AVOID NAIA OFFLOADING

Avoid NAIA Offload

Because of the increasing number of human trafficking cases in the world, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration has implemented strict inspections to all those who are planning to go abroad. It is really intimidating, annoying and frustrating to be offloaded after all your efforts in preparing your documents, paying your tickets, and spending lots of time to pursue your planned travel. According to the bureau,  40 passengers are offloaded everyday in NAIA. So, I bet you really don’t want to be one of those 40 passengers.  (cross fingers)

Like you, I was also worried for the possibility of being offloaded. So, I hope these things written will help you avoid offloading. This is based on my own experience going to Thailand as a tourist.  By the way offloading is when you are stopped in the airport by the immigration officials because of some reasons like lacking of documents. Thus, leaving you not able to go through a flight.

To avoid being offloaded, you have to secure that you have the following; although you don’t need to present all, at least it is always better to be ready:

1.       Valid Passport with not less than 6 months validity prior to departure date. (To be sure, have your passport renewed 8 months prior to its expiration date. My passport is valid until 2020 so there was no problem about it.) Tourist Visa is not really needed since Philippine passport holders can enter Thailand 30 days free visa. This is an agreement between countries. Please click  http://www.philsite.net/visa-free-countries.htm  for more information.

2.       Round Trip Ticket. Since you are travelling as a tourist, I assume that you are not staying in Thailand for a long period of time. You really have to secure roundtrip ticket to show to the officials that you are really coming back. (Tip: for first time travelers, the shorter time of stay, the less questions you’ll be asked.)

3.            Hotel Booking or Accommodation. You don’t want officials to worry about where you’re going to stay in Thailand right? So you have to book accommodation to show them that your travel is planned well. They will really ask you where you are going to stay. So better show your accommodation booking. (You can book cheap deals via airasia.com. You can also use credit cards, debit cards, or so on depending on the website. Tip: the hotel booking dates must match with your  round trip ticket)

4.           Company Id. Present your company Id. This will tell them that you are coming back since you have a job in the Philippines. (Tip. If you have job agreement, company health card  bring them, they might ask these documents too). In case that you are self employed, just present some documents that will indicate that you really are. May it be your Income Tax Return, Business Permit, Bank Statements, credit card etc. These documents will also answer the question “Can you fund your travel?”

      Bank Satement, or Credit card or any proof of capacity to travel. This time, the officer is checking your capacity to travel. just in case they will ask you if you can finance your tourm you can present any of these. You can get your bank statement from your bank, may it be online or bank request. Credit card is easier as you will just present it to them.

5.       Itinerary of travel. Prepare your to do list. Be it visiting temple, shopping, elephant trekking or anything including your meal time, sleeping time, destination, budget and time frame. This will tell the officials that you are really ready for your travel, and you know what to do and where you are going to. Also include departure from Philippines and from Thailand.(Tip: Your itinerary should be realistic, large fonts, includes pictures of the places, and should match your round trip ticket. This really worked for me. They did not ask me to show this, but since I am really into planning my travel I just presented it to them. No follow up questions were asked. Make sure that you know everything written in the itinerary. Master it.)

SHOW MONEY: This is not required; your documents should be fine to prove your capacity to travel. Never offer them to show your money as this could result to you being offloaded. This can also provoke the officers to ask money from you and let you pass. ( I only have P3,000.00 cash in my pocket when I was facing the officer).

These are the documents that you have to prepare. Some might not be needed but it is really important to be ready. Again, you just can't afford to lose your tour. Godbless and have a safe trip :)