From the Central Illinois redneck author of "The Rooster Crows at 4am!," "Lizard Poop!," and "The Philippines Expat Advisor"
New Frog in the Pond in Iloilo! Canadian Expat in the Philippines.
There's a new expat in Iloilo City, and he's one of the most organized people I have ever communicated with since starting this website, PhilippinesPlus.com. He's a Canadian married to a Filipina, and wants to be known as "Señor Frog." Mr. Frog first contacted me a few months ago after purchasing my eBook, "The Philippines: A Guide to Moving & Living in Paradise!" which he graciously said was helpful in his move. He wanted some advice on what type of visa to obtain before moving to the Philippines (I'm currently working on a new eBook that is focusing solely on the visa issue), and by the sound of his "Philippines Adventure" it sounds like the "Balikbayan Privilege"worked out for him. 
"Señor Frog" already has a joint bank account set up in the Philippines that he arranged while still in Canada. I'm very impressed. Here's an account of his arrival in Iloilo, and he promises to send more episodes of his "Philippines Adventure" that I can post. I think he has a lot of useful information that can help other aspiring future expats to the Philippines.
Our Philippines Adventure. Episode 1 – We’ve finally arrived. By: Señor Frog March 5th, 2011 We left home on Thursday, February 24th, 2011, flying with Air Canada on a 5:00pm flight to Vancouver connecting there with Philippines Airlines for a direct, non-stop to Manila arriving at 4:30am on Saturday, February 26th, 2011.
We crossed the International Date Line some 6 or 7 hours into our 13 hour flight from Vancouver. Having never crossed the Date Line I thought that the Airline would have had some sort of ceremony for those passengers who were experiencing this for the first time by announcing it when it occurred. That was not the case and we crossed quietly and uneventfully with everyone on board likely unaware that it had happened.
Arriving in Manila, we cleared immigration and customs and ‘She Who Must be Obeyed’ was able to have my Balikbayan Privilege issued by the immigration officer, on the spot and for one year, without having any of the documents we were told would be required requested or checked. Total time for both Immigration and Customs was between 5 and 10 minutes; we spent more time claiming our baggage.
Next, we had to get the pets cleared for entry. Fritzie the dog and Nikkie the cat were claimed at the baggage carousel and we proceeded to the Quarantine Inspection. We had obtained an import permit for them from the Philippines Department of Animal Health prior to departure along with all the required Veterinarian and Health Canada certifications that the animals had received all the needed shots, were healthy, fit to travel and posed no threat to the health of other animals in the Philippines.
After paying the permit fee of $7.00 the entire ‘family’ was officially admitted into the Philippines and was free to continue our journey. Total time spent for animal quarantine and inspection was less than 5 minutes. [If you are planning to travel these kinds of distances with your pets, make sure that you book well in advance and make arrangements for their transportation with the Airlines’ Cargo Departments which will save you a huge sum as opposed to shipping those ‘little dears’ as excess baggage as we did.]
We had booked our on-going flight to Iloilo for 12:30pm to give us ample time to get through all the arrival formalities – we could have saved ourselves at least a half day by booking onto the earlier 9:30am flight. In any event, we arrived in Iloilo on schedule at 1:35pm and were met by 5 of ‘She Who Must be Obeyed’s’ family members, who had rented a van and driver to meet and get us home.
Over the several months before departure, I had read extensively about the country and people and I thought that I understood that we were leaving our comfortable existence in a developed country and coming to a third world country with all that that implies. After only my first week in country, I can confirm that everything I have read is completely accurate – the poverty, which is evident almost everywhere, is truly a shock, at least to my North American sensitivities. I’ve never, ever seen anything quite like it.
But I must admit that the people, despite the poverty and all the other challenges they have to face every day are the truly the treasure of this nation. I have been so very well received and welcomed here, by absolutely everyone I have come into contact with.
I’ve pretty much decided the one year airport visa is the easiest way to go. I take my ganda asawa shopping in HK or Bangkok for a few days then get the visa on the way back in, just don’t forget to carry a copy of the marriage certificate with you when you travel.
Tony I am thinking of doing the same thing instead of the 13a. Still thinking. Ouch! That hurt.
Sr. Frog must be French.
Hi Gary; Yep, a ‘French Canadian’ born and bred in Northern Ontario. I’m very proud of our family roots and history given that we arrived in Canada from France in the late 1630′s. I don’t know about you, but I much prefer not being known as a hyphenated anything, just plain Canadian is good enough for me.
Thanks for the welcome!
Senor Frog.
Dave I sure enjoyed this post…always fun to read about some one elses experinces comming to the Phillipines…..I have never been so have no experience on the subject…..but fun to read others.
Yes, I know some of the expats here exclusively use the balikbayan, Tony, and haven’t had any problems. However, should have that NSO copy of marriage certificate just in case the Immigration officer asks for it. I’m going for the Permanent 13a (already have the Probationary 13a) since it will be easier for me in the long run and probably cheaper for us then to make annual runs to Manila and out of the country.
Glad you liked the post, Dan, hope to hear more from Sr. Frog in the future. Always good to get a different perspective on moving and living in the Philippines. We all have different experiences.
Mr. Frog having a join bank account before he arrived sounds interesting……..How did he do that
I have been to the Senor Frogs resturant in Cancun…..It is a world wide franchised resturaunt and bar place……..Senor Frog are you opening one in Daves area
There are lots and lots of Wigles in Ontario. My family came from Germany to Canada then to the States from there. That was before 1860. Had a man from Ontario get in touch with me on Facebook. He said that if we spelled our name the same we were related. He gave me some family history and yep! Same family. Small world!
Some of the banks here in the Philippines have branches in North American. They love our money. I use BPI here in Tagum City and I had Meriam open an account before I got here in her name. Wasn’t too long after I got here I had opened 3 accounts, all within the first 59 days.
Find a bank in your home country, Ralph, that also has branches in the Philippines, like Citibank for instance, though Sr. Frog used a different institution. Set up an account in the bank where you are located before you make your move to the Philippines.
Thanks for the help, Gary.
Three accounts? Would you please explain? I will be opening accounts for the first time in the Phils. in a couple weeks, and have been agonizing over what types of accounts will work best for me. Thanks, Gary.
Sorry Ralph, no such luck. I’ve also been to Senor Frog’s in Cancun several times. I’ve had the nick name since going to boarding school – christened that too many years ago (45-50) by my Mexican roommate…
Ok thanks for the info……I was also looking at HSBC bank too
Sorry I am late reading this post. Welcome Sr. Frog and we hope to hear more. Two comments on the ‘bringing pets’. In most cases it is much more expensive to ship the pets via air cargo than as excess baggage. Also, if shipped as cargo, Philippine Customs may attempt to levy large duty fees. I would ship always as ”accompanied excess baggage’, unless the pet/crate are too large or heavy.
Second, most US airlines won’t accept pets for shipment from approximately May until October or so … too much risk of heat prostration/heat stroke deaths waiting for departures/unloading. Plan accordingly.
Two more pet notes I just thought of. Always go for a direct flight as Sr. Frog did. If you book a flight for a stopover in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc., you may encounter difficulties there, and your pets will be stressed that much more … well worth any minor cost differences.
For US readers, the animal needs a health certificate from a USDA (US Department of Agriculture) registered vet. Not all vets can fill up and sign the US health form legally, so make sure you check … hint, check with the USDA becuase I once used a US vet who didn’t know these regs, thought I had everything in order and then at the very last minute had to rush around and find another vet who was on the USDA list.
On the bank accounts issue … I’d suggest every expat needs at least three accounts. A Peso Savings account, a US Dollar savings account (to deposit US checks, or to serve as a ‘landing place’ for money transfer for the US), and a separate Peso account with an ATM card.
You do not want an ATM card for your primary savings account, you want to transfer money to your ATM ‘daily use’ account as required. Sounds like extra work? Yep, sure is, until you lose your ATM card and have your whole account cleaned out.
This is actually expensively-learned advice from bitter experience back in the USA that I am giving away to the community for free … I already paid a whopping ‘tuition’ bill for this course in the school of hard knocks … someone gained access to my account with an apparently forged ATM card and cleaned out thousands … I only knew it happened when a check bounced. Ouch.
Unlike with credit cards, when an ATM card takes out money, it is gone … period, no recourse, unless you can actually prove fraud … almost impossible.
Only have an ATM card tied to an account that you can afford to lose. And do not allow the bank to set up ‘auto transfer or overdraft protection’ on that ATM account … otherwise the ATM account can clean out other accounts you have tied to it.
It’s very easy and painless to transfer money to your ‘day-to-day’ account through your bank’s online banking site … having only limited funds in your ATM account also precludes going wild on a shopping spree …not that I ever did anything like that
Thanks for all the information on the pet situation and the banking advice, Dave. Until Sr. Frog wrote that article talking about pets that has never crossed my mind. I didn’t have any pets back in the States, and didn’t have to consider bringing any to the Philippines. Glad the topic has been brought up now. Thanks for your help.
I am woefully slack about getting any kind of bank account set up in the Philippines. I do plan to set up a joint account this week at a Philippines bank, and will be sure to set up the USD account so we can deposit checks (of which I have plenty of that I brought along from the States.) Thankfully, haven’t had any problems with our ATM card yet from the States, but I know I should have cared for this a long time ago. Well, I am motivated to take care of it finally, Dave, and thanks for all of your information. I’m sure it will help a lot of my readers out there.
Hi guys, I tried to open an account with BDO but was told I couldn’t because I am not a resident and do not have a philippine wife. Can anyone suggest another bank I could try. Much easier for money transfers and do not have to carry a lot of cash.
Some people have a easy time of opening a bank account and others don’t. So much depends on the local bank manager. I use BPI myself and didn’t have any problems. I am still a tourist but I am married and have a place to live.
Hi Murray! Well, it can be frustrating to open an account in the Philippines. I tried Metro Bank and BDO also, and I am married to a Filipina, and was turned down because I did not have my ACR (Alien Certificate Registration) Card. I have an ACR card now and will try to open a joint account soon. As far as opening an account by yourself, hopefully some of my readers can help you out. Every bank seems to have different requirements. Does your girlfriend’s relatives have contacts in any banks or an account themselves? Have you gone to the local barangay (city hall) official and register as a resident there? I know my local barangay will let me do that. Maybe that will help fulfill your residency requirement, and I also have my Smart Bro bill in my name here which I also have used to prove my residency.
I’ve heard the same thing, Gary. If you can somehow develop a good relationship with the local bank manager that can work wonders. Don’t know if you have to invite him/her out and ply them with a bucket of Red Horses, but I guess it couldn’t hurt.