Adventure Accounting

Way back in 2015, I recall that Philippine passport holders did not need a tourist visa for Ecuador. That changed sometime in 2021. I'd rather not apply for another visa after getting an AVE for Argentina and a visa for Chile.  I briefly thought of dropping Ecuador from the itinerary - the Galapagos leg was costly and there's this visa application. B ut... it is now or never! I decided to book my flights and accommodations and just go push through with the visa application.  The website of the embassy of Ecuador  lists 'Embajada del Ecuador en Filipinas' located somewhere is Makati with some phone number. I called the phone number (January 2024). The building receptionist informed me that the embassy is not a tenant of the buiding anymore. They did give me a 'forwarding email' of the embassy (ecuadorindonesia-at-gmail-dot-com). I sent queries to both  ecuadorindonesia-at-gmail-dot-com and eecuindonesia-dot-cancilleria-dot-gob-dot-ec (official email). There was...

Day 0 - Few weeks before, I created an account in Servicios Consulares en linea . You can save the information in the visa application and submit at a later date. I started gathering and consolidating the documents.  Day 1 - I submitted my application. I received a confirmation email that my visa application was received. The application form is quite easy to fill-out as long as you have all your documents in order  Itinerary documents (consolidated in one pdf and uploaded): 1. Receipt of the booked tour with Cascada Expediciones for Ecocamp 2. Flights. Entry and exit flights to Chile, domestic flights. 3. Proof of booked accommodations Economic means (consolidated in one pdf and uploaded) 1. Bank statements for the last 3 months of all my bank accounts. I did not submit any bank certificate, just the statements.  2. Credit card statements for the last 3 months.  3. Income tax returns from 2020-2023 (4 years) 4. Statements of Account of my investments in my mutual fu...

I have a valid US visa (B1/B2) . Based on the Migraciones website of Argentina , I am eligible to appy for an Autorizacion de Viaje Electronica or AVE visa (ETA visa). The AVE is applicable to foreigners holding valid US visas (see website for the types of US visa covered by this). The visa has to be valid during your stay in Argentina.  If you don't have a valid US visa, you do not qualify for AVE and you'll have to apply for a normal toursit visa for Argentina. I do not have firsthand experience for that procedure. I can only share my experience in obtaining an AVE.  I followed the steps enumerated in the website of Argentine Republic in the Philippines . The steps are pretty straightforward to follow. You will need to register to create an account. Then  pay   before completing the application form.  Cost: $150 (Ouch! I'm not sure when this changed. I recall this being less than $100 when I was just doing my research.  You need to be tech-savvy eno...

The United Kingdom (UK) may be in Europe but it is not included in the Schengen zone. You need to apply for a separate visa in the UK. I’ve always wanted to see London (because of Mary Poppins) but I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of applying and paying for another visa aside from Schengen. Since this was a family trip, I finally had the opportunity of visiting London. We had to apply for a UK visa first before applying for a Schengen visa in the French Embassy. The process is a bit similar to the US Visa application wherein you fill-out a long form, pay the visa fee, then schedule your application to submit your documents. Here’s the basic process: 1.    Create an account and fill-out application forms  here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and- immigration 2.    Pay for the visa fee - via credit card – USD 110 3.    Schedule the visa appointment in VFS Global UK 4.    Print and gather documents...

I am not a Schengen visa expert. I cannot assess your chance of getting a visa. I am only sharing what happened in my experience. Less than a year after my Europe III trip (which I haven’t blogged about), I found myself applying for my 4th Schengen visa. This was for our two-week family vacation in Europe in Italy, France and UK. Since we were staying at France the longest, we lodged our Schengen visa application with the French embassy. This time, we applied via the French Embassy . VFS Global handles the visa applications for the French embassy. I hope that before you found this blog, you already read the very informative website of VFS France in the Philippine s. Now if you haven’t, I suggest stop reading this blog entry for a while and go and click that link and spend some time reading the information there.

I am not a visa officer nor a visa agent. This post comes from my own personal experience. I have been granted two tourist Schengen Visas in the past 5 years. The difference this time is that I am a consultant (contract-based) instead of an employee. I have been a consultant for the past 2 years and 4 months.  Applying for a Schengen Visa (a.k.a. Europe Visa) Applying for a Schengen Visa in Spain Embassy Philippines   For this trip, I have a 23-day itinerary spanning Central Europe. I'll post my itinerary and budget in another post. I am staying in Germany the longest so I lodged my application there.  General steps: 1. Browse and read the website of the German Embassy here in the Philippines . This contains all the information and forms that you need when applying for a Schengen visa.  2. Schedule your appointment online. You can apply for a Schengen visa at most 3 months before your departure date. You can start booking your appointment a mont...

I grew up watching the shows on Studio 23.  Charmed. I like Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell Gilmore Girls. I cried when the series ended. Gilmore Girls was a part of my growing-up life. Seventh Heaven My Holy-Week series marathon. Dawson's Creek Because of Joshua Jackson. I like Charlie Conway. There's also CSI, Party of Five and bunch of other TV series that ate up hours of my youth. Watching TV was not the wisest thing to do. I lost a lot of hours of my youth and gained pounds. But hey, I was young and I didn't realize how precious time was. I know better now. Watching all of these series did not give me a burning desire to fly to the US. *Shrugs* I do not have relatives over there.   Hongkong has Disneyland, so that scratched my Disneyland itch.  And really, with all the Hollywood movies, I felt like I've been to the US already.  But of course, I will still visit the US given a chance. I had to m...

Best friends, you travel for them.  Our trip to Baguio way back in 2012 I traveled to Malaysia last year to visit one of my Amigas working there. Before that trip, I already booked a flight to Shanghai, and a flight out from Beijing. My other Amiga, Sarah, also booked her flights. That’s more than a year in advance purchase! The planned trip has a total of 18 in China, including flight days. I crafted an itinerary for Shanghai-Pingyao-Datong-Beijing. Applying for a Chinese visa is a straightforward process. Submit all the requirements, and you’ll be granted a visa. You can choose to submit your application via a travel agency, like we did, or go to the Chinese embassy yourself and submit the application. We chose to fork over some money for the travel agency fee instead of going to the embassy ourselves. The visa fee and the processing fee costs Php 2,000. We used Lucky Travel for our China visa. Visa requirements that I submitted:   Filled-out vis...

2014. I wanna keep up with my blogging. I'll try. New year, maging masipag hanggang kaya! My 2012 Travelogue belongs to Asia . Two Asian Countries required me to apply for a visa: South Korea and Japan . Click on the links how I got those back then.  So... I attempted to get multiple entry visas for both SK and Japan, and I succeeded. Multiple entry visas with a non-flattering shot

I know I've been lacking posts this year. I'll do my best to catch up. This is a backlog posts related to my Europe 2013 adventure. I am not a visa officer nor a visa agent. This post comes from my own personal experience. My Philippine passport wants to go to Europe again. Time to brace myself for another visa application. Despite the success of my Korean Visa and Japan Visa application, I still had butterflies when I applied for my second Schengen visa. I worried how my first visa application in the Italian embassy, which was denied, would factor in here. Although I was granted the Schengen visa in my second try, the denied application is still lodged in my records. For this Europe trip, I will be staying in Spain the longest, so I had to lodge my application in the Spain Embassy. VFS Global handles the visa applications, they charge a fee for that. The website is quite comprehensive. Take some time reading the details in the website. http://www.vfsgloba...

Even with the Schengen Visa and SK Visa under my belt, I still had the jitters when I applied for a tourist visa for Japan. The Japan Visa Application process requires the applicant to submit his/her application to an accredited embassy. This added to my anxiety because it means I won’t be able to “defend” myself during the visa application. This is another solo trip. *Gulp gulp* If denied, the applicant can reapply after 6 months. That will be six (6) months of heartache for me, if ever ( Oh have mercy on my heart). Requirements for Japan Tourist Visa: Philippine Passport Accomplished Visa Application Form (I downloaded this from the website) Photo (4.5cm x 4.5cm with white background). Photo stations offer a specific “Japan visa” picture. Got 4 pc s for Php 75. Original Birth Certificate (Php 150 via SM ) Daily schedule in Japan Bank certificate (Php 100 charge for BPI bank-account holders).  I have no idea how much fund is required for approval and I will not dis...

After my traumatic but successful Schengen Visa Application , you would think that I’d be more confident in applying for another visa. NOPE. My next international destination after Europe is South Korea. Another visa country. *gulp* I’ve read pages and pages in various forums about their experiences in applying for the SK visa to the point of psyching myself out. Most have favorable outcomes. People would console the aspiring applicants that as long as they submitted the complete documents, it is highly probable to be granted the visa. I kinda over-analyzed and played a dozen “what-would-go-wrong” situations in my head. When I checked the Korean Embassy’s website back in late October 2011, the website enumerated less requirements for applicants who visited OECD countries for the past 5 years. I briefly encountered the term OECD in my previous job. So... it resurfaces in this trip. Hahahaha. I’ve already done Netherlands, Germany, Italy and France (naks, yabang daw! )...