Do I Need the CFO - GCP Certificate When I Travel With A Schengen Visa? - Offloading Series Part 3 of 3

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.

It is commonly known that Filipino spouses and partners of foreign nationals going to Germany with a Marriage Visa or a Family Reunion Visa are required to register with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, attend the Guidance and Counseling Program (CFO - GCP) and secure the CFO Emigrant sticker before departure. This is part of the departure requirements for emigrant Philippine citizens.

''For the past three decades, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has implemented the Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP) for fiancé(e)s, spouses and other partners of foreign nationals or of former Filipino citizens. Republic Act 10906 (“Anti-Mail Order Spouse Act of 2016) and Republic Act 10364 (“An Act Expanding the Anti-Trafficking in Person Act of 2012”) require the conduct of mandatory pre-departure counseling services for Filipinos in intermarriages.

The GCP is also a requirement under the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act for Filipino fiancé(e)s, partners and spouses of foreign nationals or former Filipino citizens who are applying for a passport for the first time or adopting the surname of the foreign spouse.

The main objective of the program is to assist the integration of Filipinos in their host countries by counseling them on the realities of international migration, and preparing them to meet the practical, cultural and psychological challenges in cross-cultural marriage and migration.''

However, we also read of travellers with a Visitor Visa or Tourist Visa who have been offloaded because of failure to present a CFO-GCP Certificate upon exit from the Philippines. Of course we are not privy to the entire circumstances of why these people were offloaded, still it pays to be in the know of why a missing CFO-GCP Certificate may be a reason for being offloaded.

What is CFO-GCP Certificate?

A CFO-GCP Certificate is a document that proves you have attended the guidance and counseling program and have satisfactorily provided all the supporting documents as required by a CFO counselor. You can attend the counseling program even when you do not have an emigrant visa. I did attend the CFO counseling while I was still waiting for my Marriage Visa.

Offloading due to failure of presenting a CFO-GCP Certificate (with a Tourist Visa), does it have a legal basis?

As I discussed in Part I here, if and when a passenger who travels with a Tourist Visa is subjected to a Secondary Inspection, the Immigration Officer may ask for more documents aside from the standard travel requirements; one of which may be a CFO-GCP Certificate.

Does it have a legal basis? Yes. The legal mandate of CFO also includes implementaion of Memorandum Circular No. 036 - Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Revised Guidelines on Departure Formalities of International- Bound Passengers.

Part of the guidelines state that, TOURIST PASSENGERS --- that includes holders of Schengen Visa (Visitor or Tourist Visa, Unmarried Couple Visitor Visa), may be required to present a CFO-GCP Certificate whenever it is shown that the passenger:

1. Is the spouse of a foreign national intending to depart for the first time to join the foreign spouse or

2. Is a partner of a foreign national intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé/fiancee.

image source: https://cfo.gov.ph

To be honest, I also did not know these guidelines when I was still travelling to Germany with a Visitor Visa.

I only became aware of these guidelines at the time I attended the CFO-GCP at CFO - Davao Satellite in relation to my Marriage Visa. Majority of the attendees were ladies who intended to travel abroad with a Schengen Visa. Even when I did read about it, the words "Join", ''Partner'' and the ''to meet and/or marry" clause caused some confusion at first reading.

So, should you register yourself and attend the CFO-GCP even when you have a Schengen Visa?

I believe that the most critical factor is when the passenger is intending to depart (the country) for the first time to meet his/her foreigner sponsor ---- with this, I would highly recommend that you secure a CFO-GCP Certificate.

Failure to present a CFO-GCP Certificate when travelling abroad to visit a foreign national boyfriend, partner or spouse does not necessarily mean you will be offloaded; having one is also not a guarantee for being allowed to board. The decision of the Immigration Officer (IO) at the point of exit will depend on your overall traveller profile, your travel documents and your answer to the interview questions. It is important that you can convince the IO that you know and trust your sponsor and that you will not be put in harm's way when you travel abroad, no matter you have a CFO-GCP Certificate or not. After all, the main objective of the Bureau of Immigration is to prevent that you become a victim of human-trafficking, illegal recruiters and other crimes.


While it takes time and money, I believe that it is an advantage to all Filipinos with foreign national partners to attend the CFO-GCP. In these uncertain times when you may get stuck abroad due to the unpredictable border restrictions brought about by the pandemic, it is also to your advantage to know what to do and who to ask help from if you find yourself under unfortunate circumstances. These and other issues will be addressed thru the CFO-GCP.


The CFO-GCP Certificate is valid for a lifetime, so long as you intend to marry and stay married to the same Foreign National entered in the registration form. If you don't have an immigrant visa such as Marriage Visa or Family Reunion Visa, you will just be given the CFO-GCP Certificate. Once you get your immigrant visa, you can go back to any CFO Branch to have the Emigrant sticker attached to your valid passport.

TIP: When interviewed by a CFO Counselor or an Immigration Officer, be careful when using the word ''hubby''. The word is supposed to be a short form of husband. Don't call your male sponsor as your ''hubby'' when you are not married. For that matter, don't call him your fiancé when you are not engaged. The word ''hubby'' may very well be an innocent term of endearment but it can also subject you to more stringent guidelines in certain situations.

Please go to the CFO official website for more info.

Affidavit of Support for Sponsored Visitor Visa (Schengen Visa) to Germany - Offloading Series Part 2 of 3

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?

One of the many functions of the Bureau of Immigration is the:

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.

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.

Affidavit General Form

Affidavit of Support

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.