Immigration Officers: How to Deal (Thread 2)

[minnie99]

^Mukhang okay naman sis. Dala na rin marriage certificate? Hehe.

Anyway, he can bring naman his old passport din kung may stamps. Makakatulong siguro yun.

[artegirl]

mga sis, share ko lang a stressful experience, not with the IO but with fingerprinting.  this happened in Frankfurt.  Fingerprints were taken at passport control.  Problem is the machine cannot read my fingerprints on both hands.  Several tries, but unsuccessful talaga.  This frequently happens to me when applying for visa, passport, pero hindi naman total fail.  The IO has to call an immigration police to assist.  They checked my previous travels, heard him say "Malpensa" to a colleague, so I suppose they checked my previous trip to Italy.  While waiting, remembering a tip from 1 embassy, I put on some hand lotion.  I must admit I usually suffer from dry skin because of frequent handwashing, using alcohol and hand sanitizer.  The immigration police returns and fingerprinted me again.  Ayun, finally successful yung 1 hand.  I guess that satisfied him already, and he stamped my passport. 

So next time, while nasa line ng border control (New York), lotion na ko.  Successful fingerprinting!  Both hands =)  I guess this will now be my routine......

[adsli]

Hi artegirl,  ano yung tinanong sayo sa frankfurt immigration?  Frankfurt kasi entry ko tapos connecting flight sa main destination.  Thanks. 

[littlemissbiatch]

^^ So the lotion thing is true pala! Sa SG kasi when I applied for my work pass, they applied lotion to my finger para daw ok yung pag-capture ng fingerprint. At that time I found it strange! Thanks for the tip! 

[artegirl]

^^sis adsli, our itinerary is a bit strange (Germany-NYC-Germany), the IO said something like ..."and you're going to New York then back to Germany?!", then asked to see my plane ticket, asked how much money I have and was a bit shocked that I only have EUR100, and USD100 for the whole trip.  So I have to explain that I have minimal cash because I plan to just withdraw from the ATM/bank as needed.  And he pointed to a nearby ATM and ask if I mean that machine.  This is the only time na ang daming tanong sa kin.  Sa husband ko, the IO (different IO) just asked ano gagawin nya in Frankfurt, tapos hindi pa sya kinunan ng fingerprint. 

[adsli]

Sis artegirl.  Thanks.  Sana hindi ganon ka strict sa frankfurt na maghingi pa ng mga hotel bookings. 

[adsli]

share ko din pala experience ko sa IO natin nung nagtravel ako abroad. First time ko yung magtravel on vacation after pumasok ako as government employee. hindi ko alam na kailangan pala ipresent sa IO yung permit to travel. kasi naman hindi sinabi ng HR namin. sabi niya, for records purposes lang yun. file niya lang daw sa office yun.
hindi ko makalimutan kahit 2014 pa nangyari.
IO: anong work mo?
ME: (work ko)
IO: saan?
ME: (Govt agency)
IO: permanent or job order
ME: permanent
IO: saan travel authority mo?
ME: ha? kailangan ba yun?
IO: oo. sabi mo permanent ka, so kailangan ng travel authority
ME: wala po, hindi ko dinala (pero buti na lang nagsecure ako kasi sabi ng HR kailangan may file siya)
IO: sorry, hindi ka pwede umalis. magstep aside ka na kasi marami pang naka pila sa likod mo
buti na lang kahit saturday noon, merong tao sa office, at natawagan ko yung records officer namin para ipa fax yung permit to travel ko. kung hindi, ayaw talaga nung IO ako papaalisin kahit anong makaawa ko.

[minnie99]

^Naku, ka-stress talaga 'yan sis. Sana nga tanggalin na 'yan. Kaya ako, sinasabihan ko lahat ng civil servant friends ko na kasama ko sa travel na mag-secure ng travel authority, otherwise, 'wag nila i-declare. Hehe.

[adsli]

^oo sis minnie, nagtry nga ako next time nagtravel ako sinabi ko wala akong work. nakalusot. hehe. ngayon resign naman na ako kaya hindi ko na kailangan magsecure ng travel authority.

[minnie99]

^Ako naman sis lagi ko dinedeclare kung planned 'yung trip. So far wala namang biglaan na trip na hindi ako makakuha nun (ang tagal kasi nun kunin... 4 ata ang signatory sa recommendation bago gawan ng Chancellor... Haha). Inaabot ng 1 month yan samin kung hindi tututukan nung nag-request. Haha!

[themoltenice]

Good day po. Tanong ko lang sa mga government employee na nag present ng travel authority sa immigration, hinahanapan pa ba kayo ng clearance? May authority na po kasi ako pero wala pang clearance kasi sobrang hassle magpapirma sa signatories.

[minnie99]

What clearance? Sa akin, authority lang ang hinahanap. One time, hiningan ako ng school ID, akala ata as student yung pag-travel ko, eh nagbigay na nga ako ng travel authority. Gulo. Hahaha.

[yn061515]

my mom works in a hospital connected to PAF. Noong nagtravel sila last June, hinanap sa kanya lahat. Hindi na dapat nya idedeclare na government employee sya although kompleto sya ng clearance at travel authority, pero biglang may kapangalan sya na may kaso na may hold departure order. Buti na lang kompleto documents nya at yun ang nagserve as proof na hindi sya yung may kaso at naka travel sila. Better be ready kasi you'll never know till you're face to face with the IO. 

[jetsetgo]

Good day po. Tanong ko lang sa mga government employee na nag present ng travel authority sa immigration, hinahanapan pa ba kayo ng clearance? May authority na po kasi ako pero wala pang clearance kasi sobrang hassle magpapirma sa signatories.

no need for clearance if less than a month lang ang travel. authority to travel lang talaga ang hahanapin

[smua2014]

Hi there! My friends and I are going to Singapore in two months time. It'll be our first time to travel outside the country. We are already in our mid-20s and although I'm still a student at the moment, I work naman as a freelance Online ESL teacher. My two friends are siblings and both of them have their own respective jobs naman na. We are worried about getting offloaded kasi so we are a bit anxious about the interview with the IOs. Any tips po? 

[minnie99]

Be confident when approaching the IO. Answer only when asked.

T3 ba? You can observe (from the area where you fill out forms) kung saang IO okay pumila. Mapapansin mo naman kanino pinakamatagal magpadaan. Hehe.

Sa T3 last November, pansin ko they let groups go together. So magkasama kami ng bf ko sa isang IO. Both govt employees, pero yung travel authority niya, mali so he had to pretend he wasn't. To avoid being questioned, I immediately offered my gov't employee docs.

I think kung di naman pwede as a group, paunahin mo 'yung sisters and sa isang line kayo. Then when it's your turn, tatanungin yan kung sino kasama mo.

[smua2014]

^Hi sis! Thanks for the reply. Since I'm working as a freelancer, I don't have any COEs or even a company ID to show. I can request for a certificate from the company I'm working for showing that I work as a freelancer though. Can I show them that certificate together with a copy of my student ID and school registration form? They might question kasi my proof of financial capacity.

[minnie99]

^Yes! My friend, now past mid-20s, just shows her registration and ID sa school (undergrad pa siya), she just declares sa immigration card na student pa siya. I don't think she's ever been offloaded naman. Just keep a copy of your return ticket din in case hanapin, and hotel bookings. Saang terminal kayo sis?

[ohcmon]

^^ No need to feel anxious kung libot lang naman talaga ang purpose of travel mo.

Visited SO last weekend in SG, was a little worried din because he sponsored my trip, so kung ano-anong documents pa pinrepare ko. When I got to the IO, the only thing he asked me was where I worked, tapos tatak na agad. It also helped siguro that I'm a semi-frequent flyer.

[-teazer29-]

Hi mga sis. I worked from home so freelancer din ako for almost 6 years. Hindi ako nagfafile ng ITR and I also don't have any credit cards. I just have a question kasi I already resigned last December for personal reasons. My intent is balik to outside office na ako this year pero things changed and I might go to my husband in UAE na lang to work. Pano ba ang gagawin ko sa IO? Here's my situation.

* Husband is in UAE pero cannot process a husbands visa so tourist visa lang ako for 3months
* First time ko travelling abroad. I'll be with my youngest daughter na minor, my MIL na retired government employee and my husband's niece na minor din. Lahat kami is tourist visa lang for 3 months. My MIL and niece are going back talaga pero me and my daughter are going to stay with my husband
*Husband's 3 siblings are also in UAE sila sponsors nina MIL
*I have other kids na maiiwan here

My question is what approach ang gagawin ko sa IO? Should I declare na housewife ako (since I already resigned) or say na nakaleave lang ako from my employer sa online job ko?