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Here you will find Information regarding:
Before you arrive in the Philippines, you can arrange a 59 day visa from your nearest Philippines embassy or consulate.
This site lists some of the websites for Philippines embassies and consulates: http://www.dfa.gov.ph/links/ppa.htm
Upon expiry of your 59 day visa, you can arrange to have it extended. Extensions are for two months at a time and you can extend your stay until you have been in the Philippines for for 2 years. In reality, this is only 1 year and 4 months. You can have up to 1 year and 4 months approved at any regional office. To have the last 8 months approved, you need to travel to Manila for special approval. 2 reasons I have heard of so far for the extra 8 months being approved are; too ill to travel and about to have a 13a visa approved.
When you read through any Philippines Embassy website, you will see the tourist visa offered in 3, 6 and 12 months. That does not mean you can arrange, in advance, to stay in the Philippines for 3, 6 or 12 months, as a tourist.
The 3 month visa means you have 3 months, from date of issue, to arrive in the Philippines. Once in the Philippines, you can only stay 59 days and if you want to stay longer, you have to arrange an extension.
The 6 month and 12 month visas are multiple entry visas. That is, you can come and go as many times as you like, within the 6 or 12 month period but you can still only stay 59 days at a time, unless you arrange an extension.
If you don't arrange a visa in advance, usually, you will be given a stamp in your passport, called a visa waiver, upon arrival in the Philippines, which allows you to stay 21 days. See guidelines below for people who qualify for 21 day visa waiver stamp.
If you need to stay longer than 21 days, you can arrange an extension. The initial extension is for 38 days and takes you up to 59 days, which is the length of the visa you could have obtained in advance. After the 38 day extension, extensions are arranged 2 months at a time. As previously stated, you can generally arrange extensions until you have been in the Philippines 16 months.
The earliest you can arrange a visa extension is one month before expiry. That means you can arrange the initial 38 day extension on the same day you arrive in the Philippines. It also means you can arrange extensions at a time convenient to you and should easily be able to avoid the late fee which is P500 per month.
At this moment in time, it is possible to arrange your first extension at the airport, on arrival in the Philippines. You can also pay fees on departure. However, these are subject to change without notice.
Here is a copy of recent news article explaining the changes
Libanan eases rules on departing tourists
Personally, I would play it safe and have everything paid up to date before arriving at the airport to go home.
You can arrange visa extensions in person at your nearest Bureau of Immigration (BOI). Check this website for your nearest office http://www.immigration.gov.ph For males, you have to make sure you are wearing long pants and shoes, otherwise you may not be admitted.
In Cebu, the BOI is located on P.J. Burgos Street in Mandaue City, just near the Mandaue City Hospital.
At BOI in Mandaue City, they charge a P500 express fee whether or not you require express. I believe all BOI offices charge the express fee, regardless.
If you do not want to attend the BOI in person, extensions can be arranged through many travel agencies at an additional cost . In Cebu City, the cost is about P500. In other parts of the Philippines, especially if there is no local Bureau of Immigration, the agent cost will be higher.
If you stay in the Philippines longer than 6 months, as a tourist, you will need permission to leave in the form of an Emigration Clearance Certificate. To obtain the Emigration Clearance Certificate, you have to attend the Bureau of Immigration in person. You are not supposed to be able to use an agent, however, some foreigners have claimed to have had their Emigration Clearance Certificate arranged with an agent.
To arrange the Emigration Clearance Certificate, you have to complete an application to leave the Philippines, pay a fee, provide 3 2″x2″ passport style photographs, provide your passport and give impressions of your left and right thumbs. (I believ the fee is now P1,010. The forms can be obtained from the B.O.I. and can be completed while you are there. The Emigration Clearance Certificate can be arranged up to one month before you leave. Not all B.O.I. offices will handle Emigration Clearance Certificates. For example, last year, a friend of mine attended the B.O.I. in Tacloban and was told he had to arrange the Emigration Clearance Certificate in Cebu.
You can read more about arranging an Emigration Clearance Certificate in my blog, HERE
Current extension fees copied from the Bureau of Immigration website
. When you do leave the Philippines, don't forget your Emigration Clearance Certificate. I believe that it is now P1,010. You can read more about that, HERE Also, make sure you have at least P750 when you arrive at the international airport so you can pay the departure tax. |
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Guidelines on the Entry of Temporary Visitors to the Philippines(copied from Department of Foreign Affairs website)
Nationals from
countries listed below who are traveling to the Philippines
for business and tourism purposes are allowed to enter the
Philippines without visas for a stay not exceeding
twenty-one (21) days, provided they hold valid tickets for
their return journey to port of origin or next port of
destination and their passports valid for a period of at
least six (6) months beyond the contemplated period of stay.
However, Immigration Officers at ports of entry may exercise
their discretion to admit holders of passports valid for at
least sixty (60) days beyond the intended period of stay.
Nationals from
the following countries are allowed to enter the Philippines
without a visa for a period of stay of twenty-one (21) days
or less:
1.
Andorra *The following are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a stay not exceeding fifty-nine (59) days:
1.
Holders of Brazil passports; and
2.
Holders of Israel passports
The following
are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a
stay not exceeding seven (7) days:
3.
Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative (SAR)
passports
4.
Holders of British National Overseas (BNO) passports
5.
Holders of Portuguese Passports issued in Macao
6.
Holders of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)
passports
Important
Note: Nationals who are subjects of deportation/blacklist orders of the Department and the Bureau of Immigration shall not be admitted to the Philippines. Further inquiries may be addressed to the Visa Division (Telephone numbers: 834-4854, 834-3707, and 834-4810), Department of Foreign Affairs, 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City or to any Philippines embassy or Consulate abroad. |
