Immigration officers, how to deal

[xtine]

^Atsaka sis, dapat merong letter from the company na authenticated and nakasaad na call somebody in case of verification.  Kung pinadala dapat sha ng company nya, dapat kargo ng company nya yung hindi nya pag alis.  Hindi yung kayo ang nastress

[preciosa]

Meron din sis complete nga documents daw niya
Leave of approval from his current job
Id company pero hindi naman yung company niya dito ang nagpadalasa kanya dun
Kung hindi yung tito niya, yung company ng tito niya nagsponsor sa kanya.
Pinagpipilitan lang talaga nung iofficer na hindi na siya babalik at ihhire na doon

[xtine]

^May I ask lang sis, bakit sha ipapadala at iisponsor pa ng tito nya doon?  Kasi sorry ha.  Medyo kahina hinala dahil ang magpapadala sa kanya doon ay hindi pala yung company nya dito.  Siguro eto yung cause ng pag harang sa kanya.  What about yung ibang nakalusot?  Same company ba ng hubby mo?

[preciosa]

Yes sis same company nila yun...
Yung tito niya kahit dito pinapatraining siya regarding dun sa klase ng field na yun
Pinagbibigyan niya lang tito niya kaya pumayag siya magpasponsor sa company matagal na daw siya pinipilit nun na umalis, ilang beses na din siya pabalik balik sa middle east pero hindi yun ang linya niya
Sa hotels siya eh pero dito sa pinas sa sales naman siya.
Kaya nakakadismya lang daw at yung tatlo niyang kasabay nakalusot

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, medyo nalito ako sa situation ni friend mo.

To clarify: work nya dito is lets say, with company "A", line of business "B". Pero pupunta sya Qatar to train for company "C", line of business "D". I think i get the IO's point kung bakit iniisip nyang magtatrabaho na abroad yung friend mo after the training.. I mean, tipong what's the point of undergoing a "training" that is not related sa field nya dito sa Pinas? Parang does not make sense, IMO..

What's medyo kakaiba is kung bakit pinayagan kamo ng ibang IO yung ibang mga kasama, sya lang ang hindi... Baka me ibang documents na hawak yung iba, like letter from their company/sponsor or something..?

Anyhow, your friend can try again. Baka lumusot this time.

[nettai]

Another thing po, may laman po ba na tatak ang passport nya, especially sa Middle East? Most of my managers bring their old passports just to prove na di naman sila maghahanap ng trabaho abroad illegally.

He can also bring a certificate of employment and some proof like some letter containing that he still has some responsibilities to do as a regular employee just to prove na di sya magtatrabaho dun.

[preciosa]

Oo nga sis eh naging honest lang siguro yung husband ng friend ko kaya yung totoong company id at letters talaga ang pinakita niya... Wala talaga siya plan magwork dun kasi masaya na siya dito eh. Malay niya ba na kailangan tugma din sa klase ng training yung dapat na ipakita niyang letters...
Yun na nga sis ang hinihingi ko lang na advice sana mga sis yung pwede ko masabi sa kanila mag asawa
Kung ppwede pa ulit mag try siya.

[preciosa]

@sis nettai yun nga din hindi niya dinala old passport niya sis
Kung dinala sana niya makikita dun na galing na siya ng dubai, iran, oman at hongkong din

[nettai]

^ Ayun sis, the next time he goes through, subukan nya kamong dalhin yung old passport(s) nya.
Almost the same situation din sila ng kasama namin dati sa Jakarta, eh wala syang business visa at ako eh meron. Sabi nga nung IO, "bat di mo naman sinabi na may lumang passport ka na may tatak na"

[minnie99]

Just to be safe, since I'm printing out the itinerary I made for our trip, pwede ko ba ipakita ito? Lol. As in complete with buses to catch, alarm time etc etc. Very informal but made by a very OC experienced SG tourist!

[babylj]

My husband is in Thailand now and he travelled alone. Interviewed for 5 mins by IO. Simple lang ang questions:
Purpose- will buy computer parts in Pantip Mall Bangkok
Place to stay - yes
How long- 2 days

Un lang.

[stebsy]

This thread is a nightmare! Pero binabasa ko to be ready.

BTW, I am employed by an office in UP Diliman on a contractual basis. Actually, ako ay "hindi employed" ng UP. I am a "non-UP contractual employee", pero ang totoo, UP ang employer ko. Wala nga lang slots na for UP items, so non-UP ako for now (meaning wala akong benefits, ang kinakaltas lang sakin eh tax).

Question: may kailangan ba na ipresent na document pag govt employee? If anyone here understands my situation, kailangan ko ba talaga ipresent yung document?

Honestly kasi wala akong ippresent as "proof of employment" kundi: 1) Business card ko 2) Leave approval. Wala kasi akong ID dahil "non-UP" nga ako.

I know I have to state sa immigration form kung sino employer---baka madali ako dun, right? Ang hirap naman iexplain ng predicament ko. Huhu.

This isn't my first time to travel and I have never heard of IO horror stories til now, but I think this time will be the hardest time for me sa Immigration because of my situation.

I think as long as you give them the itinerary and your passport okay na yun. Sabihin mo nalang self employed ka. At pumila ka sa guy na IO. kasi nun nung work pa ako sa government hinanapan pa ako ng authority to travel kemeluchi. pero that only happens when i queued on female IO. pag guy IO wala naman masyado tanong. once nakita nila na you've been in and out of the country tatak na agad and gorabels na. yung mga babae lang madami keme.

[minnie99]

Thanks sis! Ganun na nga gagawin ko. But I think ideclare ko na lang san ako nagwwork, I'll just bring my contract since it states there that I am NOT employed by UP and my services aren't considered government services. Whew!

[xtine]

Hay! 3,000 ang undocumented OFW sa Saudi na nagpicket sa Phil Embassy para pauwiin sila.  Yung mga kamag anak nag picket sa DFA office.  Natatakot daw na baka makulong ang mahal nila sa buhay.  Eto malamang ang dahlan kung bakit nag hihigpit ng tuluyan ang Immigration officers.  Gagamitin nanaman ang pera ng taxpayers para sa pagpapauwi sa kanila.

[chefron]

But ofw's salary are tax free 

Mga visit visa siguro yung mga yun.

[omneecka]

^sis xtine is referring to the taxes of those who are working in the Philippines sis.
hay, sad but true. nakakainis! that's why im not checking my payslip para di ko makita tax ko, direcho atm checking na para net na makita ko.

[Misis_Maku]

Mga visit visa siguro yung mga yun.

I agree with you sis, yung mga hindi lang naman tama ang visa ang usually nagkakaproblema, e. Anyway, di din natin sila mabe-blame kasi kailangan nila kumita. I have a friend before sa middle east, tourist visa lang din sya nung kuhain sya ng company na pinagtratrabahuhan nya. Umabot pa sya sa point na half a year siya na walang visa kasi hindi sya maikuha ng company nya... anyway, buti naayos naman na later and hindi sya nakulong. Kasi usually kapag nahuli ka na working under tourist visa, kulong daw agad,e.

Kaya di naman natin masisisi kung mahigpit talaga ibang IO.

Either way, found a lot of great tips here:

1. Be confident
2. Wear clothes that show you are "financially capable"
3. Be ready with documents
4. Act bored (lol)

This will be the first time I'm traveling with friends lang (and there's only three of us) but I've been to Singapore with my family countless times (in 3-or-4-day trips). So I hope all goes well when I arrive at NAIA 3 2 weeks from now to leave for SG.

I agree with the tips here lalo sa #2.  Observation ko lang din minsan.
Tsaka huwag na huwag papa-intimidate sa IO, hehe. Although, wala pa naman akong nightmare with them so far. Usually tinitignan lang nila passport at docs ko at wala ng questions. I think if you have the proper and complete docs, wala naman dapat maging prob.

First time ko umalis ng country, wala din naman akong naging prob. Naalala ko lang na tinanong sa akin is kung saang school ako graduate at ano magiging work ko abroad. Although, kabado pa ako noon baka kako ang daming itanong at hingin saken, tapos may nakasabay pa ako sa line na hinarang at pinaalis muna sa pila para interview-hin at icheck lahat ng dala nyang docs.

[ceejhei]

i have a question, yung passport ko ngayon ay may tatak ng UAE pero cancelled yung working visa ko kasi
nagka problem yung company and then i decided na umuwi nalang ng pinas. me and my husband are planning to
go to UAE again for vacation naman (sponsored by friends ang ticket namin).

maging questionable kaya yung visa kong
cancelled? they might think na baka mag work nanaman ako dun. or kuha nalang ako ng another passport?
will they issue another passport kahit sa 2015 pa ang expiration nitong hawak kong PP? si hubby naman may mga tatak
na siya to other countries pero asia lang kapag dinadala sila ng company niya.

TIA!!

[ubengbaka]

Another tip, look them straight in the eyes. Kung di kaya, dun sa pagitan ng dalawang mata sa noo. Sometimes pag kabado ako, I look at them dun sa part na yun.

Half lang ang smile ko and yung expression ko parang "di pa ba tapos ang pagtatak mo dyan?"

Isa pang ginagawa ko dati (not advising this to everyone ha), I don't eat and nagpupuyat ako before my flight. why? because that's when I get very cranky. Meaning mas impatient ako than kabado hehe.That way I get to answer "confidently".

[gab54]

I travel 8-10x a year, normally wala naman hasel sa immigration. Pero one time ewan ko may topak ata ang matandang babae, ang daming tanong, parang galit na hindi mo maintindihan, nung nakita e-ticket ko, bakit daw xerox, hindi orig. sabi ko, "sinong nagsabi na xerox yan? orig yan, i printed it on my computer. pero gray scale hindi colored!"  power tripping!