Immigration Officers: How to Deal (Thread 2)

[joeymessa]

kinakabahan na ko sa flight ko next year to SG. wala po kasi ako company id. my work ako freelancer lang. nagwoworry talaga ako wala ako company id. please advice naman po.  nag enrol din ako sa instituto cervantes para mag aral ng kastial kaya hindi din nag hanap work.

nakabook na ko with RT hotel accommodation, sa travel agency din nag pa book. wala po talga ako plan mag work sa SG first time lang mag travel  31 years in my life.  budget ko at sa bank account ko 50k naka save na yun hindi ko na ginagalaw. guys panu ko sasagutin na wala akong company id. please help. naiimagine ko na iiyak talga ako pag ndi natuloy.

[ohcmon]

I work as a service contractor for a government institution. Hanapan kaya ako ng Travel Authority kung personal trip?

Sabi kasi ng clerk namin, hindi daw nagpipirma yung executive director namin ng TA for contractors dahil pang permanent employees lang yung TA. :s

[mama squeak!]

^sis, don't declare na government employee ka which you are not anyway. Pag tinanong ka ng IO what you do for a living tell them na you are a private employee (which you are) from XXX company which supplies services to XXX institution.

 

[ohcmon]

^ Sis, wala namang private company na nag-hire sakin for my services to the institution. As in XXX institution ang naghire, nagpapasweldo sakin and everything, pwede kaya basta sabihin ko na lang na service contractor ako tapos ipakita ko na lang ID ko since stated naman dun yung status of appointment ko?

[mama squeak!]

^ you can do that too. Basta wag mo lang isulat yung "government employee" ka kasi automatic talagang hahanapan ka ng authority to travel ng IO dito be it personal or business trip.

[ohcmon]

^ Okay, ganun na lang gagawin ko. Thanks, mama squeak!

[lululemon]

Share ko lang, Manila-Toronto ako solo travel, tanong lang saken ng IO sa naia1: holiday lang to no? sagot ko opo.
Sa Toronto naman, dun ako medyo kinabahan, naririnig ko mga pinoy nagprapraktis ng isasagot sa IO. May mga group kasi tapos tumabi muna sila at hindi agad pumila. Ako pumila agad, pinipili ko saan ako pupunta na IO hehe yung mukhang mabait. Pumila ako sa babae, pero narinig ko anlakas ng boses nya medyo natakot ako at lumipat sa lalaki na medyo bata pa mukhang canadian..
Mga tanong nya: where are you from, what is your occupation, do you have kids, what gifts did you bring for your friend, do you have your return ticket?
Distracted kami pareho kasi yung katabi nya na IO halos sumisigaw na, kaya panay tingin nya dun..
Ayun, stamp na nya passport ko at ngumiti saken

[bratty]

^natawa naman ako sa

what gifts did you bring for your friend

requirement ba yun? hehe

[hisana]

Just got back from SG. Pinas IO did not ask me anything, SG IO wala rin. Pinakamaraming questions na sa akin is, ironically, the SG IO nung pauwi na. He asked if I worked there or vacation lang, where did I stay, planning to go back daw ba in the future, etc. 

Also, the Pinas IOs look younger nowadays...o tumatanda na lang ba ako? LOL.

[det060403]

^ sakin lagi natatapat medyo may edad na na immigration officer. hehe!!!
sabi pag mas matatanda yung IOs mas mahigpit.
Pero nung nagtravel ako sa SG on my own, dito sa pinas tinignan lang yung passport ko tapos go na.. pati pag dating ko sa SG... ngumunguya pa ko ng gum non! haha pag sundo sakin ng pinsan ko, buti hindi daw ako pinagsabihan tungkol sa gum hehe...
when i went to Malaysia naman, muntik na kong mahold ng matagal sa immigration dito palang satin i think kasi wala kong permit to travel. hehe! hindi ko naman alam na kelangan ko non! sus! they asked me lang where ako magsstay and when they found out that i booked the hotel months ago pa, they let me fly na. buti nalang maaga akong nagcheckin kung hindi baka namiss ko yung flight ko.. ang tagal nila kausapin yung ibang passengers na nahold din. pagdating ko sa malaysia dirediretso lang din, they just asked me where im staying tapos ok na.

[jhez]

Kung 1st time pala baka kulang ang 3 hours before the flight ba?

[xtine]

^Sis, 3 hours before the flight nagoopen ang check in counters.  So pag let's say 4 hours before the flight ka dumating sa airport, mag aantay ka rin mag open ang check in counters ng isang oras.  So parang just rather be in the airport 3 hours before the flight.

[jhez]

Ok sis. Thanks.

Sana ok mapuntahan ko na IO.

[glacy_rein]

From my experience as long as kumpleto ka sa documents and straight at ready ka sumagot ng walang pagaalinlangan makakaalis at makakaalis ka lalo kung frequent traveller ka usually wala ng tanong sayo.

though I had some encounters..

SG trip with my siblings and ex bf
sister and ex bf ko computer related ang work and since SG is on red flag sa mga tourists na naghahanap ng work maraming hinanap sa kanila like yung booking, return tickets, and company id's

at dahil ako ang may alam ng lahat kahit na nauna na ako bumabalik pako para ibigay info's in which nung papasok nako sa last xray yung papunta na ng departure area 3x ako pumila/papasok 3x din ako nilapitan ng IO's may nagiikot pa kasi dun e nanchecheck ng passport.

first IO check passport go pasok, eh lumabas ako uli
second IO check passport ayan na hinold nako pinaupo ako sa table sa gilid nun tapos may set of questionnaire tapos antagal may interview pa, they question me sa Jordan stamp ko I said pilgrimage yan, sino daw kasama, sino nagbayad, ano work ko, even my health card hinanap! good thing meron ako lahat so wala na syang sinabe pinapasok nako eh pipila ulit, aba may lumapit nanamang IO ibang IO naman sabe ko talaga sa inis ko chineck at ininterview nako pwede ba late nako sa flight ko!

tips sa solo travelers

mas mataas talaga chances niyo to be offloaded, ewan ba pero hanggang Asian countries like Malaysia, HK at SG na-o-offload talaga lalo kung walang proper documents so be sure to have everything that will state or support that you have the capacity to travel and be back in the Philippines

[jhez]

IO experience (fresh pa kasi andito pa ako sa airport)

Dahil first time and solo traveller,  ineexpect ko na mahaharang ako. But thank you sa thread na to i am ready.... yay...

Details ng usapan namin sa interview:
-purpose ng travel - tour
-san tutuloy - friend ko
- at dahil sa friend lang makikituloy - nagtanong ng gano  katagl na kayo magkakilala, saan nagkakilala. San nagwork, ilang taon na sa job, position ano company
-ako na nagpresent ng lahat about my work -COE ko (original to kinuha nila, yun signatory tinanong din ano nationality), copy ng VL filed, copy ng schedule ng buong team namin indicating my off, humingi ID, position ko, ano yun company, gano na katagal sa company, kelan ang balik sa work (buti kilala yun company name naminl
-since im using my maiden name sa passport and ticket, explain na naman, pakita orig Marriage contract (local registry lang good thing madami ako copy sa bahay, kinuha kasi), copy ng Permanent Resident Card ni Hubby (US) at copy ng filed petition namin - sabay hirit na hindi ako pede umalis ngbansa ng matagal kasi may filed petition ako. I think eto nakapag convince sa IO na iapprove ako. Sabi nga nya super ready ako. Even copy ng birth certificate  meron ako.

Travel Purpose: Established

May kasabay ako. Nagrereklamo ang lakas ng boses. Naririnig ko pa magkano sahod nya 25K dw. Pero ayun nauna pa ako sa kanya. Lalaki dami nya dala bagahe. Mukhang Di nagcheck in kasi may 3 sya bagahe. Nakaleave lang daw sya then nageexplain. Pero kahit ako duda sa explanation nya eh....

[JINJIN:*]

question lang po sa mga naka punta na ng US.

I am an OFW but my contract will end soon. So uuwi na ko ng Pinas. Ngayon if I plan to go to US, hindi ba ko mahihirapan sa immigration. Marami na kong travel in Europe at naka punta narin sa states. Sabi kase ng friend ko mas maganda daw kung sa SG nalang ako mangagaling.
how does this works?

[xtine]

^Do you have US visa already?  I don't think you will have a problem because you can say that since you just ended your contract, you want to take a vacation before you start the new one. 

As long as you can show to the officer how capable you are to finance your travel then you're all good (Pocket money, hotel reservations, anything).

Does not really matter which airport you came from.  Just present proof that you're well traveled and have financial capabilities.

[thingamajig]

Hi sisses! Ask ko lang sa inyo kung ano ba yung mga supporting documents ang hinahanap ng mga IO? My boyfriend and I are going to SG and KL on Feb. 21 to Feb. 24. I have traveled a lot with my family, so hindi ko na-experience na hinanapan ako ng mga supporting documents, passport and ticket lang ang laging binibigay namin. But my boyfriend is a first-time traveler, kaya baka maraming hanaping documents sa kanya.

Ito yung mga ipi-prepare naming documents, meron pa ba kaming dapat idagdag sa mga ito:
- airline tickets: cebu pacific for MNL-SG, KL-MNL and airasia for SG-KL
- old passport (in my case) and new passport
- company ID
- COE
- approved vacation leave
- hotel reservation
- itinerary (DIY lang yung trip so I'll make the itinerary)

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ ok na yan, sis. If ever hanapan kayo, most likely flight pauwi, hotel bookings and company ID lang.

[thingamajig]

^Thanks sis! Can't help na ma-praning because of the stories that I have read about IOs