DISCLAIMER: The current Corona pandemic situation has resulted in many changes, including but not limited to additional requirements for travelling abroad, which I may NOT have discussed here. This article is just based on my own experience and should NOT be considered as legal or official advice.
I travelled to Germany for the first time with a Visit Visa in 2016. I was sponsored by my now-husband. My previous experience, with the Immigration Authorities left me a little paranoid and because of this, I tried to dig deeper into what else should I prepare aside from the standard travel requirements.
First, let's talk about the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI). What is the BI's function in relation to Filipino citizens travelling abroad and what is its mandate?
Monitoring of the entry and exit of Filipino citizens in compliance with Philippine laws and other legal procedures;
BI is mandated to be:
principally responsible for the administration and enforcement of immigration, citizenship, and alien admission and registration laws in accordance with the provisions of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. It also plays a role in the enforcement of RA 9208, also known as the Anti-Trafficking In Persons Act of 2003.
Before we can board a plane and leave the country, we need to pass and get the approval of the Bureau of Immigration Official (IO) at our point of exit, i.e. Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The standard screening is as simple as presenting your travel documents and answering a few questions such as:
1. Where are you travelling and duration of stay?
2. Where are you going to stay in your country of destination?
3. Have you met in person the sponsor of your trip? Did he visit you in the
Philippines before?
4. How long have you known this person?
TIP: Be confident and composed when you answer the IO. Prepare to prove your answers with documents such as: Invitation Letter, pictures of you and your sponsor together, copy of your sponsor's passport data page and pages stamped by IO upon entry to/exit from Philippines, and others.
For purposes of Immigration Officials, a Schengen Visa (Visitor/Tourism) falls under Tourism and outbound travellers will be required the following standard documents.
1. Unexpired DFA-issued passport (at least six-months valid;
2. Unexpired visa (if visa-required at final destination); and
3. Return ticket.
and...WHAT ELSE?
My previous travels abroad were all self-financed and I also based my preparations on that. For my first sponsored visit to Germany, my sponsor was equally involved in making sure that my travel will be as smooth as possible and also made his own research. He was the one who found out that in case of a secondary inspection, an Affidavit of Support for a Sponsored Visit Visa may be asked for.
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| image source: https://immigration.gov.ph |
What is an Affidavit of Support
An Affidavit of Support is a document executed and signed by the sponsor to accept financial responsibility for the person invited. This is not to be confused with Verpflichtungserklärung (Formal Obligation) as required for the Visit Visa application. Legally speaking, the Formal Obligation is a different document that is only honored by the German government.
My sponsor formulated his own affidavit but you can also use, with modifications according to your circumstances, these templates provided by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin.
IMPORTANT: The Affidavit of Support needs to be bilingual (with a built-in English translation) or translated by a certified translator.
How to Secure an Authenticated Affidavit of Support
Step 1. Write an Affidavit of Support with the following required details:
- relationship of sponsor to the traveler
- financial status of sponsor (indicate work, salary)
- complete residential address and contact details of the sponsor.
Step 2. Go to a Notar to have the affidavit notarized.
Step 3. Go to the Landgericht to have the notarized affidavit certified
Step 4. Submit the affidavit to the Philippine Embassy in Berlin for authentication. This was in 2016 and my sponsor sent the Affidavit of Support for authentication thru post.
My sponsor then sent via courier the original copy of the authenticated (red-ribboned) Affidavit of Support to me. He spent more or less 100 Euro in total (2016).
Do I Really Need an Affidavit of Support?
Confusion arises because, while it is legally required based on the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) Revised Guidelines on Departure Formalities for International-Bound Passengers, not all travellers with a sponsored visit visa will be required to present this. It will only be asked for "when deemed necessary" by the IO. I travelled several times to Germany on a sponsored visitor visa between 2016 - 2018 and I personally was never asked to present an Affidavit of Support, although I was always ready to present it whenever I exit the Philippines.
In addition, a cousin of mine who also travelled to Germany for the first time on a sponsored visit visa did not procure nor was asked to present an affidavit of support upon exit from the country.
Confusion is also brought about by this press statement from BI itself, qouting part of it (emphasis mine):
''Tourists must prove their financial capability for the trip, present proof of work or support in the Philippines, or submit an affidavit of support if they are visiting relatives overseas, to prevent being offloaded from flights.''
Some people understood it to mean that you only need the Affidavit of Support if you are visiting relatives who sponsored your trip.
Do I secure one or not? That judgment will be your own as a traveller. I would strongly recommend it though if you are travelling to Germany on a sponsored visitor visa under any or all of the following circumstances:
1. You are travelling abroad for the first time.
2. You are unemployed or you have no proof of income; you can't present proof of financial capacity.
3. Your sponsor is your boyfriend or fiance.
4. You and your sponsor has never met in person.
Is there MORE? Yes, I will write about the Commission of Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Guidance and Counseling Program next.
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