Philippines Visa Extension: How to Stay Past 30 Days

A US passport gets 30 days in the Philippines without a visa, and you can stay far longer without leaving. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) extends a tourist stay in steps: 29 days first, then 1, 2 or 6 months at a time, up to 36 months for nationalities that need no visa. Here is what each step costs as of October 2026, how to file, and when the ID card and exit clearance come in.

How long you can stay in the Philippines without a visa

US passport holders, and the other nationalities covered by Executive Order 408, can enter the Philippines visa-free for stays of up to 30 days (Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles). The consulate sets 3 conditions for that entry:

• A ticket out. A return or onward ticket.
• Passport validity. A machine-readable or e-passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned stay.
• A blank page. At least 1 in the passport.

Register or update your details on eTravel, at etravel.gov.ph or in the eGovPH app, in the 72 hours before you arrive (eTravel). eTravel is a free arrival registration, not a visa, and BI warns that foreigners who willfully give false information on it can be denied entry.

Former Filipino citizens traveling on a US passport have a longer route: the Balikbayan privilege gives up to 1 year visa-free, and a foreign spouse and children qualify when they travel together with the Balikbayan. For everyone else on a tourist entry, anything past day 30 goes through BI.

Philippines visa extension stages and fees

There is no single extension that takes you to 36 months. BI extends a stay in stages, and each stage has its own fee table.

Stage	What you file	Adds	BI fee	ACR I-Card	ECC-A to leave
Days 1 to 30	Nothing: visa-free entry	30 days	None	No	No
Days 31 to 59	Visa waiver	29 days	PHP 3,030	No	No
First extension past day 59	Extension of authorized stay	1 or 2 months	PHP 4,400 or PHP 4,900	Yes: US$50 plus PHP 500 express fee	No
Next extensions	Extension after the regular 2 months	1 or 2 months	PHP 2,430 or PHP 2,930	Already issued	Once your stay reaches 6 months
7th month of stay	Extension after 6 months of stay	1 or 2 months	PHP 3,840 or PHP 4,340	Already issued	Yes
After a regular extension	Long-Stay Visitor Visa Extension (LSVVE), BI Main Office	Up to 6 months	PHP 11,500	ACR and I-Card lines included	Yes, from 6 months of stay

BI’s page says these fees were “updated as of 06 March 2014 and may change without prior notice”, and the amounts above are the ones it still published on 23 Oct 2026. The Order of Payment slip you get at the counter is the amount you actually pay.

Extending from 30 to 59 days with a visa waiver

The visa waiver is for tourists who entered without a visa and were admitted for 30 days. It adds 29 days, which takes you to day 59 (Bureau of Immigration). BI’s fee table breaks it down like this:

Fee line	PHP
Visa waiver	500
Visa waiver application fee	1,000
Certification fee	500
Legal research fee	30
Express fee	1,000
Total	3,030

You file it at the BI Main Office in Manila, at another immigration office authorized for the transaction, or through BI eServices where the portal offers it. If 59 days covers your trip, this is the only extension you need, and it brings no ID card and no exit clearance.

Extending past 59 days and the ACR I-Card

When your stay is going to run past day 59, you file for an extension of authorized stay and also need an ACR I-Card. The ACR I-Card is a microchipped, credit-card-sized ID that BI issues to registered foreigners, temporary visitor visa holders included, once their stay passes 59 days. For nationalities that need no visa, BI’s table charges by age:

Age	1 month	2 months	On top
Under 14	PHP 3,150	PHP 3,650	US$50 ACR I-Card, PHP 500 card express fee
14 to under 16	PHP 4,150	PHP 4,650	US$50 ACR I-Card, PHP 500 card express fee
16 and over	PHP 4,400	PHP 4,900	US$50 ACR I-Card, PHP 500 card express fee

At every age, and at every later stage, 2 months cost PHP 500 more than 1 month and save you a filing.

After that regular 2-month extension, the next ones are cheaper: PHP 2,430 for 1 month or PHP 2,930 for 2 months, and the table for them carries no ACR I-Card charge.

Staying past 6 months: the 6-month extension and the ECC

BI has a separate table for extensions after 6 months of stay, charged on the 7th month: PHP 3,840 for 1 month or PHP 4,340 for 2 months. Both totals include a PHP 1,400 Certificate of Residence for temporary visitors.

The Long-Stay Visitor Visa Extension (LSVVE) is the 6-month option. You file it at the BI Main Office, either when a regular extension expires or during the last 30 days of a previous LSVVE, and it extends your stay by no more than 6 months from the end of your authorized stay. For nationalities that need no visa the total is PHP 11,500, which includes the ACR and I-Card lines.

Leaving after a long stay needs 1 more document. If you hold a temporary visitor visa and have stayed 6 months or more, you must get an Emigration Clearance Certificate, the ECC-A, before you depart. Apply at least 72 hours before your flight. The ECC-A is valid for 1 month from issue and works for 1 departure only.

An invented sample using BI’s published fees as of 23 Oct 2026. Sam, 41, flies into Manila on a US passport on 1 Nov 2026, which is day 1, and wants to stay until late May 2027. Each filing goes in at least 7 days before the current stay runs out, and the exact last day of each stay is the one stamped in Sam’s passport.

Filing date	Day of stay	What Sam files	Stay now runs to	BI fee
20 Nov 2026	20	Visa waiver	Day 59, 29 Dec 2026	PHP 3,030
18 Dec 2026	48	First extension, 2 months	Late Feb 2027	PHP 4,900, plus US$50 ACR I-Card and PHP 500 card express fee
16 Feb 2027	108	Extension after the regular 2 months, 2 months	Late Apr 2027	PHP 2,930
20 Apr 2027	171	Extension covering the 7th month, 1 month	Late May 2027	PHP 3,840, including the PHP 1,400 Certificate of Residence
21 May 2027	202	ECC-A, at least 72 hours before the flight	Flies out 25 May 2027, day 206	Not included here

The extensions add up to PHP 3,030 + 4,900 + 500 + 2,930 + 3,840 = PHP 15,200, plus US$50 for the ACR I-Card, and the ECC-A is a separate application on top. Sam needs it because by 25 May the stay has passed 6 months, and 206 days is far inside the 36-month maximum.

How to apply for a Philippines visa extension

You can file in person or online. BI’s Commissioner said on 12 Nov 2025 that foreigners can process visa extensions through the eServices portal at e-services.immigration.gov.ph without visiting an office (Bureau of Immigration). The statement covers visa extensions in general and does not list stages, so if the portal does not offer yours, file at an office.

BI’s checklist for extending a temporary visitor’s stay asks for 2 things in most cases: the Consolidated General Application Form (CGAF) for extension of a Temporary Visitor’s Visa, and your original passport. A downgrading order is added only if you had one, and an overstay of more than 6 months, or past the maximum stay, adds a notarized letter of explanation with supporting documents. The checklist asks for no reason for wanting to stay, though BI can request more documents.

Someone else can file for you. BI accepts a representative with an original Special Power of Attorney and a copy of their government ID, or an accredited representative with their BI accreditation ID.

Filing an extension at a BI office

1. Check the last day of your current stay in your passport and count back 7 days: that is the latest day BI asks you to file.
2. Fill in the CGAF for extension of a Temporary Visitor’s Visa, from the BI website or the Public Information and Assistance Unit at the BI Main Office.
3. Hand the form, any attachments and your passport to the frontline officer.
4. Wait for clearance: with no derogatory record you get a BI Clearance Certificate, and otherwise you go to the Verification and Certification Unit.
5. Take the Order of Payment slip to the cashier, pay, and keep the Official Receipt.
6. Submit the receipt with the form and passport to the receiving or assessment officer.
7. Collect your passport stamped with the extension and note the new last day.

Overstay fines and blacklisting in the Philippines

An overstay is settled through an extension with fines on top. BI’s fee table adds PHP 500 for every month of overstay. If you overstay more than 6 months, or past the 36-month or 24-month maximum, you also file a motion for reconsideration at PHP 500 plus a PHP 10 legal research fee. An administrative fine of PHP 5,000 then applies for every year of overstay, with 18 months counted as 2 years, though Balikbayans are exempt from it.

Should you extend or do a visa run from the Philippines?

Because BI keeps extending a tourist stay for up to 36 months, a visa run out of the Philippines is a choice, not the only way to stay longer. On a US passport, flying back in is a new visa-free entry of up to 30 days, with the same ticket out, passport validity and eTravel registration as the first time. The immigration officer at the airport decides each entry, and the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 lets officers exclude a traveler who is not properly documented. BI counts the 36-month maximum from your latest recorded arrival.

For 29 extra days, the visa waiver costs PHP 3,030 and a filing, while a run costs 2 international flights and a new entry decision.

Thailand and Indonesia also allow extending a tourist stay without leaving, but on a visa-free entry or a visa on arrival neither comes close to 36 months. In Thailand, an extension of the 30-day exemption adds 1 more period of up to 30 days, solely at the immigration officer’s discretion (Royal Thai Embassy, Washington). In Bali, a visa on arrival extends only once, so a stay there ends at day 60 unless you leave Indonesia.

	Philippines	Thailand	Bali (Indonesia)
Stay on entry	30 days visa-free	30 days visa-exempt, since 15 Sep 2026	30 days on a visa on arrival, IDR 500,000
Extensions	29 days for PHP 3,030, then 1, 2 or 6 months at a time	Up to 30 days, 1,900 baht	30 days, once
Longest stay without leaving	Up to 36 months	Up to 60 days	60 days