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.

Offloading - What Does It Mean And How to Avoid It? - Part 1 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.

This article is based on my personal experience only for a self-financed travel to a visa-upon-arrival country for the purpose of tourism. You may be asked different and/or additional documents depending on your purpose of travel and/or visa and your answers to the interview questions. Preparing these additional documents is your personal responsibility. Offloading can still happen even if you already have a valid visa such us, but not limited to, Sponsored Visit Visa, Student Visa, Working Visa (OFW) and Immigrant Visa (Family Reunion Visa and Marriage Visa). I will try to write more on this soon.

I have heard and read a lot of horror-stories on the subject of offloading, so when I had the chance to travel abroad for the first time, I spent time to research about it.

First, it creates a lot of confusion that we don't have a definitive rule about offloading. The term ''Offload'' itself is not mentioned in any guidelines available online for outbound Filipino travelers. The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), a government agency tasked to monitor that the exit of Filipino citizens from the country is in compliance with Philippine laws and other legal procedures, said in a press statement that there is ''no such thing as offloading policy.''

So, what is offloading?

Offloading technically means to unload (a cargo or a passenger) from the plane. In the context of Philippine Immigration Authorities and this article, offloading means that a traveler is, at the point of exit, not allowed by the Immigration Officer to leave the country and board the plane. 

At any International Airport in the Philippines, international travel departure is mostly straightforward with the following steps:

Step 1. Check-In with Airline

Step 2. Immigrations Screening

                  Step 3. Security Check

Step 4. Waiting or Boarding Area

Offloading may happen during Step 2. This can be a big torment on the part of the offloaded person. At this point you already have a boarding pass and checked-in your luggage. Once offloaded, you will have to face the issue of claiming your baggage. Since no one ever planned for this kind of eventuality, you may be left stranded at the airport with no immediate access to accomodation and transportation, and worse not enough money to get by. The airline will most likely not care and also NOT refund your airfare. You may also have the possibility of dealing with the financial burden of non-cancellable and/or non-refundable hotel payments, attraction tickets, onward journey tickets, and other costs.

Standard travel requirements for Filipino Citizens traveling abroad for Tourism Purposes

During immigration screening, the immigration officer (IO) may just ask for the following:

                Standard Travel Requirements (1)

1. Unexpired DFA-issued passport (at least six-months valid;
2. Unexpired visa (if visa-required at final destination); and
3. Return ticket.

After examining these documents, the IO will ask a few questions, chop your passport and you are good to board the plane and enjoy your trip.

BUT. There are cases wherein the IO, when deemed necessary, will ask for more documents and/or inform you that you need to undergo a secondary inspection. It is during this secondary screening that offloading may happen.

Basis for secondary inspection

Here is a direct quote from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration website,

Consistent with anti-human trafficking, -human smuggling, and -illegal recruitment laws, additional documents shall be required after (1), when:

a. Passenger discloses a doubtful, false or suspect travel intent;
b. Passports and travel documents/visas are counterfeit, fraudulent, falsified, simulated or tampered; and

Passenger’s totality of circumstances manifests a well-founded certainty of human trafficking, smuggling or illegal recruitment.

2.1. What are considered under 2(c)?

1. Age/Health;
2. Educational attainment;
3. Financial capability for travel;
4. Travel history, if any; and
5. Final destination.

I believe that the main purpose of these guidelines and regulations is to protect the traveler, but it also leaves a lot of room for interpretations and may be subjective on the part of the Immigration Officer.

I personally experienced the dreaded secondary inspection and despite my diligent research on the subject, it still turned out to be a nerve-wracking experience.

At that time, I was traveling to Singapore for tourism purposes. I booked a red-eye flight via Mactan-Cebu International Airport. Ours was the only flight scheduled to depart at that time and the half-lit departure area was almost empty except for the personnel responsible for preparing our flight and my co-passengers. Only one Immigration counter was open.

After the standard screening procedure, I was told (along with 5 or 6 other passengers) to wait aside behind the IO counter. I waited in a semi-dark corner without any other clue what will happen next. Two immigration officers arrived to settle us as our boarding time neared.

TIP: It is best to be early for check-in and go to the Immigration counter as early as possible. This way, you have at least additional time to spare if you get the secondary inspection.

How to avoid being offloaded

Read the entire BI guidelines for outbound passengers here. Prepare all documents you need based on your purpose of travel including supporting documents that may be asked for, even if it is not listed on the BI website. 

Having done a lot of readings, I was ready with all the other documents the IO asked based on my stated purpose of travel. These documents are NOT listed in their website:

1. Invitation Letter from my friend --- stating pertinent details, such as her address, her status in the destination country, my duration of stay, etc.

2. Certificate of Employment signed by my employer, Approved Leave of Absence --- all in original copies

3. Company ID, PRC Card

4. Debit Cards, Credit Cards, Bank Passbook

5. Itinerary, Bus tickets, bookings for attractions I wanted to see

I was required to fill-up a Border Control Questionnaire which included the question of how much money I have with me. I was also ready to present the CASH I had in my pocket but the IO didn't ask me to. The actual screening lasted 10 - 15minutes, but waiting for my turn to be screened seemed forever. The IO made photocopies of the documents I presented.

Answer the IO questions with confidence. Be clear and be honest. Prepare to support your declarations with documents. 

What are supporting documents that I need to ready?

1. Proof of financial capacity

As a tourist, you are expected to travel for leisure. The term itself suggests that you should be able to afford the trip and prove your financial capacity when asked.

As a basis,  I looked up how much the average travel cost is in Singapore and I multiplied that amount with the number of days I intended to stay there. I readied to prove that I have this amount by bringing my credit cards, debit cards and even my bank passbook.

2. Itinerary

Tourism is the act of travelling or sightseeing. As a tourist, you should also be able to answer when asked which places you want to see, for example. I prepared a simple itinerary of my planned daily activities. I also booked ahead the attractions  that I wanted to see (Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Zoo, etc.) so I can show proof of bookings as needed. 

3. Proof of hotel bookings/accomodation

For tourism, you are also expected to have your accomodations arranged ahead of the trip. The IO might ask you to show confirmed hotel bookings in your own name. 

In my case, I intended to stay at a friend's apartment for the duration of my stay in Singapore. So, she sent me via E-Mail an Invitation Letter to this effect. I simply printed a copy of the E-Mail and brought it with me. 

TIP: If you are traveling to stay with or meet a friend, make sure that you know the person's personal data such as full name, address, and contact number. It would also be best if you already have met the said friend in person and able to prove the acquaintance, e.g. by showing a picture of you together.

Profiles of passengers that may be subjected to secondary inspection

As I mentioned above, the interpretation for the guidelines for secondary inspection and subsequent offloading may be subjective on the part of the Immigration Officer.

Based on stories that I read on the internet, most offloaded passengers claim that they were treated unfairly and were asked for documents that are not even listed in the Bureau of Immigration website. 

On that fateful day, I cannot help but hear bits and pieces of conversations (we were all interviewed in an open hallway with no privacy) and was able to put together the circumstances or profiles of passengers that may be subjected to a secondary inspection:

1. A single female, solo-traveler going abroad for the first time.

2. A young, unemployed female who claims to go abroad for 5 days but has a 50kg worth of luggage.

3. A government employee who said he will go abroad to attend a birthday party but cannot present an Invitation Letter and Authority to Travel.

4. A young lady going abroad to met a foreigner boyfriend for the first time.

I heard enough to know that Passengers No. 2 and 3 were offloaded. Passenger No. 4 was still pleading her case with a lot of tears as I, Passenger No. 1, was allowed to board the plane. I ran to the boarding gate as I heard, ''last call for boarding, last call for boarding...''