Technical article

Telling Immigration You Are Here: What Mongolia and the Philippines Ask

After we arrive, does anyone expect to hear from us again, and how often?

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture a couple named Frank and Linda. Both are 66. They have a visa for a country they have never lived in, and the stamp is in the passport. They ask a fair question. After we arrive, does anyone expect to hear from us again, and how often?

I looked at three countries for this. I could read official pages for two of them. The Thai immigration pages could not be read at all, so Thailand is under "What is left open."

Two countries, two different kinds of check-in

Mongolia

The General Authority for Immigration has a page on registering foreign citizens. It is in Mongolian, and my English is a paraphrase. The page says a citizen, company or organization that provides housing to a foreign national must register that person. The wording for the deadline is "48 цагийн дотор бүртгүүлэх," which means register within 48 hours. The page cites Article 24.4 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens.

So the 48-hour clock is tied to whoever gives you a place to stay. That could be a landlord, a hotel or a company. The page does not say what happens when you own the place yourself. That answer is not on an official page in the sources.

My starting idea for this article was a 7-day rule for Mongolia. The page I read says 48 hours. I cannot tell you where 7 days came from, so I give only what the page says. The page shows no date. No yearly card for Mongolia is on an official page in the sources.

Philippines

The Bureau of Immigration has an Annual Report page, last modified 9 March 2026 according to the page data. It applies to "All registered aliens and ACR I-Card holders except Temporary Visitor's Visa holders or Tourist Visa holders."

The fee is PHP 300.00 plus a PHP 10.00 Legal Research Fee, so PHP 310.00 in all. The page says fees may change without prior notice. A late filer pays PHP 200.00 a month, and under Operations Order No. 2025-007 a Motion for Reconsideration fee of PHP 1,510.00. The fine is capped at PHP 2,000.00 a year.

Waiting for the government. On 9 October 2026 the Bureau posted an advisory titled "Proposed Schedule of Fees (Annual Report)." The page has the heading and no amounts. So the PHP 310.00 figure could change. We are waiting for the government to publish the new schedule.

The bureau also lists "2026 Annual Report Guidelines" as a PDF. The file I opened showed only the words "SIGNATURE REDACTED," so the details could not be read.

What is left open

• Thailand. Thailand has a well-known rule about telling immigration your address every 90 days. The official search result is titled "Notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days." But the Thai Immigration Bureau pages would not open for me, so I do not give the details here. No other source is used.
• Mongolia yearly cards, and what applies to owners rather than renters.
• Philippines final 2026 guideline text.

An accountant or lawyer who works with Americans abroad could confirm which of these applies to your visa type.