Philippine Immigration Nightmare Experiences. 

The Only Dating Website i recommend to meet serious Filipina : www.christianfilipina.com/?affid=1795 To apply for Filipino visa: www.filipinovisa.com/?affid=1795

I can’t believe all the wasteful government bureaucracy making daily life and travel difficult for Philippine people

An exit tax is a “shakedown” and “extortion”.

I had so many bad experiences with those idiots in the airports, they ruined me. Super Evil bastards, to put it bluntly. They should all be put in jail for offloading tens of thousands of Filipinos without any good reason, on a yearly basis.

Honestly, you made a highly informative video that i hope subscribers SHARE and gets you more views than you would have had traveling! Love you guys!!!

Wow! My heart goes out to you. That's a lot of hoops to jump through. Lately as you have walked through many trials it is so beautiful to see your Christlike attitudes. God is pressing you closer to Himself and to one another. These are hard things to endure but the benefits will last far into the future. (and more valuable than any money spent) It's amazing how our faith in God can grow through things we would never imagine. I feel like your love for each other is growing deeper also and this is a gift from God which came wrapped in the most unlikely packaging. His ways are not our ways, but they are so good. Great video!

So sorry all those things happened to you, and it is very nice of you to share that experience to help other to avoid the same problem. Hope you enjoy your vacation now that you finally made it there.

Bummer guys what a mission, thank God we're able to still proceed with your vacation. Thanks for the info it will help us foreigners who want to pursued a Philippines relationship and avoid these headaches.

God bless you guys! And thanks for all the valuable information...

OMG Guys! I'm so sorry for the ordeal they put you through. Gary, you're the best of us, and it's my privilege to have gotten to know you both.

Wow!.. I agree that if your children are dual citizens make sure they have both countries passports..

Thank you Gary and Leah for this insight on how things are treated with different countries involved in travel. In the near future I hope to bump into all of you in the Philippines. Your friend in Christ. God Bless you all!

Thanks for sharing guys, sorry for your experience but good to know!

What an incredible drawback guys! Sorry to hear that, unfortunately bad things happen to good people 😢 Thanks for sharing your experience… Blessings!

I'm very sorry to hear about your offloading experience, but I'm not surprised. The government makes it tricky for any Filipino national to travel abroad, but not impossible. You need to have some documents and formalities in order, the best bet is to find a competent immigration and visa service company to help you map it out because the government can be difficult to get any (or consistent) answers from. I've also heard that the Immigration Officers at Cebu Mactan are easier to deal with than NAIA, something to consider for future travels. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights to Thailand from Cebu. You have to make a stop at Singapore's Changi international airport which is really well connected.

Wow ... I can't imagine the stress but ... in my years of living I have realized the importance of making and collecting memories! And as you realized, the kids have already had a time they will never forget. 👍🏻 You can't put a price on that. Have a great time Gary/Leah!!

Sorry to hear your stressful time and happy things worked out for you in the end. Have a lovely time there guys!

so disappointing for your vacation, Gary and Leah your viewers have proper respect for You. your marriage is Honorable and you are such a nice family . it seems arbitrary that you were questioned so much. i can almost see Gary feels sad from this , Better days are in your future . you have courage to share this event with us , it reveals there is need for immigration improvement . You stayed calm in a difficult situation and that shows real dignity . I am glad you are safe .

I am soooo sorry for the pain you endured but being a Theologian and loving watching all of your channels I am glad you kept the faith and God saw you through. I looked forward to watching your journey and i will pray over you and your whole family. I am trying to transition to Cebu where my Pangga lives. I expect many challenges and welcome bc he who we believe in will see me through. Anyway Sawdee Krup and enjoy your vacation be safe and may the pure white light of Christ protect you and your loved ones

You're good people, i felt sorry for what happened to you. God bless you both and Gracie. Watching this from New Zealand. Bob and Lina. (Cebu Links)❤

Omg what an ordial, so glad you get to enjoy your vacation after all that, thanks for the hard earned information, I hope you all have the most amazing vacation

You guys are so calm and collected despite of what happened. Such a wonderful Family. My respect ✊

Wow, unbelievable nightmare,but so happy you guys are enjoying your vacation thanks to God .Yes, everyone with children watch out !!!

wow!! thats crazy.i am so sorry for what you guys went through.... so many things have change since covid started ,e travel started..you have to do that now evrytime to travel to and from philippines ..its been like that since covid, so you have to be updated everytime you travel and find out all necessary paperworks you need to travel..its not as easy as before ..theres many youtuber that always updates the travel info online on anything that changes or must do /must have/must not do etc....i know traveling gets very frustrating especially if you lack acertain paperwork, been there and done that ,but thankfully didn't get off loaded because my paper that i need i can just call hubby and send me a picture of a certain document through phone and email it to immigration just took a few minutes

You really have a beautiful family. I'm sorry you had to go through this. Best of luck

Sorry to hear about your problems there. Thank you for sharing this important information.

Wow, what a nightmare scenario! You two showed your resiliency though by pushing forward. You are correct. It's just money and money can be replaced, but family cannot. I'm glad to hear you guys made it to Thailand. I hope to see more of your adventures whenever you decide to post them. Be safe and happy travels!

As an American Living in Phillipines With children Thanks for the warnings !!!😮 Red tape 😖

I finally got to see him laugh. His wife is so funny,, but he always just sit there not laughing at her.

Wow, things must have changed since my wife and son arrived to America (maybe a post C-19 thing they traveled in 2017) from the Philippines. Our son was also born there in the Philippines, but I think things were a bit different since he was immigrating and not just going for travel/vacation. Glad to see that you were able to get to your spot.

Without challenges life would be boring. Times like these makes the love in your relationship grow. 👍💪🥊🏆😎🙏🏼✌️

So glad you Gary and the kids got to fly out after all that stress. That would really have ripped my undies if that had happened to me as I am stressed over airports as it is. Cheers Colin Kiwi

My husband and I went to Japan last November and encountered a bit of a problem with the immigration officer in Manila but it wasn't a big issue and it wasn't definitely that she's trying to give me a hard time- I'm a dual citizen (UK and Philippines) but only hold a British passport when I last entered Philippines so whilst I was in Manila I took that opportunity to get a Philippine passport (rather than bringing my reacquisition of Philippine citizenship certificate every time I enter Philippines). So I didn't know that I had to also give my new Philippine passport together with my UK passport upon leaving, she explained to me that she will need to also stamp both of my passports and off I went.

It's a good video of warning as I met you both briefly and know that your both are both Family oriented god-fearing so I'm sure this snafu as your Lucky you went back and asked the second immigration person and now will get your daughter a Philippine passport. Enjoy your Family vacation 💕💕😎😎

Soooo informitive!!!❤

I do not want you to have issues leaving Bangkok but you shuld contact Philippine airlines to make sure the second part of your 1st roundtrip is still valid. I have seen them cancel the full ticket if the flight was missed. I would really check that if I were you unless you want to make another "horror" story. Also thank you for the story so that we are better prepared.

so sorry you guys had to endure that, I would be so upset

Thank you for the video sorry you had such a hard time getting to Thailand but you made it God Bless you all AMEN

What a wonderful take on the whole unfortunate situation. Focus on God and all his continued blessings. All the past blessings and how amazing our lives already are! Blessings to you and the family

We are going to JRC and have them do all our paper work when we leave. What a nightmare! At least you guys made it. Hope it was a good trip besides the exit

Gracie was born a Filipino, however she gave up her Philippine citizenship when she became an American citizen and obtained a U.S. Passport. She needed to become a Philippines citizen again (through Dual Citizenship) in order to use a U.S. passport and be eligible for rights as a Filipino citizen.

Hi there, check your airline for the flight back home if it’s still valid since you didn’t use it, you might end up buying another ticket to fly home 🙏🏼

Wow! 🤯 holy cow! That's crazy! I've heard of the etravel but didn't have to use it because my flights were always us to ph and vice versa. I did have to do the one health pass though on 1 of visits. What a nightmare y'all had. I had a very bad, crazy flight experience on my first trip to Ph, but it was all in America, at Dallas and San Fran. It's too much to text here but it was all because of false info given to me at each airport.

You guys have a great attitude about this!❤ The quality time spent with your family and the memories you make have no monetary value. Great decision! I pray the Lord blesses you and pays back the money that you lost. After all... It ALL belongs to Him anyway. He takes care of His faithful children. Trials (for believers) serve to help us realize our dependence upon God for everything. In the end, you will be glad you made the decision. Much love and blessings to your family!

These things happen when you travel with new conditions; it is almost impossible not to have a issue the first time you travel with Kids, new wife, foreign husband there are just so many possible situations ... The good news is you are safe and you know for the next trip...

This was our biggest fear... and we think that there are different experiences depending on the airport. Manila vs Clark vs Cebu. We were asked so many questions, but had CFO as well a other proof of lasting relationship printed ready to present. Preparation is key. If you try to freestyle it on the day, it could be an off-load situation because they are playing it safe. Great Channel BTW!

😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰wow that was an amazingly challenging togetherness love traveling story!! thank you two for sharing story, you guys make a cute couple. god bless you🤗

I’ve never been to the Philippines, but watching a few Utubers on the Philippines I have heard of these issues from them.

So sorry what you went thru! So many rules!

Congratulations on making it to Thailand. What a nightmare!

Wow, what a headache! I'm glad you were still able to get things worked out there at the airport and make it to Thailand. With the Philippine government already knowing that it can be difficult for its citizens to leave the country, they really need to put something in place where filipinos can have their documentation checked "before" plane tickets are even purchased. Thanks for the informative video. I hope you are having a great time now! 👍

Gary and Leah, so sorry to hear about your nightmare at NAIA. Gary, you probably kept it together a lot better than I would have. As for the Resident Tax, it is actually charged to you anytime you leave the country. I have had to pay it 4 times in a years time, due to travel outside the Philippines. As for Gracie, once you secure her Filipino passport, that should not be an issue for you anymore. We secured our Benjamin's Filipino passport first and then did the CRBA, US passport after. So when we left in January to come to Texas to visit, we had no issues and no "Exit Clearance" was needed. Additionally, when we return to the Philippines, we will need to make one more trip to the BI to finalize Ben's dual citizenship. Hope the Thailand was everything you needed it to be and somehow made all the BS worth it. With Love, the Baker Family!

I had to get E-travel last year when I went to philippines....nippon airlines was very helpful with that.

So sorry to hear about your troubles. Definitely get her a Philippines passport. You will you that for everything except going to the US, if you ever do that. I wouldn't. It's getting bad here. It may be a good idea for Leah to write a letter to her appropriate political representative in the Senate to talk about this experience. Your vacations costs you double because there are not clear instructions for travel. Jennifer Terri talks about a lot of this stuff on her vlog. And i think the filipina pea has done at least one vlog on these travel issues. Enjoy your vacation and good luck in your future travels. God bless.

Where can I get a shirt like Gary is wearing? I love it and want to get one.

Good morning from the USA!

Sorry for the bad immigration experience. Enjoy Thailand and ge safe

Please remember that for 13A Visa holder, need to pay Travel Tax and also Exit Clearance Tax everytime you get out of the Phils. You have to come back to Phils within 6 months, othewise there will be penalty fee if you come back after 6 months. Also you will need to make the yearly report or they call "update"at the Immigration office, otherwise you may lose your permanent residency. We also got the surprise of needing to pay the Exit Tax Clearance, the good thing is the Cashier is just near.

Sounds like a nightmare. With how policies change frequently, maybe a short appointment with an attorney who deals with immigration issues would be worth it. I imagine they would be up to date with policies and be able to help.

Glad you made it, though!

That us one wild story. I heard on some other Philippines channels about that one Exit Form. They are super strict about it. Another one they will pop you on is your NBI Clearance.

I can’t understand. Can you clarify if your wife had some kind of British passport ?

I think I would need to be resuscitated if I had to go through what you went through after that massive ordeal! God bless your family. Chris in Australia.

God always makes a way 🙏

If PAL put you as a no show for your original outbound flight, if you have a return ticket they most likely canceled your original return flight back to Manila. Best to check with PAL to avoid surprises on your return flight.

What an experience you guys had but in the future always buy a refundable ticket you never can tell what will happen

Having a US passport for your child is only useful for US immigration and US stuff. Since your child was born in the Philippines, having a Philippines passport for her would have been best. I've also heard from others to visit a lawyer with knowledge of this stuff to make sure you have as much documentation as possible for everyone to leave the country of the Philippines. It's shocking everything that's required for people to get out of that country. Now, go out and enjoy Thailand!

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS!! MANY PEOPLE DO NOT!! This is why I won't go to Philippines!! Remember, these officials have been through this many times, they know what's about to happen, and they withhold information to help you.They keep changing the rules which are subject to interpretation. Exit Clearance Visa?? Really?? It's a horrible mine field designed to blow up your wallet.!! I have many friends who will NOT return. They feel grateful that they escaped back home!! Missed flights, leading to tons of expenses, hotels, food etc, while waiting for clearance and their luggage was already on the plane and gone! Remember, these laws and requirements are well thought out and created by highly educated well meaning people with their heads where the sun does not shine. They take full advantage of the fact that you are already tired, hungry and in no mood to deal with heartless officious pipsqueaks!! There is NO mercy!! "Maybe you could just leave one of your children here?" You are incredibly lucky that things turned out the way they did. I have heard much worse with flaring tempers and police involvement. So I went to Thailand and will retire there as are all of my friends. Yeah, they have their madness but it's NOTHING like the Philippines. And, the food is much better. All the best.

I have heard always to avoid Manila Airport. Why didn't you guys fly out of Cebu? 🤔

“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.” - Roy T. Bennett

when in doubt always watch Jennifer Terri, she does flights, immigration, and so much to travel updates. I am sorry that I did not tell you all sooner, she is on RU-vid, she does mainly incoming for foreigners but also for those who are leaving after several months to years of staying there. she makes things so much easier on updates as they come out of the voting booth in the government. I hope this helps for the future.

it's a government controlled entity with the ability to tax you....I agree with you it's dumb, but at the end of the day (in retrospect) I'm sure you would not be surprised that a gov controlled agency taxed you. The real question is how much did they hit you for? was it 20 PHP or $100 USD or what are we talking here?

You should do a video on your experience returning to the Philippines. I imagine they will need to stamp something in her US passport, possibly a 1 year balikbayan stamp. Get her Philippines passport as soon as possible.

Alls well that ends well

For Leah, for Filipino citizen, you are required to submit on line the E-Travel form for Departure when leaving and Arrival form when Entering. You have to do this before you enter immigration, or you can even do it a day before your flight.

There is a spiritual condition going around the entire world where people just don't give a damn about the way they treat anybody else. They never do unto others the way that they would have it done to themselves, the Golden rule. You can't blame your attitude on a period when you know that your purposefully ruining a when you know that your purposefully ruining a families vacation. That just makes you an evil person because you are enjoying their suffering.

It will answer all your questions and you will not be sorry

I hope your family finds better pastures wherever your paths takes you all. Hopefully the powers that may be, will take a better look at this INCIDENT, on How to make citizens, taxpayers and permanent foreign Residents feel safe and welcome. I encourage anyone who reads this message to contact your local embassy and discuss with them ways to make changes so that this issue never happens again to anyone else!

Sorry to hear this happened to you. You don't need to apologize for being a parent, I'm sure most understand your children need to come first. Also, don't make excuses, the immigration officer was jealous and wanted to use (ABUSE) her authority to ruin your day/vacation, if she can't have it neither can you, crab mentality at its finest. Unfortunate you had to go through this, but you can share your experience and help others, there are no rainbows without a little rain. I've heard going through Cebu is much easier, but that may have just been that couples experience, I think it just comes down to the immigration officer you get. I get wanting to protect Filipino's and checking, but why make things so difficult, are they afraid if they leave the country they'll start to see the problems in the Philippines? Making things so difficult, lack of standardization, and people's lack of job knowledge are some of the reasons foreigners are wanting to leave, it's ironic the things they do to try to get people to stay are the reasons they want to leave.

I have had so many issues coming and going to and from the Philippines. I understand how confusing it is. We got burned as well even though we double checked everything first but were given the wrong info. Now when we go somewhere we double and triple check the requirements. It is a lot of hassle because we can never find 1 person who knows what needs to be done. It's a lot of work. Don't get me started on the Balikbayan Stamp issues we had.

I'm a dual citizen and always carry both passports. So sorry you had to go through that. Didn't they refund the original flight costs?

Is it possible for your guys to document what is needed for children born in the Philippines to an American citizen? What paperwork is needed? Also do you know if there's any info on whats needed for Filipino children adopted by an American father who are from his wife's previous relationship?

Aren't there agencies that help with all the documentation to leave the Philippines

How horrible. I feel for you guys. I don't understand why they check people leaving the country. Most countries worry about people coming in their countries. I'm Australian, and when I went to PH in 2017, all Border Security did was check I was the person in the passport before leaving Australia.

Yes there is soo much they do not tell. When i invited my gf in 2022 to austria I got the shengen visa, but she was offloaded for not having a cfo counsel and affidavit of support. So she was allowed to enter the EU but not to leave the Philippines. When i asked the embassy why they did not toll me I need this they said that is not their responsibility. Wich is correct but it would be nice to know anyway. Now they updated this on their homepage. With our child now luckily the German embassy told me we need both passports to leave. I even nedded to send them the Filipino passport to get the German. But our planned travel is in may so lets see if we face problems then, i hope not. Wish you all the best.

Enjoy your holiday

Wow !! Sounds awful.

Make sure that your return flight is still active. I flew last year and missed my first flight ✈️ and I was ready to use my return flight and because I missed the first flight ✈️ they canceled the return flight ✈️

What I don't understand is this...why didn't the airlines just re-book you on another flight since you missed the original flight due to problems at immigration?

I love Gary's T shirt

The officer could get fired if she put you on that flight! She was just doing her job however sounds like she wasn’t very nice. The lesson is everyone needs to be responsible before leaving any country as to the rules and regulations. This one is on you Gary…. Now put it behind you and have a wonderful time in Thailand 😊

was the first $1000 worth of tickets refunded? you think if they were both Philippine airlines even if not refundable they would transfer the cost to the new ticket. $1800 - $1000 = $800 additional plus the extra taxes for two of you? I hope they did something like that. It would be hard to swallow them killing $1000 then turning around and charging nearly double for the next flight!!! holy moly! what stress!

I would have lost my mind

I have been trying to get my wife's identification card and i want to get her passport but it was such a hassle to get her married id card we were sent to 4 different offices just to be told ,we don't do that here, i mean the girl in front of us got a copy of her child's birth certificate and when my wife went to the desk the women told her she had to go to a different office, i just let her mom and auntie go with her because i hate the old runaround 😊

Gracy so cuties sweet babies Y’all have🥰🤗

Well, I was going to say that my last trip to Thailand, my story was similar, but I guess after hearing your entire video, it’s not exactly similar. I got up to immigration getting ready to leave. I get to the terminal only to find out that the plane had overbooked by 20 peopleand I had a just a regular ticket I wasn’t in business class or premium economy or first class or anything like that and so yeah I got kicked off now they did find us accommodations and I did get a flight the next day but I was not happy, so I feel for you

Get your daughter a philippine passport. Shes a dual citizen. Show the philippine passport when departing/arriving to philippines. It will make things much easier.

This is starting to get embarrassing for the Philippines. And the paying a tax to be able to leave really gets to me. Try pulling that in the United States.

I just found out about this because I am flying back to the US soon

You need e-travel to come back to Ph too... Its so annoying to fill those out... Me and my filipina flew to thailand for our honeymoon I filled the e-travel stuff out and set alarms on my phone for that stuff... PH has had a crappy etravel for years. AS USA I didn't have to pay any exit clearence but my filipina had to pay it.... in PH not thailand...You have to realize EVERYTHING in the philipinnes is about screwing everyone else over with every single tax or fee than can pull out of you because its following america's theme of screwing over the citizens... Always bring photocopies and do lots of research and youtube video's make sure they were made in the last 60 days so you dont get wrong information... PH immigration tried to screw with my filipina too but then ultimetly let us pass because I had EVERYTHING printed out, birth certificates, hotels, etc.... for every single day there and back...The immigration lady really tried to find a reason to not let my filipina go, another filipina immigration officer in cebu came over who kind of knows me because she see's me often and I'm always nice and chatty with her and she tells the mean immigration lady to let us go on. Try to get the blonde haired older immigration lady in Cebu she is the nice one. If you are in pattaya there is a cool "cold place" its like a warehouse where they have snow and ice, I took my filipina there, lots of kids were there about $15 each with a free drink inside. It was a lot of fun for a filipina who has never seen snow or ice, Santuary temple is cool too.