Great news! Nationals from 151 countries, may enter the Philippines without a visa and stay for a maximum of 30 days. No need to do anything!
If you are travelling on an Indian or Pakistan or Chinese passport you may need to organise a visa before entry.
You must have a passport valid at least six months beyond the period of stay and you must present an outbound ticket. Please be aware that immigration are strict with showing an outbound ticket so plan accordingly. Don't end up like me, booking a last minute ticket to Sydney whilst standing at the check-in desk.
"But, I want to stay longer than 30 days?"
If you wish to extend your visa in the Philippines, past 30 days, you will need to organise a visa extension by visiting the the Bureau of Immigration Office before your current visa expires. Bare in mind the office will be closed on the weekend.
Extending your visa
Essentially, you will need to extend your visa every 2 months. The maximum length of time you can do this is for 16 months.
If you wish to stay longer than 16 months, up to 24 months, you’ll need the approval of the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division.
If you wish to extend after 24 months you’ll need the approval of the Commissioner.
"But I only want to stay a couple of weeks longer" Note that the Philippines do not offer visas in less than one month blocks. So, for example, if you need to extend for only 14 days, you will need to apply to get your visa extended for 1 months to ensure you are covered, thats the minimum.
Click HERE for a list of all the Immigration offices in the Philippines.
Click HERE is a map of all the Immigration offices in the Philippines.
How much does it cost?
The cost of the visa does vary, for your initial 1 month visa extension expect to pay 3,030 Pesos.
The price depends on if you are extending for 1 or 2 months and how many times you have extended before.
If you are in a hurry to extend then there is an option for the ‘express service’ which takes 2 hours (Make sure you check the 'cut-off' time at your chosen Immigration office, I would assume its 3pm to be safe). This service is an additional 1000Pesos.
This is a break down of what you will be paying:
Staying for longer than 59 days
If you will be in the country for longer than 59 days TOTAL, including the 30 days you got when you arrived, you will be required to buy a 12 month ID card called an ACR-I Card (Alien Certificate and Registration). It's a microchip based, credit card-sized, identification card, this costs 2750Pesos. This will require a passport style photo at the Immigration office.
For a full price list on this click here.
When you arrive at the office:
You will need to dress appropriately.
I made the mistake of wearing a skirt and was sent home.
No shorts and below the knee for women.
No thongs/flip flops.
Security will not let you in if you arrive in attire not fitting, which is a massive hassle.
Extending your visa is pretty straight forward (although tedious) and it’s not something to get stressed out about.
Note: I have only been to the Bureau of Immigration in Makati, so my experiences relate to that particular office, other offices may differ.
Appointments are not available so just walk in. When you arrive at the office, tell the desk you require a visa extension.
They will give you a waiting number and an application form to fill out which you’ll need basic information for, as well as an address in the Philippines. (If you would like to download and fill out the application from prior then you can but its not necessary).
You’ll wait for your number on a screen (bare in mind this can take a while depending on how busy it is, I recommend bringing a book).
Then you’ll proceed to a desk where they will begin the initial processing, lots of printing not much talking. You'll be handed an invoice and a letter to clarify you aren't blacklisted.
Next you’ll visit another counter and pay your fee. After paying, the cashier will give you a receipt for your payment (don’t lose this, you will need it to get your passport back later) and then he will take your passport, application and blacklist letter.
Claim the passport stamped with the requested extension of stay. Please CHECK you have a stamp. I have been at passport control with an empty passport because they forgot my stamp!
Unless you opted for the ‘express service’ which takes 2 hours, the cashier will give you an estimated time that you can retrieve your passport, I could be that day or the next depending on traffic.
If you are also getting an ACR-I card, it takes seven days to process, so you will need to come back in another 7 days to collect that as well.
What to bring?
Obviously you will need to take your passport.
They only accept cash so make sure you have enough in Pesos with you.
If you are applying for a ARC-I card (over 59 days) you will need an up to date passport style photo of yourself.
Visa Run:
Whether you’re unable to get to an office or you’ve run out of time to extend your visa then there are various budget airlines in the Philippines and it may be cheaper and easier to do a ‘visa run’ to another country to reset you visa.
I recommend: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore or Japan.
They are not too far and a return ticket can be bought relatively cheaply.
Safe and Happy travels. Ella xx
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