Perspective on visas

I often see comments in this sub that tourist visa rules and processes in the Philippines are frustrating, restrictive and complex. If I suggest they are actually generous and straightforward I am often downvoted to oblivion.

As mentioned in another post, my wife is trying to bring her daughter here to Australia for a holiday. 19 page application form, with ten attachments, costing 3.5k pesos. Biometrics, another 500p, has to be done in Manila, Cebu or Davao; bad luck if you are in Palawan. Medical, 8k pesos, has to be done in Manila (she lives in southern Cavite). Then, she MIGHT be allowed to visit us for a few weeks.

So, the next time you are feeling salty about having to go from BGC to Intramuros to drop off a form, spare a thought for how difficult it is for a local to visit most of our countries.

This rant was brought to you by my experience trying to help my step-daughter navigate the Australian bureaucracy, after we sailed through Philippines immigration in January with only a couple of minutes filling in e-Travel. Even there, people complain. Every country I have ever visited has some sort of entry document, e-Travel is relatively painless.

Rant over 😉