A week ago, we got confirmation that The Husband’s non-immigrant visa was finally approved by the Bureau of Immigration after nearly 3 months of waiting (they told us it’ll be done in 60 days). This meant that he could stay for a year, free and clear, instead of having to extend his tourist visa every 2 months.

So off we went to Immigration Wednesday afternoon to have it implemented. All was well and good for a while – until we were told that we needed to pay for his overstay.

Now, when we applied for the new visa, we had to go through an interview with a Department of Justice fiscal, whose sole purpose was to assess if our marriage was not out of convenience. Naturally, we passed his scrutiny with flying colors – but that’s beside the point. I asked him as we were concluding the interview if we needed to extend The Husband’s current tourist visa while we waited for approval, and he said we didn’t have to because we already had an application for another visa on the system (or something to that effect). We thought that was the end of it.

Anyway, as I said, we were told to pay for overstay. I explained the situation, and they simply shrugged it off as misinformation. So I looked at the chart that showed the immigration fees, and I figured, P500 a month isn’t so bad. I didn’t want to argue, so I told The Husband we’ll just pay and get it over with. After all, a nearly 3-month overstay would only cost about P1500, right?

How wrong I was! Horror of all horrors, we were slapped with a P6000-something bill for the two missed visa extensions (that we were advised was unnecessary in the first place) ON TOP of the P1500 overstay! Again, we stated our case to someone who had the looks of someone more senior, who (predictably) shrugged it off like everyone else.

The Husband was ready to blow, I could tell, but I managed to calm him down. I knew that this being the Philippines, it’s never a good idea to piss off those who wield what little bit of power they have like it’s the freaking Excalibur.

Anyhow, we paid up, and were again slapped with another P8000 bill to implement the new non-immigrant visa and the ACR-I card. We were already expecting this, however, so we paid up without a peep. Still, it hurt.

But it didn’t end there. They required a ton of paperwork, and each sheet of paper needed a gazillion copies – copies that they don’t do themselves, I might add. I had to take frequent trips to the photocopiers outside the Immigration office and pay for the copies (and the folders and brown envelopes that they required at the very last minute) myself. For this visit alone, I spent nearly P200 on photocopies. Considering the exorbitant fees that they charge, you’d think that they could at least spring for photocopies.

So with our fees paid and enough paperwork to make the tree-lover in me cringe, we marched upstairs to get his ACR-I card sorted out. After The Husband was fingerprinted and had his photograph taken, we were told the card will be ready in two to three months. Again, considering the price and the effort we invested on this, you’d think they could get it ready quicker than that. Hell, we all KNOW it can be done quicker than that, but they’re too busy dilly-dallying. But hey, who are we to complain, right?

While we waited for them to do their thing, I asked the lady what the ACR-I card was for. She told me it would allow The Husband to go straight to the airport if we took a trip outside of the country, as opposed to having to go the Immigration office two weeks in advance to get an exit clearance. Naturally, my interest was piqued, what with our planned Hongkong trip in November. I pressed for more information, and found out that we had to pay a further P3000 for the said exit clearance! Oh. My. God. Do the fees ever stop in this place?

Well, apparently not. As we were getting ready to leave, we were asked for a further P200 as notarial fee! And that, my dear friends, was the proverbial icing on the cake.

We went home drained. We went home exhausted. We went home with a feeling that we’ve been violated somehow. I think it’s the same kind of feeling that rape and robbery victims must have after the fact. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t. Hell, it even felt like I suddenly lost a ton of weight in the most unhealthy way imaginable without the aid of weight loss pills! It was, hands down, one of the most unpleasant things that have ever happened to me and The Husband ever.

And so we were left with a ruined budget days before we’re scheduled to get paid again. Not only that, the Hongkong trip that we’ve been so terribly excited about will have to be postponed until January or so when that stupid ACR-I card manifests itself all because there is absolutely NO WAY that they’re going get another centavo off us for an exit clearance that we shouldn’t even have to pay for, if they could just move their lazy asses and do their jobs quicker.

I’m sorry, but if the idiots at Immigration (or any other government office, for that matter – not to mention the politicians in office) are any indication, it hurts me to have to say that the Philippines will never have a chance to amount to anything other than a Third World country whose biggest claim to fame is in being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And as a Filipina who truly takes pride in the good things this country can offer, that makes me one very sad camper.