Philippines Visa Guide.

This is how almost every visitor arrives. Most nationalities are admitted visa-free for 30 days on landing, stamped at the airport, for tourism or business. Brazil and Israel get 59 days by bilateral agreement, while a recent batch, China, India, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, get 14 days under newer temporary arrangements.

The 30-day stay isn't a dead end. Unlike some countries' visa-free entry, the Philippine one can be extended in-country at a Bureau of Immigration office, all the way up to a total of 36 months for visa-free nationals, so if you fall for the place and want to stay, you can. See the extension below for how that works and what it costs.

When 30 days isn't enough, you extend at a Bureau of Immigration office rather than leaving and coming back. The first extension adds 29 days, taking you to 59 days total, and costs from around ₱3,000. You apply in person with your passport before your current stay expires, and it's usually same-day.

After that first step you can keep extending, in blocks of up to six months at a time, up to a total stay of 36 months for visa-free nationalities (24 months for visa-required ones). Once your cumulative stay passes 59 days, you also have to get an ACR I-Card (a foreigner ID card) at a one-time cost of about US$50 plus a small express fee. It's a well-worn process that long-stay travelers use routinely.

If you were once a Filipino citizen, or you're married to one, this is usually the simplest way to stay long term. Under the Balikbayan Program, former Filipinos and their accompanying foreign spouse and children are admitted visa-free for up to one year on each entry, far longer than the standard 30 days, with nothing to pay.

The one condition worth stressing is that the foreign family members must arrive together with the balikbayan to get the year; a foreign spouse flying in alone doesn't qualify on their own. It's stamped at immigration on arrival, and if a year still isn't enough you can extend it at a Bureau of Immigration office.

The SRRV, issued by the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) rather than immigration, gives indefinite, multiple-entry residence while you keep the qualifying bank deposit in place. It exempts you from the usual tourist extensions, the ACR I-Card renewals and the annual reporting other long-stayers deal with.

You qualify by placing a deposit in a PRA-accredited Philippine bank, with the amount depending on your age and whether you draw a pension. In many cases the deposit can later be converted into an approved investment, such as buying a condominium (which foreigners are allowed to own) or a long-term lease. The scheme was restructured in September 2025: the minimum age dropped to 40, two older sub-programs were scrapped, and the deposit tiers were revised, so use the PRA's current schedule rather than older figures floating around online.

The Philippines created a dedicated Digital Nomad Visa under Executive Order 86 in 2025. It lets remote workers live in the country for up to a year, renewable once, working for companies or clients based outside the Philippines. You can't take local employment or run a local business on it.

You apply through the DFA e-Visa portal (evisa.gov.ph), with a Philippine consulate handling specifics, showing proof of remote work and foreign-sourced income, health insurance and a clean record. The order sets no fixed income floor, though in practice you should expect to evidence a stable foreign income (guides cite around US$24,000 a year). The bigger open question is the eligible-country list: it's limited to nationals of countries that grant Filipinos the same, and the DFA still hadn't published that list through 2026, so check the current position with your nearest Philippine post before relying on it.

The 9G visa is for foreigners taking a job with a Philippine company. It runs for the length of your employment contract, typically one to three years, and renews. It's employer-driven: a registered Philippine company must sponsor you and first get an Alien Employment Permit (AEP) from the Department of Labor.

Because it involves the labor department and immigration and several supporting steps, the employer and their agent handle it rather than you applying solo, and the whole process usually takes a few months. Between the permit, the visa, publication and a medical, employers typically spend tens of thousands of pesos overall.