General Info

[QUOTE=Amanut;1579386]Don't waste your time and money on the flight. Filipinos need a visa and regardless of which embassy she applies at she must show she has a reason to return to the Philippines and not overstay in Canada. Lots try the ploy you are considering, but visitor visas to Canada are almost impossible to obtain for a Filipino national.[/QUOTE]As you already know the answer it is her visa application there turning down, you could try for a fiancee visa it works for the uk, as then the responsibility goes over to you, to prove you can take care, a drastic step but I have known to work for the UK.

[QUOTE=Questor55;1579252]I'd like to bring my fiance to Canada on a visitor's visa for a couple of months. She lives on Mindanao and so, spending considerable time and money dealing with those 'hard ass Phil / Cans in Manila will likely be useless. Using their criteria re steady job, sizable bank account, etc, there's no way she would be successful. A thought that crossed my mind is for the two of us to go on holiday to Hong Kong and apply at the Canadian Embassy there. So I'm asking for feedback or alternatives. So, guys, any suggestions?[/QUOTE]You're going to have a difficult time getting her out of the the Philippines. Immigration frowns on single women going to Hong Kong due to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord908][CodeWord908][/url] and prostitution issues.

I replied to Questor55's question about a Visitors Visa which is almost impossible for a citizen of the Philippines to obtain without being able to show they have his previously mentioned attachments to the Philippines and that she will leave Canada before it expires. The fact that she is engaged to marry a Canadian will raise the flag about exiting Canada to the officer. Processing times for Fiancee Visas to Canada are very slow no matter what High Commission one applies at and if she is simply on a holiday in Hong Kong she will likely be told to return to her country of residence to apply the visa.

Keep in mind that Canada Immigration will take your $450 for her application in Hong Kong and it is not refundable so if she is not approved you will have to pay a new application fee in the Philippines. She will then have a refusal from Hong Kong entered in their computer system and of course the more refusals in the system, the more diligent the officers questioning in each subsequent application.

Applications from family members to join Filipinos who have become Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents typically take many months with some stretching into years. My suggestion is if Questor55 is serious, do it the right way. Canada Immigration can have a very long memory when it comes to foreign nationals changing the status or type of visa application mid stream. If Questor55 decides to get married while she is in Canada on a visitor visa she will likely have to leave Canada and apply from her country of residence to reenter Canada as his wife. See the time frames above for the spousal approval as you are starting over.

Under our former Immigration Minister Canada moved to the hard right and now takes very long looks at what they perceive may be a marriages of convenience. I have some peripheral knowledge of this as a result of my job, and have heard the complaints.

Until last year I would have suggested Questor55 simply find an employer in his town who has been pre approved by the government to hire temporary foreign workers, but again recent crack downs on these type of applications have been sweeping with more to be announced in the near future. Our former Immigration Minister is now our current Employment Minister which in part explains the move to the right restricting entry of foreign workers.

Hell, from what I have been reading in this forum, she may be lucky to get past the Philippine Immigration in an exit interview to be able to submit an application in Hong Kong.

Questor55, if you have any specific questions perhaps send me a PM and I will see if I can make some suggestions but keep in mind that like all advice offered on a pooner board it is worth what you pay for it. lol

The last couple of days have seen some interesting commentary on one of our favourite topics. Hookers, and the P4 P industry.

Often we get comments from punters here about the widespread practice of prostitution in the Philippines. However, figures from other countries dwarf those in the Phils.

Several countries have been having trouble in balancing their national accounts. In theory, the total amount of money earned by the populace should balance the total amount in tax, plus spending plus savings. But this is actually not the case, and hence govts have been searching for the missing money.

Also, the missing money can be a significant addition to the national GDP, and hence improve statistics such as debt to GDP ratios.

They have discovered that the missing money is being spent in the cash economies of drugs and prostitution.

The UK estimates that money spent on prostitution is $9 billion per year. That is an awful lot of P4 P. Dwarfs the Phils.

In Germany, where prostitution laws have been relaxed recently, the estimate is that money spent on prostitution totals about $21 billion per year. There are 400,000 registered prostitutes, in a population of 80 million. The industry now attracts sex tours from all over the world. It is estimated that about 1. 5 million men have sex with a prostitute every day in Germany. Wow.

On the matter of trafficking, it is estimated that 800,000 persons are trafficked in the EU per year, of which about 80% are women. That is 640,000 trafficked women per year. That makes the figures for the Philippines look like childs play.

Makes you think. Maybe our beloved pinays are not so bad or naughty after all.

G

My sincere thanks to those, especially Amanut, who responded to my query. The Philippine Forum is truly exceptional for the level of expertise and willingness to share, that is constantly apparent here. Lots of bright lights who frequently illuminate issues in many helpful and supportive ways.

Thanks guys!

In the news today.

Cebu Pacific will start flying to Sydney 4 times each week starting in September.

[URL]https://anc.yahoo.com/news/cebu-pac-to-offer-flights-to-sydney--kuwait-070028221.html[/URL]

I heard some great stories about DIA, but I have no idea how it works. Can someone give me the basics of how to obtain a P4 P from the DIA website?

I will be leaving for the Phils in a few days and more than happy to report any information and experiences including any pimpettes I meet.

[QUOTE=Tyrion82;1582378]I heard some great stories about DIA, but I have no idea how it works. Can someone give me the basics of how to obtain a P4 P from the DIA website?

I will be leaving for the Phils in a few days and more than happy to report any information and experiences including any pimpettes I meet.[/QUOTE]Read the Chat rooms and pen pals thread: [URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/showthread.php?2479-Chat-Rooms-amp-Pen-Pals[/URL].

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1582276]In the news today.

Cebu Pacific will start flying to Sydney 4 times each week starting in September.

[URL]https://anc.yahoo.com/news/cebu-pac-to-offer-flights-to-sydney--kuwait-070028221.html[/URL][/QUOTE]Interesting news RK. I missed this. I guess their target market is expat Filipinos. Not sure I'd be comfortable squeezing into one of their planes playing silly games. Nor would I be sure I'm safe. May be a cheap replacement for Air Asia & Tiger. Nothing ever stays the same. For now I'll stick with Cathay Pacific.

AV.

[QUOTE=Tyrion82;1582378]I heard some great stories about DIA, but I have no idea how it works. Can someone give me the basics of how to obtain a P4 P from the DIA website?[/QUOTE]Hmm. Go to website. Register account. Upload profile picture. Add bola bola words. Sit back & wait for interested parties to contact you or search & contact interesting parties. Use your manners. Did I miss anything?

AV.

[QUOTE=Amavida;1582735]Interesting news RK. I missed this. I guess their target market is expat Filipinos. Not sure I'd be comfortable squeezing into one of their planes playing silly games. Nor would I be sure I'm safe. May be a cheap replacement for Air Asia & Tiger. Nothing ever stays the same. For now I'll stick with Cathay Pacific.

AV.[/QUOTE]This has been in the planning stages for a couple of years AV.

The plan is to use the new short-haul planes they are purchasing mid-year.

I was reassured to learn that they use reputable international maintenance companies (I think Lufthansa) to service their aircraft.

I haven't used PAL for quite some time now, and I understand from GE that their planes' interiors are looking quite 'shabby" nowadays, so I am perfectly happy to use Cebu Pacific especially at 5119 php all-in (that's with taxes) one-way fare Manila to Sydney (that's about $250 AUD return).

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1582759]

I haven't used PAL for quite some time now, and I understand from GE that their planes' interiors are looking quite 'shabby" nowadays, so I am perfectly happy to use Cebu Pacific especially at 5119 php all-in (that's with taxes) one-way fare Manila to Sydney (that's about $250 AUD return).[/QUOTE]Wow RK that's a great price. Just been looking at Cebu Pacific to Manila (and maybe its due to demand from the lusty Chinese that you mentioned yesterday) but price of Beijing Manila July return is over US $ 500. Thankfully PAL is much cheaper.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1582759]This has been in the planning stages for a couple of years AV.

The plan is to use the new short-haul planes they are purchasing mid-year.

I was reassured to learn that they use reputable international maintenance companies (I think Lufthansa) to service their aircraft.

I haven't used PAL for quite some time now, and I understand from GE that their planes' interiors are looking quite 'shabby" nowadays, so I am perfectly happy to use Cebu Pacific especially at 5119 php all-in (that's with taxes) one-way fare Manila to Sydney (that's about $250 AUD return).[/QUOTE]OK that is much more reassuring. The price is bloody amazing. I'll go double check this because CP online booking system plays games with the real price until you are about to hit the pay button. I trust you though. Thanks for sharing!

AV.

Which reminds me of my last trip over here from Chicago back in January. To save a couple hundred bucks I didn't fly Korean Airlines and instead booked with ANA to Narita and then some other airline here. My first "oh shit" was when I learned that the ANA flight was actually a United flight. I'm United's worst fan. It was -34 farenheit in Chicago and tires on the plane went flat at the gate from the cold. Don't you think that United might have anticipated that with the temps? That was a 90 minute delay at the gate. Then we get ready to shove off from the gate and the 4 wheeler that pushes the plane out broke from the cold. That was another 90 minutes and I had less than 90 minutes between flights at Narita.

We get to Narita and obviously the flight to MNL had left so they herded the 25 or so Manila passengers to an ANA desk and started making frantic arrangements for everybody with connecting flights to get alternative flights. They put all of us on a PAL flight leaving for MNL about an hour later. Upon seeing the plane at the gate I uttered my second "oh shit" when I saw the condition of the exterior of the plane. The dirt on the outside was representative of the condition on the inside and the combination of the two summoned thoughts of possible mechanical maintenance issues. I got on anyway and upon entering, thought I'd boarded a Greyhound Bus in the 1960's with worn seats and headrests reupholstered with cheap plastic. The third "oh shit" was no televisions anywhere on the airplane. I haven't seen an international flight with no televisions in at least 10 years. Fortunately the flight was only about 50% full as the seats were for tiny little Asian people and not suitable for 6'0 215 pound white guy. Everything about that trip getting here was just awful, including PAL.

Not sure what plane Slippery flew in from Narita to MNL.

PAL has been using fairly new Airbus A321's on that route. Its chief competitor is thethe Boeing 737-900 ER. Both can carry about 185 passengers, with maximum range about 3,100 nautical miles.

I've flown on both planes on routes in Asia. The A321 is slightly bigger, heavier, carries 8 more passengers, burned slightly less fuel, list price about $80 M compared to ($85 M for B737-900). The big difference is A321's are packed with lots of comfort, convenience and entertainment features at every passenger seat, whereas Boeing 737-900's are pretty much a stripped down machine for short hauls that are not equipped with a lot of features for passengers.

A321's also cruise at 542 knots against B737-900 472 knots. A321's are cheaper planes with more cabin features that fly 15% faster. That's why Airbus sold a lot of them all over the world with over 900 in service compared to about 200 for B737-900 ER.

China is producing A321 in Shanghai with deliveries aimed for 2018.

[QUOTE=Slippery;1582908]Which reminds me of my last trip over here from Chicago back in January. To save a couple hundred bucks I didn't fly Korean Airlines and instead booked with ANA to Narita and then some other airline here. My first "oh shit" was when I learned that the ANA flight was actually a United flight. I'm United's worst fan. It was -34 farenheit in Chicago and tires on the plane went flat at the gate from the cold. Don't you think that United might have anticipated that with the temps? That was a 90 minute delay at the gate. Then we get ready to shove off from the gate and the 4 wheeler that pushes the plane out broke from the cold. That was another 90 minutes and I had less than 90 minutes between flights at Narita.

We get to Narita and obviously the flight to MNL had left so they herded the 25 or so Manila passengers to an ANA desk and started making frantic arrangements for everybody with connecting flights to get alternative flights. They put all of us on a PAL flight leaving for MNL about an hour later...[/QUOTE]