal with the BI and tourist visa renewals, though I have an old friend who does. He was renewing his for 2 months at a time in the BI satellite office in the Robinsons mall in Dasmarinas Cavite.

Recently they began allowing him to renew for 6 months.  No explanation was given for the changes. Seems like all things here, it depends on which office you go to.  I do not know what he pays for the renewal.

Rember need a bi clearance to leave pi after 6 month stay ... i paid 13k for 6 months think 3 year ago .

Thanks for that. Not planning to go to the US until maybe next year after I get married.

Moonunit,

As you are just finishing your 59 day stay I would recommend you get the 2 month visa extension first, then the 6 month LSVVE.

My recommendation is based on the fact that you will have to apply for and get your ACR-I card after your first 59 days and the card can take up to 60 days to become available for pickup.  If you go this route and do your renewal in Tacloban, ask them then if they can do the 6 month extension.  I know that you can get the 6 month LSVVE in Cebu.

I myself did the 6 month LSVVE after my 59 day stay and ended up making an extra trip to my BI to pick up my card. This was no big deal by the way as I used the trip to do some shopping.

Costwise, with the ACR-I card and express lane fees it was PHP13,519.

moonunit0103 wrote:

Hi,

I am closing in on my 59 day stay here in Ormoc, and am undecided as to whether to get a 29 day extension or go ahead and get a 7 month LSSVE.  I am not clear on the exact costs either way, as well as whether the B of I website is current.

http://immigration.gov.ph/visa-requirem … sion-lsvve

Have any of you done this?  I am living in Ormoc City, Leyte, with the Closest B of I Office in Tacloban, a 2.5 hour drive, or Cebu, a 3 hour fast ferry away.

Hi Moon, Decided to keep my BI receipts to see what the total costs are. Arrived in the Phil. March  22nd 2019 to start the  extension process again. Went to BI  April 22nd to extend tourist Visa to 59 days and paid 3,130. Php's.  Went back May 22nd. for a 2 month extension and paid 50.00 dollars for the ARC. Total paid including ACR fee was 7,287.50 Phps. Went back July 22nd for a 6 month extension and paid a total of 7,340.00. I noticed BI charged me 1,500 "Express Lane Fee" and 1,000 "Express Lane Fee Certification" as part of my 6 month extension. I read  BI was using the Express Lane Fee to supplement BI  employee salaries  until President Duterte put an end to that and redirected  the fee to go to the general revenue of the government treasury. So BI just doubled the express lane fee so they can continue to keep 1/2 for BI supplemental salaries and the other 1/2 goes to the government. But expats pay the double fee. In my BI office, you are given an option to use the express lane or the regular lane. Problem is the regular lane says you can wait from 4 hours to 4 days to get your extension and have to leave your passport . So i just pay the express fee so i dont have to leave my passport with them.

"I am closing in on my 59 day stay here" Make sure you get things sorted before your current visa expires, if you apply late even by one day you have to pay a fine, it was P1k but I think it might be P1.5k now.

Update: I brought my Passport, a completed Visa Extension application, but forgot to copy my Passport/Visa pages, but there was a copy shop 25M from the Tacloban BI office.

My Visa expires August 8, and the extension expires February 8, so you are not penalized for applying earlier. My total cost was 13,475PHP. It was a 2.5 hour drive from Ormoc to Tacloban, so the convenience of not having to return every month or two is worth it to me.

I was expecting a DMV/LTO experience, but there was only one person ahead of me. Was in and out in under 15 minutes.  We arrived 1pm, just after lunch.  Easy-peasy

If it cost 13,475PHP then I assume you also paid for your Alien card. when I had been here 3 years and had to leave the country, by the time I returned my alien card had already expired and if I remember correctly it cos me 13k+ that time.

Yes, it was my first Visa Extension EVER, so I will have to make a trip back to Tacloban to pick up the ACR-I card in a couple of weeks.

I came on a one year, multi entry Visa issued to me by the Philippines Embassy in Washington, DC, but it limited stays to 59 days.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

bigpearl,

I have not had to deal with the BI and tourist visa renewals, though I have an old friend who does. He was renewing his for 2 months at a time in the BI satellite office in the Robinsons mall in Dasmarinas Cavite.

Recently they began allowing him to renew for 6 months.  No explanation was given for the changes. Seems like all things here, it depends on which office you go to.  I do not know what he pays for the renewal.

Thanks teeJay, fingers crossed for San Fernando La Union.

Cheers, Steve.

The ACR card is not needed for anything really, both myself and most of my friends just collect the card the next time we visit Immigration, they will send you a txt when it's ready for collection but why make a special trip just to collect that.

I thought an ACR-I Card was needed to get a Philippine Drivers License, and to open a Bank Account.

moonunit0103 wrote:

I thought an ACR-I Card was needed to get a Philippine Drivers License, and to open a Bank Account.

In addition I was told one was required to get senior discounts at age 60.

Yes you will need the Alien card for things like that. After that it's just an extra ID you can show besides your passport, the other thing it's handy for is if your old enough to be considered a senior citizen it is accepted in many restaurants to get a senior citizen discount.

FindlayMacD wrote:

Yes you will need the Alien card for things like that. After that it's just an extra ID you can show besides your passport, the other thing it's handy for is if your old enough to be considered a senior citizen it is accepted in many restaurants to get a senior citizen discount.

Also get a 20% discount on bus tickets from Manila to Ilocos Sur.  Also get discounts on rice purchased at the supermarkets and stays in hotels and ferry rides to Puerto Galera. .

The ACR card is not guaranteed to get you a discount, it is not the same as a Filipino senior citizen card. Some restaurants etc are very strict about that but some will give the discount.

I am in Dumaguete, on the form i fill out here there is an option. Regular or express lane.. since you have to come in 3 or 4 days to claim your passport, i never pay express lane fees here.. total cost for 2 month visa is 1930p.

Supposedly, you cant open a bank account at most banks with a tourist  I card. It is illegal for a foreigner to obtain a senior discount.. it is a goalable offence. Yes, some business do give it, would not argue that..

I am told by BI in Dumaguete the 6 month visa extension will cost me 7300. Express lane fee is mandatory which is included Plus $50 US for I-Card if that comes into play.

If you don't pay the express fee it will save you 1500 pesos but you have to tell them when you hand over your application forms, otherwise they will assume that you are willing to pay the express fee. If you don't pay the express fee you will have to go back there after 3 days to collect  your passport etc. I personally always pay the express fee because I don't want to leave that office without my passport.

Their systems are so chaotic here and I have heard many stories of passports going missing so I think an extra P1500 is a price worth paying for some peace of mind.

"Express lane fee is mandatory" Express Lane fee is not mandatory, if, when you hand over your application form, you inform them that you do not want to pay express fee they will process your application but tel you that you have to return in 3 days to collect your passport with your visa stamp or your Alien card..... Whatever it is you applied for.

FindlayMacD wrote:

"Express lane fee is mandatory" Express Lane fee is not mandatory, if, when you hand over your application form, you inform them that you do not want to pay express fee they will process your application but tel you that you have to return in 3 days to collect your passport with your visa stamp or your Alien card..... Whatever it is you applied for.

The express lane fee is not mandatory with a 2 month extension. It is with a 6 months Visa....In dumaguete,  paying the express lane fee on a 2 month extension does not get you passport returned that day..Still got to wait for it to come back..

I got my passport back same day when I got my 6 month extension in Tacloban. I do need to make a return trip to get my ACR-I catd in another week or so.

The BI office I visited only had one person ahead of me, and I was in and out within 30 minutes.