How long Can I Stay in the Philippines Without a Visa
A Visitor to the Philippines is normally allowed a 30 day stay without a Visa, otherwise financial penalties apply.
- Some Nationalities have periods other than 30 days
If you renew the visitors entry visa on time, before it expires within that 30 days, there is no penalty.
On arrival at Philippines Immigration, most people get a 30 day free stay entered on their passport, and this gives the date they MUST leave by, or renew that visa.
If staying longer than 30 days, they would then renew during that 30 days, at a Bureau of Immigration office, for a cost of 3,030 pesos for another 29 days, giving them 59 days in total.
If they wish to stay longer, they renew again, commonly for two months at a time, at a cost of about 4,400 pesos.
They can keep renewing for up to 24 or 36 months, depending on their nationality.
If they do not renew a visa, and therefore become an illegal alien, then they put themselves in the position of facing:
- Paying the Visa Fees outstanding PLUS
- Paying Financial Penalties for every month PLUS
- Possible Blacklisting (not being allowed to enter the Philippines again) PLUS
- Possible Deportation (this might involve detention and then removal)
Visitors must pay those visa renewal fees, plus penalty charges, before they are allowed into immigration on departure. (At the time of writing most overstayers must go to a Bureau of Immigration office, not in the airport, and face missing their flight.)
In cases where a visitor has no valid visa when leaving they are often told to leave the airport, and go to a Bureau of Immigration and sort out their visa issues before returning to try to leave again.
At that point they may also be told that they cannot return to the Philippines again, ie: Blacklisted.