Visiting the Philippines & Extension of Stay

If your friend(s), partner or yourself is planning to visit & experience the Philippines: Mabuhay!!! Bonus to those who are coming from the Europe Union, USA or countries such as Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the likes -- great news & you do not need to apply for visa if you are staying for 21 days or less. That's right! You don't need to get a visa!

Just bring your travel passport with you & upon reaching the Philippines, the Immigration Officer will give you a Visa-upon-Arrival by stamping on it. This is good for 21 days. So cool, huh? But maybe you would want to know: what to do if you wanted to stay longer than 21 days? where to go?

You can go to the Bureau of Immigration offices to apply for an extension good for another 38 days.  The good news is that their offices are not limited to Metro Manila only & they have a list of subport offices that is nationwide!

You just need to bring the following:

1. Passport
-- Photocopy the information page (where your picture is located) & the last arrival stamp page.

2. Fee amounting to 3,030php
-- This is a "one-pay-fits-all" thing. Irregardless if you use up the entire 38 days or not, this is the standard amount to pay. On our case, my husband only used up 2 days out of the 38 days extension time.

The Alien Control Officer will stamp & signed your passport & will give you a receipt. It is important that you bring the receipt with you when you are about to leave the Philippines to avoid paying further fines/penalties. You can also visit The Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines official website for further information.

So yes, enjoy your stay here. Its more fun in the Philippines!***

*** Current slogan of the Philippine to boost tourism.


UPDATE:
Good news & instead of the ''21 days'' allowable stay in the Philippines without a visa, they now extend this for 30 days! You just need to make sure that your friend have: (1) valid tickets for their return journey to port of origin or to the next port of destination, and (2) passport valid for 6 months beyond the contemplated period of stay in the Philippines. Happy planning!!!