My wife, daughter, and I have been in the Philippines for a month. Our daughter is not registered as a Philippine citizen (dual) yet, so she and I had to get round trip tickets. We bought tickets with a return date of 4 months. My daughter and I availed the Balikbayan privilege so we can stay for up to one year. Our passports are stamped with an expiration date one year from our arrival. As Ray said, "the kids can stay up to a year without any visa as Balikbayans." Also very important "but make sure immigration annotates their passports on arrival in the Philippines." We told the Philippine immigration officer upon arrival that our daughter and I wanted to take advantage as Balikbayans. He was hesitant at first and acted like he would be doing us a very special favor (hint...hint...bribe!) When he realized we knew the law and were not falling for it, he processed our request, but with a bad attitude!

The environment can be a bit rough for kids, as we have found out the hard way.  According to our Filipina pediatrician, small children (under the age of 7) born in the US are especially susceptible to illnesses and the unsanitary conditions that commonly exist here. Although, I have seen plenty of sick local kids too: viral infections, amoebiasis, bad intestinal bacteria, typhoid, etc. Despite various precautions our daughter just spent 3 days in the hospital with IV fluids and antibiotics for amoebiasis. Our nephew was just admitted today with the same thing. The smoke and vehicle pollution can trigger respiratory problems. Our daughter spent a week in the hospital last year with very bad asthma.

Take care and Good Luck in Afghanistan!

Dave H.

I don’t think they’ll have any problems unless she pays cash and wears a burka to the airport. The Philippine government requires a round-trip or forward continuing ticket for visitors, but Filipino citizens can use a one-way and I don’t think the kids will have any problem. The kids can stay up to a year without any visa as Balikbayans but make sure immigration annotates their passports on arrival in the Philippines.

Also, make sure she doesn’t stay out of the country over a year without a re-entry permit. If the wife is planning to apply for naturalization, continuous residence is normally broken when she stays out over 6 months, but I think there are some exceptions for spouses of active military members. Did she already do the Removal of Conditions?

Keep your head down over there!

Ray