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Filipina traveling to Costa Rica or Panama

LovingPI
#1
Hi,

I am an American citizen living in California. I met this Filipina woman online in 2019 and after chatting online for six months, I traveled to Manila In Nov 2019 to meet her. We have established great chemistry and I am going to try to get her a fiancee visa so she can come to USA and we will get married here in California.

Before applying for her fiancee visa, my girlfriend and I want to meet a couple more times. We are attempting to next meet in either Costa Rica聽 or Panama in April. She has informed me that she can travel to either country without needing a visa. However, I have read about the Philippines' immigration agents offloading some outgoing Filipino citizens for various reasons. My GF is 40 and has travelled in the past to Singapore and Thailand and had no trouble with leaving Philippines. Several years ago, she had tried to obtain a visitor's visa to the USA which was denied.

Does anyone reading this blog have information on what kind of documents will be needed for her to leave the Philippines for a 10-day trip to Costa Rica or Panama? I will buy her a round trip ticket so she should have that in her possession. Does Philippines immigration require proof of funds for her expenses, hotel confirmation etc. before they would let her leave the country? What kind of evidence might they require to ensure that she will have access to funds for hotels, meals, sightseeing etc? Can I just send her a notarised statement saying that I will cover all her expenses incurred during the trip and would that be sufficient? Will she need any other documents before she is allowed to leave? Has anyone traveled on Filipino passport for vacation in either Costa Rica or Panama and what was the process that you went through before you were allowed to leave the country?

I am somewhat naive about the intricacies of what needs to be done to make sure that she will be allowed to travel. Are there any thoughts, comments or recommendations that you can suggest?
See also
pnwcyclist
#2
Hi and welcome,

My GF was 36 or 37 when I first took her out of the PI, to Thailand and Singapore. They really grilled both of us, but since then it has not been a problem. But.. we always travel together. Sorry that I'm not sure what a solo female traveler will need but the fact that she has traveled before and has stamps in her passport will really help.

I would suggest that she have at least $1000 in travel funds on her, or $500 and a credit card, and a full copy of the itinerary with her name on it.. The notarized letter might help, but she has to prove her ability to travel independently.聽 Does she work in the PI? Proof of a job and or property in PI always helps with getting out. In all likelihood she will be fine.

Smart move to get to know her better.聽 I always suggest at least a year in person before making serious financial and other commitments. Costa Rica sounds great but make sure the countries she will transit to get there aren't a problem. I don't think she can fly through the US.
G
#3
Looks like Panama does require Filipinos to obtain a visa



but 60+ others do not

Some Great Places on that list: Hong Kong & Singapore.

But you have your hearts set on the Americas.
mugtech
#4
You might want to go to the Philippines again, will be the easiest.聽 Of course you would be doing all the flying, but the total miles flown would be less for you than for her to get to Central America and back, so it will be cheaper and less time consuming.聽 I don't know where you went in the Philippines in November, but there are plenty of places to go, things to see.聽 The important thing is you can do 30 days in the Philippines away from her family and it will have the same effect as going to a different country with no visa problems.聽 Could not advise meeting her in any other Asian countries right now, they are all getting very Novel Coronavirus nervous.聽 Hope it works out for you.
lasvegan
#5
It is always better if you come here and return to Costa Rica together! Costa Rica has a huge Filipino community and if you switch to the expat.com Costa rica site you will see them! Costa Rica has a very good Immigration system! I have traveled many times and very helpful and friendly! At her age you probably won't have the same problems as younger women do! Also the gov. here is coming down hard on Human Trafficing right now so expect questions that might pertain to that! Costa Rica has a 90 day visa to start and easy to extend if you want! If you join her here that will void the need for her to show financial capabilities of her own! Just have her on the itinerary. Biggest problem will be lack of reason for her to return! Does she have children here? A bank account? If not you might want to try a weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur or Macau or Bangkok! That will be a big test and will tell you what to expect later! Once she actually leaves and returns will big a big help! Remember that once you're at the Airport and dealing with the Immigration officer be the nicest most accomminating person ever! He or she will have the final say and they see so many arrogant people they can get in a bad way fast!
G
#6
Corona virus numbers are still relatively very small in every nation beyond China. Flu is a way bigger concern.



Only 780 people have had coronavirus in every nation beyond China.

129 of those have recovered.

414 were in Japan.

On an average day, almost 2,000 people die of the flu worldwide.

Just avoid cruise ships.
manwonder
#7

lasvegan wrote:

It is always better if you come here and return to Costa Rica together! Remember that once you're at the Airport and dealing with the Immigration officer be the nicest most accomminating person ever! He or she will have the final say and they see so many arrogant people they can get in a bad way fast!


Agreed...Also (pse remove those N95 masks that you *may be wearing for their full facial recognition checks) & for them to see your SMILE!

T
#8
They are quite strict about Filipina鈥檚 traveling on a tourist visa having a return ticket so make sure that she has one. My GF and I, just went on a 3 week journey outside of the Country several weeks ago and they wanted to see a return ticket, proof of money to sustain herself in the event that things went wrong between us, accommodations itinerary and wanted to know what she planned on seeing/doing while out of the country as well as proving our history together, ie. photo鈥檚, past travel docs, etc.

I knew from reading various forums that they are strict on Filipina鈥檚 leaving that have never traveled outside of the PH before so I made sure that she had 50,000ph in her bank account that she would have access to that I placed in there 3 months in advance of our trip and replenished what we spent over those months so that it didn鈥檛 just look like a dormant account, she also had $200 USD in cash as well as the 20K peso that we were leaving with, also printouts of of every cell phone load, or Xoom transfer I ever sent to her or her family over the past three years, had photo鈥檚 of all of our previous travels within the PH, as well as copies of our past tickets and hotel stays.聽 And yes, they looked at every bit of it.
Even after all of that, I had to sign a affidavit of support promising to take care of her as well as any medical expenses for her, make sure that she obeyed the laws where we were going, promise to ensure that she gets back to the Philippines on the date that we stated that she would be back and to verify exactly what Countries that we planned on going to. Having done all of that, they did let her go with a whole 10 minutes to spare before out flight boarded.

i would definitely prepare myself so that she doesn鈥檛 get offloaded by not being able to give them what they want. Otherwise, you could be out of a lot of money in plane tickets/hotels, etc. if it isn鈥檛 refundable. Of course once she鈥檚 out of the Country, you can do whatever you want I guess. In my case though, since I had to to give them a sworn affidavit, I made sure that I did everything that was outlined in the form that I agreed to do which included bringing her back on time.

Things may be different for your girl since she is 40 and has traveled internationally before.
On another note, we have been together for more then 3 years and have lived together more then 2 years. Not sure that I would trust depositing money or risk a large non-refundable airline ticket purchase for someone that I鈥檇 only met in person once.
Even if the ticket is refundable, you may now even know that she didn鈥檛 make the flight until it was too late to refund.

Good luck!
1 member reacted to this post
mugtech
#9
Do your traveling once you are married, it聽 will be a lot easier.
1 member reacted to this post
G
#10
Is there a particular reason why you want to meet in some third nation?
manwonder
#11

Philippine Destiny wrote:

Is there a particular reason why you want to meet in some third nation?


GOOD QUESTION : WHY????
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Philippines, you would :
SEE 96.4% LESS COASTLINE
Philippines has a total of 36,289 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.

:/

thanks

G
#12

manwonder wrote:
Philippine Destiny wrote:

Is there a particular reason why you want to meet in some third nation?


GOOD QUESTION : WHY????
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Philippines, you would :
SEE 96.4% LESS COASTLINE
Philippines has a total of 36,289 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.

thanks


Is that good or bad? And why?

And if it is good, then what makes it worth going through so much trouble?

lasvegan
#13
How much coastline Philippines has is moot! You're going to very little of it! Costa Rica coastline is almost 100% driveable on both coasts! Quality of life in most of Costa Rica is 1st world quality! People much nicer in Costa Rica!
lasvegan
#14
one thing you should keep in mind is Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico travel from Philippines is a red flag because so many try transit through to get into the US! I would try to get in touch with the Filipino community in Costa Rica and they would probably be happy to get someone for you to visit as a friend and that would help! It is a very friendly and helpful group!
pnwcyclist
#15

Philippine Destiny wrote:

Is there a particular reason why you want to meet in some third nation?


I suspect the OP wanted to "meet in the middle" somewhere. She can't come to the US so South or Central America works and they both get to see a new country. I went through the same logic once until I realized how expensive it would be due to transit requirements. I still would like to take my girl to CR or Chile, both countries of which I have visited before and really enjoyed.

lasvegan
#16


link to the Filipino communities in Costa Rica
1 member reacted to this post
G
#17

lasvegan wrote:

How much coastline Philippines has is moot! You're going to very little of it! Costa Rica coastline is almost 100% driveable on both coasts! Quality of life in most of Costa Rica is 1st world quality! People much nicer in Costa Rica!


Op wants to meet a Filipina there for just a visit. they cannot live their together yet.

It's a lot of trouble and expense to go through when they could just meet in Philippines where she already is. She would not have to worry about getting offloaded either.

1 member reacted to this post
manwonder
#18

lasvegan wrote:

How much coastline Philippines has is moot! You're going to very little of it! Costa Rica coastline is almost 100% driveable on both coasts! Quality of life in most of Costa Rica is 1st world quality! People much nicer in Costa Rica!


Ok you mention better driveable access on beach front & "NICER PEOPLE" they do infact spend 2.6 Times More On Education.
Philippines spends 2.7% of its total GDP on education. Costa Rica spends 7.1% of total GDP on education...not sure if that alone wud be reason enough for such聽 trouble/expensive holiday, especially for a local lady travelling there alone. (No right or wrong, jus brainstorming here!!!)

:/
Cheers

lasvegan
#19
If money is the reason they would meet half way then they will spend 3 times as much flying to Panama or Costa Rica! Panama is $1395 r/t and Costa Rica is $1700 r/t! While a ticket for him to fly to Philippines is as low as $430 But probably $800 to fly without having to stop in Toronto, Canada or even Istanbul, Turkey! Wrap your brain around that! But Turkish Airlines has a flight like that to Panama! Just wondering
lasvegan
#20
Yeah Costa Rica disbanded it's military in favor of spending on real education
Enzyte Bob
#21

pnwcyclist wrote:

Hi and welcome,

Smart move to get to know her better.

I always suggest at least a year in person before making serious financial and other commitments. Costa Rica sounds great but make sure the countries she will transit to get there aren't a problem. I don't think she can fly through the US.


Yes, get to know her better. For some interesting lowdown do a google search on Youtube for: Andy Omar.

THIS IS ALSO VALUABLE FOR ALL YOU SEARCHING ON VARIOUS WEBSITES HOPING TO FIND MISS. RIGHT.

LovingPI
#22
Thank you for your response. When you travel to Costa Rica, what sort of routing do you do? In other words, where would you fly to, say, out of Manila and how many plane changes do you have to make? I believe that she won't be able to fly through USA due to visa issues.

Because of my work schedule, it is a lot more convenient for me to meet her in Costa Rica since flying from California to CR is a short journey. Plus it allows both of us to see a new country.

Many Thanks!
G
#23

LovingPI wrote:

Thank you for your response. When you travel to Costa Rica, what sort of routing do you do? In other words, where would you fly to, say, out of Manila and how many plane changes do you have to make? I believe that she won't be able to fly through USA due to visa issues.

Because of my work schedule, it is a lot more convenient for me to meet her in Costa Rica since flying from California to CR is a short journey. Plus it allows both of us to see a new country.

Many Thanks!


She should maybe book through a reputable agent in the Philippines. They can advise on the routing and make sure she passes through countries requiring no transit visa. It won't be cheap.

An agent will also have current information on what routes are still viable. There may be some that are currently banned due to coronavirus.

lasvegan
#24
HEy LovingPI
Work would be a good reason....LOL! I like flying from San Diego to Costa Rica direct flight! But Houston to Costa Rica is cheapest and fastest! But since you are in Cal LAX to San Jose is best! From PI I go one of two ways depending on who i'm seeing in States! Mln to lax to san Jose! The Manila to LAX has one stop in Cebu. 2 hour lay over in Cebu then straight to LAX! Total time is 17 hours 30 minutes! $954 R/T PAL (Philippine Airlines) you can fly Eastern China R/T for little as $530 But 28 to 35 hours and 2 stops in different Chinese City and ypu have to handle you luggage transfers between flight yourself! Bad idea and there are several of you who can vouch for that!
mugtech
#25
Cathay Pacific is the only Chinese airline I would fly, advice given from American Airlines pilot.
mugtech
#26
The cheapest roundtrip tickets on Expedia which don't stop in the USA are $1,495 on KLM flying from Manila to Taiwan then to Amsterdam, then to Panama City, then to Costa Rica.聽 聽Total flight time is 37 hours including about 10聽 hours of layovers, one layover is 6 hours.聽 Thinking it would be easier once you are married.
lasvegan
#27
lol.....forget expedia! skyscanner is best other then direct phone call with airline which is always cheapest! Sorry Mugtech but my years of experience flying definitely left middlemen like Expedia to expensive
mugtech
#28

lasvegan wrote:

lol.....forget expedia! skyscanner is best other then direct phone call with airline which is always cheapest! Sorry Mugtech but my years of experience flying definitely left middlemen like Expedia to expensive


Was just quoting what was available and what kind of trip it would be.聽 Could get for $100 cheaper elsewhere, but paying $1,400 for a 37 hour trip is still a terrible idea.

manwonder
#29

mugtech wrote:
lasvegan wrote:

lol.....forget expedia! skyscanner is best other then direct phone call with airline which is always cheapest! Sorry Mugtech but my years of experience flying definitely left middlemen like Expedia to expensive


Was just quoting what was available and what kind of trip it would be.聽 Could get for $100 cheaper elsewhere, but paying $1,400 for a 37 hour trip is still a terrible idea.


Sorry...Ouch!!!...37hrs even sounds abusive!

lasvegan
#30
YUp! That work schedule probably needs to give for this to be reasonable! Or he's rich and don't care! But if i'm not mistaken she can go to Fiji and that might work
lasvegan
#31
As a general rule, Philippine passport holders who intend to visit Fiji Islands are not required to secure a visa granting that the stay will not exceed four months. ... Those staying beyond six months should obtain a visa prior to arrival in the country.Mar 17, 2011

Visa Requirements for Philippine Passport Holders - Fiji ...
lasvegan
#32
Flight prices to Fiji
鉁堬笍 start from
鈧�45,616
lasvegan
#33
Visa requirements
Fiji Visa requirements for Philippines
Visa Free
Visa not required
lasvegan
#34
Fiji flights not cheap
lasvegan
#35
This is your best solution I believe! Really about half way for both and a beautiful place


Visa Requirements for Philippine Passport Holders 鈥� Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia) All Philippine citizens traveling to Micronesia for a period of 30 days are not required to apply for visa. For periods of stay greater than 30 days, an entry permit is required.May 31, 2011
LovingPI
#36
Manila to Lax to San Jose sounds like a viable route. My understanding is that she will need a USA transit visa to connect to her flight to San Jose. Are transit visas for USA hard to get? What is needed to procure one? I am going to be calling a travel/visa agency in Cebu to get some of these questions answered but since you and everyone else on this forum have been so kind in responding with your suggestions, I am asking this question here.

Thank you!!
G
#37

LovingPI wrote:

Manila to Lax to San Jose sounds like a viable route. My understanding is that she will need a USA transit visa to connect to her flight to San Jose. Are transit visas for USA hard to get? What is needed to procure one? I am going to be calling a travel/visa agency in Cebu to get some of these questions answered but since you and everyone else on this forum have been so kind in responding with your suggestions, I am asking this question here.

Thank you!!


This is what you need

Rainrider9
#38
Dear loving pi,聽 in order to have her travel to Panama from the Philippines聽 she will have to have a physical done by a certified dr; the That is chosen by the Panama consulate.聽 There is one in Manila.聽 I can鈥檛 speak toCosta Rica.聽 My wife could not travel to Panama on her Philippine passport even as my wife with her green card.聽 Thus I had to take the trip by myself.聽 Hope that helps. rainrider9
1 member reacted to this post
lasvegan
#39
costa rica is very friendly to Filipino's! Ds-160 needs to be filled out and submitted! most of the Filipino's i know in Costa Rica had no problem getting it. You might ask this question on the Costa Rica expat.com site!
2 members reacted to this post

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