Purpose

The information presented on this page captures the steps and events my wife and I took to acquire my Philippine's Immigrant Visa by Marriage (13A) (Probationary) visa.

I am not a lawyer or expert on the acquisition of a 13A visa. I wrote this to capture the steps my wife and I took. This is because we will have to do it again when it comes time to have the probationary status removed in 2026.

There were some missteps we took along the way. The biggest one was not recognizing the holiday schedule and the impact of those holidays on government offices.

With patience and time, it is possible to do this on your own.

Cost

The 13A visa cost me ₱14,023.00. In addition, the NBI clearance cost me ₱164.00. This brings the total to ₱14,187.00. This cost does NOT include parking, lunches at the mall, taxi rides, etc. In addition, a portion of the visa fee is based on current USD exchange rates. Depending on the current exchange rate, your cost will vary slightly.

Event Timeline

Date	Event
April 4th, 2025	I arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport on a flight from Taiwan. While at the Mactan-Cebu airport, I received a stamp in my American passport. It was for a visa that is commonly known as a balikbayan visa. The Philippine Balikbayan Program visa isn't a specific visa, but a privilege allowing former Filipinos and their families (non-Filipino spouse/children) to enter the Philippines visa-free for up to one year, requiring proof of former citizenship (like old passport/birth certificate) and travel together with proper documents (marriage/birth certificates). This privilege offers an initial one-year stay, extendable at the Bureau of Immigration (BI). My visa is good until April 4, 2026. There was no cost associated with acquiring this visa.
April 9th, 2025	It was time to start working on my Immigrant Visa by Marriage, or 13A, visa. My wife and I took a taxi to the Gaisano Mall of Cebu (locally known as GMall) (Google Maps) to visit the Bureau of Immigration, or BI, for the first time. Unknown to me, this was a federal holiday called Day of Valor. The BI office was closed. My bad.
April 10th, 2025	I took a cab to Gaisano Mactan Island Mall in Lapu-Lapu (Google Maps) to inquire about an Alien Certificate of Registration Identity, or ACR, card. I heard rumors that foreigners who were in the Philippines needed to get an ACR card. An ACR I-Card (Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card) is a microchip-based, credit card-sized ID issued by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI). It serves as an official proof of identity and legal residence for foreign nationals staying in the Philippines for more than 59 days. It is used to prove legal status for activities like opening bank accounts or getting a driver's license, serving as an essential document for long-term residents. According to a representative at the BI office, all of this information is true for those that hold a Tourist Visa. Since I am on a Balikbayan visa, this requirement does not apply to me. The BI office will not issue an ACR card to me. For those holding a Balikbayan visa that want an ACR card, you must travel to Manila to get one. Since it is my plan to acquire a 13A visa, I will not pursue an ACR card at the current time. I will get the ACR card when I acquire my 13A visa.
June 26th, 2025	Visited the Bureau of Immigration located at Gaisano Mall of Cebu (locally known as GMall) (Google Maps). It was time to start work on 13A visa. I learned that the 13A visa issued in 2023 was a total loss and I have to start over. I was told that we must acquire an NBI Clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation. A Philippine NBI Clearance is an official document issued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) (Wiki) that certifies an individual has no pending criminal cases or derogatory records nationwide. It acts as a comprehensive police certificate for background checks, employment, visas, and other official transactions.
June 27th, 2025	I drove to the NBI office in Mandaue City (Google Maps). I filled out some forms and paid my ₱164.00. I was done in 30 minutes. The NBI Clearance should be complete and available for pick up in three weeks. I also paid a kid ₱60 to watch our car.
July 21st, 2025	I drove to the NBI office in Mandaue City (Google Maps) to pick up my NBI Clearance. There were no issues with picking it up and no issues identified on the NBI Clearance.
September 9th, 2025	I drove to Gaisano Mall of Cebu (locally known as GMall) (Google Maps) to determine the next steps. The BI office was closed in observance of Osmeña Day. Osmeña Day is a special non-working holiday in the province of Cebu, Philippines, observed annually on September 9. It commemorates the birthday of Sergio Osmeña Sr., the fourth President of the Philippines. The holiday honors his legacy as a statesman, patriot, and advocate for Philippine independence. Again...my bad.
September 16th, 2025	I drove to the Cebu GMall to determine the next steps. I was instructed to fill out some forms. This included a form for my wife to petition me. The other major form was a request for an ACR card. The step of filling out the forms is the most frustrating part of this entire process. If you get some thing wrong, you have to start completely over. I filled out the same form five times to get this right. Just bring a smile and be patient. I finally got it right. Once done, I paid some fees. They were ₱9,023.00 for the visa and ACR card fees and ₱5,000.00 for the express lane fee. Arlyn and I were told to return to the BI office on September 19th, 2025 for an interview.
September 19th, 2025	Arlyn and I returned to the Cebu GMall BI office for the interview. After waiting for about an hour, we were called into an area with desks. There was a BI office there. We talked for about 10 minutes. After he was satisfied that our 17 year marriage was not a sham, he agreed to approval our visa petition. We were told to monitor a BI website to determine when my visa petition was approved by the federal BI office. This can take three to four months. The link I used was https://immigration.gov.ph/resources/visa-application-status/.
November 22nd, 2025	After checking the BI website on status on my visa, I discovered it was approved. Following the instructions provided by the Cebu BI office, I sent an email to Cebu BI office notifying them of the approval.
November 24th, 2025	The Cebu BI office replied to my email confirming my approval. They are not received the paperwork from Manila and asked for me to check back in one week.
November 30th, 2025	I sent an email to Cebu BI office reminding them of the approval and requested an update.
December 1st, 2025	The Cebu BI office replied to my email confirming my approval. They are not received the paperwork from Manila and asked for me to check back in one week.
December 7th, 2025	I sent an email to Cebu BI office reminding them of the approval and requested an update.
December 9th, 2025	The Cebu BI office replied to my email confirming my approval. They reported that they received my paperwork and it was ready for pickup. In the email, it stated that we needed to come by on a Wednesday for visa implementation.
December 10th, 2025	I reported to the Cebu BI office for visa implementation. I had to surrender my passport to the office. I received a small slip of paper indicating that they had my passport. We were told to return to the office on January 7th, 2026, to pick up my passport and ACR card.
January 7th, 2026	I reported to the Cebu BI office to pick up my passport and ACR card. I now have my 13A probationary visa.