General Info

[Goferring]

What city is she studying? In province, a boarding house is about 700-1 k per month. In Manila region, a basic boarding house is about 1. 5 k monthly plus electric and water. This is usually done per room, and with shared bathroom. Many times you will have more than one person come in and share a room.

As far as university cost, it depends if it is public or private and what major area she is studying. Public university can be free if you're in scholarship up to about 20 k yearly. Private can be significantly more expensive than public, in the range of 50-100 k yearly.

My stepdaughter is looking at universities now, so these are the current prices we have gotten.

Thanks. That basically meshes up with what I was expecting.

The girl I mentioned is in CDO. She did say that room costs vary wildly depending on how many beds and features included. A powered kitchen / AC makes a significant difference.

Cheers. G.

[D Cups]

Has anyone seen any recent school fees? I'm just wondering out aloud how much they actually are and how much assistance a 1500 peso contribution actually is.

One girl mentioned 40 k for studying a real degree in a respected university. I have no idea how long that was for. I'm assuming a year? She also pays 2200 per month for her two bed boarding room.

G.

Hi G, I pay my student helper's tuition basically 3500 p / month in exchange for her cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and anything else that has a long line. She has her own room and CR. Sometimes she has other expenses but it is not very much. I trust her.

[Aml3740]

Has anyone seen any recent school fees? I'm just wondering out aloud how much they actually are and how much assistance a 1500 peso contribution actually is.

One girl mentioned 40 k for studying a real degree in a respected university. I have no idea how long that was for. I'm assuming a year? She also pays 2200 per month for her two bed boarding room.

G.

What city is she studying? In province, a boarding house is about 700-1 k per month. In Manila region, a basic boarding house is about 1. 5 k monthly plus electric and water. This is usually done per room, and with shared bathroom. Many times you will have more than one person come in and share a room.

As far as university cost, it depends if it is public or private and what major area she is studying. Public university can be free if you're in scholarship up to about 20 k yearly. Private can be significantly more expensive than public, in the range of 50-100 k yearly.

My stepdaughter is looking at universities now, so these are the current prices we have gotten.

[Goferring]

Then the fateful statement: she's just left school "because of financial". Gotcha. If we have some fun for the afternoon, then I'm happy to help you out.

Has anyone seen any recent school fees? I'm just wondering out aloud how much they actually are and how much assistance a 1500 peso contribution actually is.

One girl mentioned 40 k for studying a real degree in a respected university. I have no idea how long that was for. I'm assuming a year? She also pays 2200 per month for her two bed boarding room.

G.

[KenjiYoshioka]

No offense taken. I personally had the fixer shop do my extension a few months ago and had no problems with them. It was done in 90 minutes.

Years ago I was in Davao and passed by the small BI office. Instead of getting my extension later in Manila I turned around and went back the Davao BI. It was hot and I stopped and got a bottled water before I entered the BI. Outside was a security guard who looked very thirsty so I gave him the water. He was so happy that he walked me into the building, gave me a form to fill out and then took me to the front of line claiming I was a senior with priority. Then took me over to the cashier to pay and then had me sit and wait. 10 minutes later I had my extension was on my way. All in about 20 minutes there!

This to me is proof that the best "fixing" is the kind you do yourself with a little genuine forethought and charisma. I think it's one thing if you live in the PI and can afford to go to the embassy if a "fixer" accidentally "loses" your passport or something fishy along those lines, but if you're just bouncing around for a few months and have obligations to go to back home then you can't afford unexpected delays. That being said, I'd very much rather spend 1 k php than spend all day in lines. That time could be spent screwing the tits off hot girls instead; this is the PI after all.

[Dg8787]

There are 3 offices in Manila, one in Cebu, and one in Davao. I'm planning on going to all of those. But I'd still rather get it taken care of at the airport. Of course it's always also an option to get it taken care of at the consulate stateside first, which I am currently looking into. All the Philippines government websites are terribly shoddily run. There are broken links everywhere and lots of dead ends, kinda like doing business in the PI.

No offense, DG, but I don't trust "fixer" shops. I'm not trying to get stuck in the PI without my passport.

BTW, the fixer at Marquee Mall has a permanent store front office there. They aren't going anywhere with your passport.

I had actually walked passed them and into the BI to do it myself. The bi personel were missing and about 20 people waiting around there. I wondered around to see where the starting point was and noticed a person walking by me holding a stack of 20 passports with a sheet of paper in between each one. I observed him going into a private office. At first I thought he was a BI personel then I realized he was a fixer. Then fixer was getting 20 passports done while there was no one helping the 20 waiting in the office.

That's when I remembered walking by the fixer and I headed back to him. After a few questions I realized the fixer had a professional relationship with the BI and could get it done faster. I highly recommend them if your time is worth 1 k.

[Dg8787]

There are 3 offices in Manila, one in Cebu, and one in Davao. I'm planning on going to all of those. But I'd still rather get it taken care of at the airport. Of course it's always also an option to get it taken care of at the consulate stateside first, which I am currently looking into. All the Philippines government websites are terribly shoddily run. There are broken links everywhere and lots of dead ends, kinda like doing business in the PI.

No offense, DG, but I don't trust "fixer" shops. I'm not trying to get stuck in the PI without my passport.

No offense taken. I personally had the fixer shop do my extension a few months ago and had no problems with them. It was done in 90 minutes.

Years ago I was in Davao and passed by the small BI office. Instead of getting my extension later in Manila I turned around and went back the Davao BI. It was hot and I stopped and got a bottled water before I entered the BI. Outside was a security guard who looked very thirsty so I gave him the water. He was so happy that he walked me into the building, gave me a form to fill out and then took me to the front of line claiming I was a senior with priority. Then took me over to the cashier to pay and then had me sit and wait. 10 minutes later I had my extension was on my way. All in about 20 minutes there!

[WestCoast1]

There are 3 offices in Manila, one in Cebu, and one in Davao. I'm planning on going to all of those. But I'd still rather get it taken care of at the airport. Of course it's always also an option to get it taken care of at the consulate stateside first, which I am currently looking into. All the Philippines government websites are terribly shoddily run. There are broken links everywhere and lots of dead ends, kinda like doing business in the PI.

There is a Makati office at the Ayala Circuit Mall, 5th floor, see pic. From Burgos, its about p120 in a taxi. That's the Pasig river along the top. Its about 2-ish blocks from the South cemetery. I like that particular office as its mostly designed for extenders, and rarely has a crowd of any kind (unlike the Intramuros BI). In fact, having been there several times, only once did I encounter another client such as myself. I also like the mall itself. Its large, open, clean, has a few decent restos, and an open-air food area good for having a coffee and watching the talent walk about.

https://mallsph.com/bureau-of-immigr...malls-circuit/

No offense, DG, but I don't trust "fixer" shops. I'm not trying to get stuck in the PI without my passport.

Don't necessarily count the fixers out. If you see them in any BI office, they are wearing a special purple jacket, indicating that they are bonded / certified to carry your PP and money around. I have chatted up two of them, one at Intramuros and one at Circuit mall. The process is simple. You contact their company. They show up at your door in the morning. You hand over your PP and tell them what you want. They fill in the form for you (its easy), and they collect from you the exact BI fee required + p1000 (their fee). They return your completed extension receipt and PP in the afternoon to you.

They have their own special lane at the BI, they get quick treatment, and it will take them about 1/3 of the time to complete your task than it will take you. You must go to several different windows: fetching the form, dropping your PP with an officer, paying your fees at a different window, returning to the officer to show your receipt, then waiting at least an hour for them to process. Then you get called to yet another window to pick up your PP and extension. The fixer simply drops off a bunch of PPs to one officer and then sits down. That officer and another separate the PPs, one counts money and issues the receipt, the other does the background check and issues the extensions. 15 minutes while the fixer sits. Then the fixer spends 5 minutes going thru each PP and extension to see if there were any problems. Then he's on his way back to customers condos / hotels to return the goods.

Now that I live here, I have plenty of time and find it easy to handle BI office tasks myself. But when I was a 2-week warrior, it was much better to spend the day perving at LA Cafe, as opposed to wading thru grunt paperwork at a BI office.

[KenjiYoshioka]

There's a 24 hour BI office at Clark. There's literally a complaint on google reviews that the "officers" there ripped someone off for 120 php by pretending they didn't have change. Imagine being pissed off about $2. 13 in a country that rife with corruption. I'd just consider it a "tip" and move on. What is he going to do with 120 php anyway, buy a yacht?

[KenjiYoshioka]

True and I've found the smaller offices extremely easy to deal with. Walk in, pay your money and walk out. Certainly no need for extensive forms, queues or fixers. I don't know where Kenji is going but if there isn't a BI desk at CRK airport, it would be an option.

G.

There are 3 offices in Manila, one in Cebu, and one in Davao. I'm planning on going to all of those. But I'd still rather get it taken care of at the airport. Of course it's always also an option to get it taken care of at the consulate stateside first, which I am currently looking into. All the Philippines government websites are terribly shoddily run. There are broken links everywhere and lots of dead ends, kinda like doing business in the PI.

No offense, DG, but I don't trust "fixer" shops. I'm not trying to get stuck in the PI without my passport.

[Goferring]

BI is all over in Philippines. Just search online.

True and I've found the smaller offices extremely easy to deal with. Walk in, pay your money and walk out. Certainly no need for extensive forms, queues or fixers. I don't know where Kenji is going but if there isn't a BI desk at CRK airport, it would be an option.

G.

[Dg8787]

I greatly appreciate all the feedback and nudges in the right direction. I think I'm actually going to make an effort to buy some beers when I'm in the islands. I have one question though.

Is this BI office only at NAIA? I was hoping to fly into and possibly out of Clark.

BI is all over in Philippines. Just search online.

There is a BI office in MarQuee Mall in Angeles. Takes a few hours for an extension. Drop it over and do some shopping and have lunch. There is a fixer shop to the right just before the BI, he charges 1 k and gets it done faster and fills out all the forms for you. You don't have to wait in a line.

[KenjiYoshioka]

I greatly appreciate all the feedback and nudges in the right direction. I think I'm actually going to make an effort to buy some beers when I'm in the islands. I have one question though.

He any anyone else can get the 30 day extension right at the airport on the day of arrival. Only available on the day of arrival. You cannot come back and do it days later.

Get the 29 days VOA at the normal booth after leaving the plane. Then find the BI Office in the terminal and they will extend it there and then. 3050 pesos and about 10 minutes.

G.

PS. Forgot to say you need to have pesos on hand to pay for it. ATMs nearby but peso cash is the only acceptable method of payment.

Is this BI office only at NAIA? I was hoping to fly into and possibly out of Clark.

[WestCoast1]

I thought about replying but you made everything too complicated when for your first visa extension it is easy.

Turn up at the immigration office with passport and 3 k. Fill in a form, pay the money, sit and wait for 45 minutes till your name is called. Go hunt some pussy in a nearby mall.

There are other ways to do it but this is my preferred method.

He any anyone else can get the 30 day extension right at the airport on the day of arrival. Only available on the day of arrival. You cannot come back and do it days later.

Get the 29 days VOA at the normal booth after leaving the plane. Then find the BI Office in the terminal and they will extend it there and then. 3050 pesos and about 10 minutes.

G.

PS. Forgot to say you need to have pesos on hand to pay for it. ATMs nearby but peso cash is the only acceptable method of payment.

Thanks, I should have known that was available, somebody mentioned it here a few months back. Do we know if that first extension in the airport is available 24/7? If the BI employees doing the extensions are 8 am-5 pm only, or not available weekends, then the gents can go to a BI office. Is also available online now, right? In addition to getting the pre-arrival 59-day visa, Those here for only a few months should not have a problem.

[Jingo10]

I thought about replying but you made everything too complicated when for your first visa extension it is easy.

Turn up at the immigration office with passport and 3 k. Fill in a form, pay the money, sit and wait for 45 minutes till your name is called. Go hunt some pussy in a nearby mall.

There are other ways to do it but this is my preferred method.