In general, people I know who have gotten the visa outside the Philippines report an easier time of it, and it often costs less, but if one is here and bot going to travel then the location becomes rather moot.

Many people have gotten their permanent visas here in the Philippines though and reported little or no problem … although as you’ll see in my answer to Bob I really don’t know of anyone whi has gotten their anywhere except the head BoI office in Manila. That’s where I’ll be headed next year when I finally get mine, unless Miat and I decide to take a trip … I pretty much live one day at a time here.

Best of luck, whenever it works for you.

My partner is already in Davao and has no intention of following me to Saudi so if the embassy here needed to see her it would not be an option.
I have seen comments on Bob’s site advising getting the 13a visa sorted in my home country to avoid delays in RP due to greed which lead me to enquire if getting it from the philippine embassy in Jeddah could be a better/quicker option if at all possible.
I did not want to go to the embassy here before I had some information as to whether I could expect better treatment than in RP.(corruption wise)
I dont really want to travel Jeddah to London(dont like the place at the best of times) then have to fly to Davao…unless there is no other option.
As always thank you and all information is greatfully accepted.

Just a thought.

Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage. I’ve spent a lot of years married, single and then married again. I recommend marriage

I started to write an answer to this and then thought to re-read your question … gee, guess I should have read it the first time, eh?

There is nothing do before your marriage. You have no status with the Philippines and have no basis to apply for any residency at this time.

When you two travel to the Philippines in January for the wedding I assume you will just use a tourist visa. Once you have a Philippine NSO certified copy of the marriage contract your wife can then sponsor you for a 13a permanent residency visa as the spouse of a Filipino citizen.

I am not sure if the Philippine embassy in Riyad will process this without your wife coming in for an interview or not. Or if it is practical to do the process between January and June. In the US they do 13 series visas in days to month depending on which consulate applicants use, so only the embassy there can advise you on this. A simple phone call ought to get you some good advice.

http://www.philembassy-riyadh.org/index.php

If you get the visa granted and stamped in your UK passport prior to June, fine and dandy. If you can’t get the visa while you are in Saudi you can just enter the Philippines in June as a tourist and apply at the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros, Manila and the process will flow from there. To my understanding, once the BoI accepts your application your visa status is frozen and no need to worry about going out of status until the issue you the 13 series visa.

Hope this will be of some help and do let us know from time to time how things are progressing.

First time I have posted a Q on your site and apologies for labouring on an often debated subject.

I am british and marrying my Philipina partner of 4 years in January 2009,then returning to Saudi Arabia alone to complete my contract due up in June 2009.
My intention is to then retire and live in Davao were we have had a house for nearly 2 years.
Does anybody know if I can apply for residency while I still reside in KSA?
AND what documentation do I need to source for me and my then wife.

OR is it compulsory to visit the Philippine embassy in UK to start the ball rolling.

Appreciate any help.

It’s almost as if the Philippine goverenement was taking notes on the Canadian experince you were mentionbng. Running a rental property or an almost zero labor facikity like a laudromat is certainly a viable business, but they don’t produce many jobs … structuring it in this way gives a maximum chance for people to find work here.

I’ll certainly wish them well. Any positive step is so much better than the usual ‘Oh poor us’ we so often hear, I tip my hat.

I recalled Canada required this a long time ago, investments plus the investment must hire minimum 5 people. In places where no one wants to go, i.e. the really cold places higher north, the investments required were lower. I thought this was good, because it required hiring locals. A lot of the investments that came in were to purchase rental properties and laundromats. I guess that was the easiest investments they could buy just to be able to immigrate to Canada .