How can I avoid being stopped when exiting Phillipines by Immigration and/or being refused boarding by airline because of paperwork issues?

• Answer questions truthfully
• Do NOT volunteer information: just answer the question directly
• Be prepared with documentation
• Smile: be pleasant \ nice \ respectful
• RELAX: authorities can sense when you are tense and signals to them to scrutinize you

The last two are particularly important and determine how you will be treated. When answering questions: keep it short, simple and honest.

A bit of introduction so people who’re not familiar with situation could understand it better.

In Philippines the Bureau of Immigration does more than just checking that you have the proper paperwork to leave the country. By law they are required to make sure the Filipino citizens leaving the country are not potential victims of human trafficking. Those who are suspected to be victims of human trafficking are refused immigration clearance, and cannot leave the country. This is called “offloading”, and happens quite often to Filipinos (foreign citizens are not affected).

The typical profile of Filipinos affected by this is:

• A female of relatively young age (the younger, the more likely it to happen, but I know someone who was 31 when she was offloaded). Very rarely males are being offloaded too. Discrimination, I know;
• This is her first trip overseas alone;
• The stated goal is either “visiting a boyfriend” or “tourism” without strict itinerary, hotel reservations, etc. A two-day “shopping” trip to Thailand attracts much less attention;
• The relationship was relatively brief (or even was purely online);

All this makes the Immigration suspicious of trafficking, because this is how a lot of Filipinos end up there (yes, this really happens). And once they are suspicious, they start questioning. As you see, their interest is very different from the airline, which only cares about you being admitted and doesn’t care what you’d do after that. The Immigration is also trained well in detecting inconsistencies and uncover lies – they heard plenty. This is another reason why it is better to stick to the facts, tell the truth, do not change your story and do not try to make it look better.

Since you’re going to visit your boyfriend, he becomes a critical person here, and they need to have information about your boyfriend – the more, the better. They need to see he is a real, genuine person (and not a pimp). So the more information you have, the better – it also makes it look more credible, as large volume is much harder to fake consistently. At minimum, the information you bring should:

• Prove that you knew each other long enough (the longer, the better) – photos together, your communications (chats, emails, etc).
• Prove he is a “normal” person (copies of his passport, other ID, job references, affidavits etc);
• Prove he is indeed inviting you (i.e. he is not some random guy you chatted for two years on Internet).

Also if he can be online/on call while you’re clearing immigration, this may also help. It is unlikely they’d talk to him (they might, to check that your stories match), but the fact that he’s online and ready to answer their questions weights in your favor.

Also the Immigration wants to make sure you have means to survive and return in case something goes wrong (for example, your boyfriend doesn’t show up at all). Make sure you have enough money to cover your basic needs and flight change, so you can return. You may be asked about this; the Immigration wants to make sure you wouldn’t end up on a street.

A couple more things to advise:

• Arrive at the airport early, and go to immigration as early as you can. You WILL take some time there – make sure you have this time.

• Fly out of Cebu or Kalibo if you can. MNL airport has the crappiest immigration ever, according to my fellow pinoy who been through experience.

• This is one-time hurdle. Your second time the Immigration would be much easier.

Finally, the answers to specific questions:

• When you fill out the departure form, tick the “visiting family/friends”.

• If you say you’re traveling for pleasure, you would be asked your full itinerary (are you gonna sit in Stockholm for 16 days? what you gonna do there? where you gonna stay), and unless you prepare it very well, they will suspect you’re making it up and thus hiding something real bad. An easy way to get offloaded. Another easy way is to change your story during questioning. Don’t.

• I don’t think you need affidavit from your parents, but if they met your BF before and can affirm to that in writing. Even more useful would be if they go to airport with you, and wait outside in case Immigration wants to talk to them to confirm this.

• Anything else you can do? Yes, assuming you have time. You can fly to Thailand or Vietnam for a day (same day or next day return) for shopping. Flights are cheap, hotels are cheap too, and you can buy some useful stuff. Do this a couple times. Many Filipinos do this, Immigration is more favorable toward this, and they treat differently people who have been abroad already.

Assuming you are Philippine citizen (because you said fellow Philippines citizens), having Schengen visa (if fresh and unused then preferably from Sweden), traveling from Philippines to Sweden with/without transfers.

Assuming by offloading you mean airline not allowing you to board flight at your departure airport.

Airline wants to make sure that once they bring you to Sweden (or any other Schengen airport, if transfer), Schengen/Sweden authorities will allow you to enter. Prerequisites for this will be a Schengen tourist visa C type (to get which you must had to submit hotel stay, bank statements, employment proofs, fingerprints, insurance and some others along with the motive of journey).

Airline most certainly will want a valid passport, valid visa, outward-ticket, visa/entry for outward destination, and most probably hotel/stay-arrangements, and any exit-requirements for Filipino if any. If you tick all boxes, they will allow you to board.

Once you reach the Schengen Border, (might be Sweden, but for sure will be the first airport in the area, for KLM many times it is Amsterdam), you will need to present your passport with visa. Many times the border guard will ask you for fingerprints, your hotel booking, return/outward ticket, credit cards, cash, insurance, how-many-days, where, why, or any combination of these all. Once satisfied, he will stamp you in and any journey from there to Sweden will be domestic travel.

You should write the purpose on Philippines departure form the same as you mentioned in your visa form.

Carry proof of you seeing your boyfriend, your relationship details, communications, and most important, don’t ever lie. Give exact and correct answers, appear confident, give no extra information, but don’t lie if asked.

Check with airline for parent consent issue, tell them your exact age, x years y months z days. If 21 is completed or not can make difference.

Edit: Addendum after OP’s comments:

(A) Yes, I do have a Schengen visa. (B) Yes, by offloading, I mean PH immigration not allowing me to leave the country.

PH Immigration and Airline will have totally different motivations/reasons to stop somebody from boarding a flight.

Airline is more worried about the hefty fines it will incur if Schengen does not allow you in. Immigration is more likely concerned if you are eligible to go out of country. To them it doesn’t matter where, could be US, Dubai, Schengen. They might consider any travel policies like you mentioned parents consent. Better to check with them.

(C) I do have a valid passport, visa, and return tickets. However, I do not have any hotel bookings since I am being sponsored by my boyfriend, and I will be staying at his home. Will this be a problem?

Each Schengen country have their own version of this document, but basically it is that host gets a letter/certificate from city council/police that he has capacity to accommodate you, and is allowed. But before anything, what did you submit as proof-of-stay in your visa application? Use the same if it is real/genuine.

(D) Since my boyfriend will shoulder my expenses, is it still necessary to have cash on hand, as you said?

Expect to get asked about the relationship proofs, chats, photos, finances. Hard cash is not required if you have working credit and debit cards, and bank statements showing the limits, funds. Some Schengen countries expect access to EUR 120 per day if no place to stay has been arranged. Last time for 10 days stay I had credit-card-paid hotel, weekly metro ticket, and 150 EUR in cash, with Credit/Debit cards.

Note that these all are assuming that you are at Schengen border asking for entry. Philippines authorities should not be bothered with any of this, all they are supposed to care about is if you can exit Philippines or not.

Also note that at Schengen border none of these might be asked, and it could be a 10 second interaction, but at the same time, they could ask any and everything to make sure your intents align with visa issued and that you can support yourself while in the area.