577 Going through Immigration successfully

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It's always a hassle when you're going out of the Philippines, especially if you want to find work outside the country. Thinking of how to get past the immigration gate without any problems, I faced the same problems as the other Filipinos did. I want to share with you my experience and the lessons that I've learned during one of the lowest times of my life: I was once denied to get past that gate.
Looking back, I already left the country for Singapore before. I had the final interview here, face to face with the client. My interview was successful and I was hired. But I still need to get back to the Philippines to finish my remaining time to my previous employer. After finishing the required days and preparing all the documents required by the employment agency in Singapore, it was time to come back to the Lion City.

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Passport? Check. Invitation letter? Check. In-Principle Approval? Check. Flight Itinerary? Check. All documents were prepared and shown to the immigration official. I told the officer I will be working in Singapore and showed her the In-Principle Approval from the employment agency. But I was denied! The officer told me that in-principle approvals are not valid documents and needs to be processed and approved by POEA, which will take several days to complete. My sister told me to try to a different booth, maybe a male officer who looks kind enough. I proceeded to a different immigration booth and told him that I'm just a tourist and going to Singapore for a holiday. Then he asked me about the printout of the flight itinerary going back from Singapore to Philippines. I can't show any copy as I have not booked a return ticket since I will not be returning for the mean time. I was denied again!

Then the final call for the plane I should have boarded came. I was left behind. It was disheartening. I almost cried there in despair. People queuing to immigration booths were looking at me. I have no idea what to do at that moment. I was in shock. That was the first time for me.

At that same day, I booked a two-way flight to Singapore and back, presented myself as a tourist, approved on immigration, boarded an Airbus A320 and landed in Singapore after a 3-hour flight.

Lessons Learned:
1. In-Principle Approval letters are just approvals in principle. It can't be presented in immigration to get past as a worker. It should be processed and approved by POEA before declaring yourself as an OFW to the officer.
2. Book a two-way flight itinerary if you're going to declare yourself as a tourist when going to Singapore(even though in reality you're going to Singapore to find work or to start working but the papers are not yet processed by POEA)
3. Bring extra money. You'll never know what will happen once you are inside the airport.
4. DO NOT resign yet on your current work. No one knows what will happen. It's better and easier to have a fallback in case your Plan A didn't push through.

That's it for my experience. If you're going out of the country, specifically going to Singapore, you might as well be prepared for the worst. I hope you read this very carefully and remember the tips so that you will never experience one of the worst experiences of my life.

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