Immigration And All That Jazz

NAIA Terminal 3 (bound for Singapore)

Immigration Officer: (Checks passport) First time to travel?
Me: Yes.
IO: Purpose?
Me: Vacation.
IO: Can I see your return ticket?
Me: (Hands the tickets: SG to KL and KL to MNL)
IO: Can I have the card you used for the reservation?
(Karen butts in because she used her card for the tickets)
Karen: I booked it. Here’s my card.
IO: Where do you work?
Me: Standard & Poor’s.
IO: Can I see your ID?
Me: (Hands company ID)
IO: How long have you worked here?
Me: Almost four years.
IO: Where’s your immigration form?
Me: (Hands immigration form)
IO: Where will you be staying?
Me: At my friend’s at Pasir Ris.
IO: What does she do?
Me: She works at a bank.
IO: Where?
Me: DBS.
IO: Okay. (Hands me my stamped passport.)

IO: (Checks passport) First time to travel?
Karen: No.
IO: Where’s your old passport?
Karen: I don’t have it anymore.
IO: Where did you travel before? Because you’re supposed to attach it to your new one.
Karen: Singapore in 2007 and Dubai in 2009.
IO: (Leaves desk to check on something) Where did you study in college?
Karen: UST.
IO: What was your major?
Karen: Entrepreneurship.
IO: Are you traveling with her? (referring to me)
Karen: Yes.
IO: Where are your return tickets?
Karen: (Hands tickets)
IO: Do you have the card you used for the tickets? It ends with xxxx.
Karen: Yes. (Hands the card)
IO: Okay. (Hands stamped passport.)

Changi Airport Terminal 1 (arrival)

Karen and I filled out disembarkation cards then queued for immigration.
Me: (Handed passport and card to the IO then noticed I left a piece of paper on the desk where I filled out the card. It has my passport info and my friend’s address and phone number.)
Sir, can you give me a second? I’ll just run and get my paper. I left it at the desk.
IO: Sure. Just close the gate.
Me: Okay. Thank you.
(Rushes to get paper and back to the IO)
IO: (Hands me my stamped passport)
Me: Thank you.

Changi Airport Terminal 2 (bound for Kuala Lumpur)

IO: (Checks my passport) Where’s your immigration paper? (Heavily accented. I could only understand the paper part.)
Me: I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?
IO: The paper?
Me: Oh. Here. (Hands the immigration card)
IO: (Checks the card, stamps passport, then hands it to me.)
Me: Thank you.

LCCT Kuala Lumpur (arrival)

IO: (Checks passport) How long are you staying here?
Me: Actually, sir, I’m also leaving tomorrow.
IO: Okay. (Stamps passport then hands it to me)
Me: Thank you.

LCCT Kuala Lumpur (bound for Manila)

IO: (checks my passport then stared at me)
Me: (Starts to get paranoid: Do I look different in my photo? I shouldn’t have tied my hair in a ponytail. Now he thinks I’m a different person.)
IO: (stamps my passport then hands it to me)
Me: Thank you.

NAIA Terminal 3 (arrival)

IO: (Checks passport and immigration form) Write on the form the name of the hotel where you stayed.
Me: Okay. (Writes hotel name then hands form)
IO: (Stamps passport then hands it to me)
Me: Thank you.

*The Bureau of Immigration (Philippines) claims they are intensifying their campaign against human trafficking. Meh.