The 13A visa,
as it actually happened.
The internet gives you five different answers about the same form. This is the one that happened, written by an American who did the whole thing from a provincial city with a wife and a kid, receipts included.
The full 48-page guide is $37, instant PDF, 30-day refund.
All four rows are real answers from published guides and forums in the last two years. They can’t all be right. That’s the problem this guide solves.
Start with the free checklist.
One page, both stages, every document with the lead times that actually matter. Including the clearance that takes six weeks and holds up everything else.
Every step is shown twice. What the checklist says, and what happened at the window.
The official list is in the guide, current and linked. Right next to it is what the office actually asked for, in a provincial city, on a real date, with the amount paid.
Amendment to permanent status
- Joint letter request to the Commissioner
- Accomplished CGAF, current revision
- Joint affidavit of continuous cohabitation
- Passport copies: bio page, visa implementation page, latest admission
- Valid NBI clearance and BI Clearance Certificate
What actually happened
- The permanent stage wanted four separate folders, not the one the checklist implies.
- Everything in all capital letters, blue or black ink. Bring your own pen and correction tape.
- No staples anywhere. Not a suggestion.
- Paid the whole thing up front, ACR I-Card included, before anyone approved anything.
- A second receipt printed for ₱2,500 in express lane fees I never asked for. There is no regular lane.
- My interview date was printed on the payment receipt. No separate letter, no postponements allowed.
Eleven chapters. Read it once, then use it as a checklist.
Should you even do the 13A?
Balikbayan stamp vs tourist extensions vs 13A, and the day BI tells you the extensions are over.
Consulate in the US, or BI in the Philippines?
Two very different roads. One skips the probationary year, the other has a Bureau of Quarantine surprise that only applies to some nationalities.
The document set, and the traps in it
Form revisions, apostilles, PSA vs Report of Marriage, name mismatches, ordering certificates online.
NBI clearance for a foreigner
Online booking, ink fingerprints instead of the scanner, and why it took six weeks instead of three days.
Filing day, start to finish
The logbook, the folder order, what you pay, both receipts explained line by line, and the schedule printed at the bottom.
The interview
What they asked us, why your spouse must appear, and the one line on your receipt you cannot ignore.
Waiting, and how you find out
The Board agenda list, the publication lag, the call, and the return trips for the stamp and the card.
Probationary to permanent, one year later
When to file so you don’t overstay, the second NBI, the cohabitation affidavit, and the fees again.
Living on the visa
The five-minute online Annual Report, ACR I-Card renewal, ECC-B and re-entry when you travel, passport re-stamp.
Doing it from a provincial city
Which offices process vs forward to Manila, the overnight trip nobody budgets for, and the “come back next week” pattern.
Fixers, agencies, and how to say no
What agencies charge, what they can and can’t legally do, and how to file clean without one.
Bonus in the bundle: the first year
Kid’s dual citizenship and passports, banks and moving dollars, PhilHealth, real monthly costs for a family of three.
The parts you actually take to the office.
Print them, or keep them on your phone. Every one is filled in with a real example first, then blank for you.
Document tracker
Every document, where it comes from, how long it takes, and whether it needs notarizing.
Fee sheet
What was paid, at which window, with the receipt line items so you know when a number is off.
Timeline & deadline calendar
Real dates from filing to permanent, plus the recurring dates you can’t miss after that.
There is a guard outside with a logbook. Sign your name and your phone number.
Fill the forms at home. All of them, in capital letters, at your own kitchen table, where you can take your time and redo a page that goes wrong. Walking in with a finished folder is the single biggest thing separating a one-visit filing from a three-visit one.
Inside, the officer takes your folder and goes through it page by page. If something is wrong you find out immediately, which is why the correction tape is in your bag and not at home.
Then you pay, in cash, before anyone has approved anything. The ACR I-Card fee is bundled in months before you hold the card. Read the bottom of the receipt before you leave the building: your interview date is printed there, and nobody will tell you that out loud.
Written like a friend walking you through it, not like a law firm.
Short sections, real amounts, and a “reality vs paper” box wherever the office diverged from the printed checklist.
- 01 Plain language, no legalese
- 02 Dates and amounts, not ranges
- 03 Links to the current official forms
- 04 Updated when BI changes something; buyers get the new PDF free
An American in Roxas City, Capiz, on a permanent 13A.
I’m a US citizen married to a Filipino citizen. We live in a provincial city on Panay with our young child, who holds both passports. I went through the probationary and permanent 13A myself, without a fixer, and kept every receipt and every date because I couldn’t find anyone online who had.
I’m not a lawyer and not affiliated with the Bureau of Immigration. This is what happened to one family, cross-checked against the current official checklists and dozens of other people’s published accounts, so you can walk in knowing what to expect.
Less than one trip to a fixer’s office.
Agencies charge ₱15,000 to 70,000 to walk you through this, on top of the government fees. Both options below are one-time, PDF, and updated free.
- Eleven-chapter guide, both routes
- Document tracker and filing-day checklist
- Fee sheet with real amounts
- Timeline and deadline calendar
- Petition letter and cohabitation affidavit templates
- Free updates when BI changes forms or fees
- Everything in the 13A guide
- Kid’s dual citizenship, US and PH passports, in the right order
- Banking and moving dollars in without getting fleeced
- PhilHealth, private cover, and what we actually pay out of pocket
- Real monthly budget for a family of three in a provincial city
- Provincial vs Manila vs Cebu: what nobody tells you before you pick
- Coming: US taxes abroad (FEIE, FBAR) for expat families, free to bundle buyers
Not ready to buy? Take the free 13A document checklist.
One page, every document for stage one, where each comes from and how long it takes. The same one in the paid guide.
Before you buy
Is this legal advice?
No. It’s one person’s documented experience plus links to the current official requirements. Rules and fees change and vary by office. Verify with the Bureau of Immigration or a licensed Philippine lawyer for your own case. I don’t review documents or file on anyone’s behalf.
I’m not American. Does it still apply?
The Philippine side is the same for every foreign spouse. The US-specific parts are the consulate route, apostilles, and the first-year money chapters. If you’re British, Australian, or Canadian, most of it still transfers. One thing that does vary by nationality: whether you need a Bureau of Quarantine medical clearance. The guide explains exactly which nationalities that rule covers.
We haven’t decided between the US and the Philippines yet.
Chapter one of the 13A Guide is exactly that decision: Balikbayan stamp vs tourist extensions vs 13A, and what each path costs a couple in money and hassle. The bundle adds the cost-of-living and healthcare reality to weigh against staying in the US.
Will it be out of date?
Parts of it will, eventually. That’s why every chapter separates the stable stuff (how the process works) from the moving parts (fees, form revisions), and why buyers get updated PDFs free when something changes.
What if my office does things differently?
It probably will, a little. The guide shows the official list and what one provincial office did with it, so you know which differences are normal and which are a red flag.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 30 days, no questions.