Tourist Visa Extension: 30 Days, Then 59
Bureau of Immigration · immigration
Quick answer
Visa-free entry under EO 408 gives 30 days. A 29-day visa waiver takes you to the 59-day maximum initial stay, costing ₱2,130.00 at the regular lane or ₱3,030.00 online. After 59 days you extend by 1, 2 or 6 months, up to 24 or 36 months total.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from Bureau of Immigration's official published sources: Bureau of Immigration | Citizen's Charter 2025, 1st Edition (https://immigration.gov.ph/citizens-charter/, retrieved 2026-09-01). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with Bureau of Immigration before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-09-01.
The 30 and the 59
Two numbers govern a tourist stay in the Philippines.
30 days is what visa-free entry under Executive Order 408 gives you on arrival.
59 days is the maximum initial stay. You reach it by adding a 29-day visa waiver to the original 30, and the charter is explicit that this completes the maximum initial stay for aliens.
| Stage | Days | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival under EO 408 | 30 | Visa-free admission |
| Visa waiver | +29 | The initial extension |
| Maximum initial stay | 59 | After this, ordinary extensions begin |
The visa waiver is a one-off. It is not a monthly extension and cannot be repeated. After 59 days you are on a different track with different fees.
What the visa waiver costs, three ways
The same 29 days is priced differently depending on how you buy it.
| Route | Fee |
|---|---|
| Regular lane | ₱2,130.00 |
| E-services online | ₱3,030.00 |
| Express lane | ₱3,130.00 |
The online route is the odd one. It costs ₱900.00 more than walking into the regular lane, and only ₱100.00 less than paying for express service at the counter. Whatever the online system saves, it is not money.
What it does save is time: processed without issues, the charter gives the whole online transaction as 3 minutes. With an issue that TVS clears, 5 minutes. With an issue requiring compliance, 8 minutes, exclusive of the online payment.
You need an original passport, a registered email, and an e-services account. The charter warns that the information you provide must be an exact match of BI travel records, which is where most rejections come from.
The tourist visa extension calculator prices a stay past the 59-day maximum by lane and nationality, where two-month blocks come out materially cheaper than paying monthly.
After 59 days
Extensions then run monthly, every 2 months, or every 6 months. The fees are by age band, and every one of them excludes the US $50.00 ACR I-Card fee converted at the BSP rate.
One month after 59 days, regular lane:
| Age band | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minor | ₱2,150.00 |
| 14 to 15 years of age | ₱3,150.00 |
| 16 years and above | ₱3,400.00 |
Two months after 59 days, regular lane:
| Age band | Non-visa required | Visa required |
|---|---|---|
| Minor | ₱2,650.00 | ₱2,950.00 |
| 14 to 15 years of age | ₱3,650.00 | ₱3,950.00 |
| 16 years and above | ₱3,900.00 | ₱4,200.00 |
Note that the two-month extension for a 16-year-old and above at ₱3,900.00 is barely more than the one-month at ₱3,400.00. ₱500.00 buys the second month, which makes extending in two-month blocks materially cheaper than monthly for anyone staying a while.
Special initial extensions
Two groups have their own initial extension rate instead of the EO 408 visa waiver.
| Passport | Regular lane | Express lane |
|---|---|---|
| BNO, Portuguese-Macau, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, PROC with AJACS visa, Indian with AJACSSUK visa | ₱1,430.00 | ₱2,430.00 |
| Brazilian, minor | ₱1,640.00 | ₱2,140.00 |
| Brazilian, 14 to 15 | ₱2,640.00 | ₱3,140.00 |
| Brazilian, 16 and above | ₱2,890.00 | ₱3,390.00 |
Indian passport holders with a valid America, Japan, Australia, Canada, Schengen, Singapore or UK visa are on a different pattern entirely: 14 days admission and a 7-day one-time or final extension under FSC 36-12.
The express lane surcharge is not flat
It is tempting to read the express lane as a fixed premium. It is not.
| Extension | Regular | Express | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial extension, BNO and similar | ₱1,430.00 | ₱2,430.00 | ₱1,000.00 |
| Visa waiver, EO 408 | ₱2,130.00 | ₱3,130.00 | ₱1,000.00 |
| One month, 16 and above | ₱3,400.00 | ₱4,400.00 | ₱1,000.00 |
| Two months, non-visa required, 16 and above | ₱3,900.00 | ₱4,900.00 | ₱1,000.00 |
| Two months, visa required, 16 and above | ₱4,200.00 | ₱5,700.00 | ₱1,500.00 |
| Brazilian initial, 16 and above | ₱2,890.00 | ₱3,390.00 | ₱500.00 |
Most extensions carry a ₱1,000.00 express premium. Visa-required nationals taking a two-month extension pay ₱1,500.00, and Brazilians on an initial extension pay only ₱500.00. The charter offers no explanation for the difference, and it is worth checking your own row rather than assuming the ₱1,000.00 applies.
The ceiling
Extensions are not open-ended. Three conditions must all hold:
- Your authorized stay has not yet expired;
- Your passport validity is more than 6 months; and
- Your total stay has not reached the maximum allowable period.
| National type | Maximum total stay |
|---|---|
| Non-visa required | 36 months |
| Visa required | 24 months |
| AJACS and AJACSSUK visa holders | 21 days |
Overstaying is a different process
Once you are more than 12 months overstaying, or past the 24 or 36 month cap, you leave the e-services route entirely.
That service is classified Highly Technical and needs the recommendation of the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division and the approval of the Commissioner. The form is BI Form IRD04.QF.004, and a derogatory record check that finds a hit adds 2 working days on its own.
The counter steps are quick, at 5 minutes to review and 2 minutes to issue a claim stub, but those numbers describe the paperwork, not the approval, which is exactly the pattern seen elsewhere in the charter.
Related pages
Any stay long enough to need repeated extensions eventually brings in the ACR I-Card, whose US $50.00 fee is excluded from every extension figure on this page. Working here rather than visiting means an Alien Employment Permit from DOLE, and earning income means registering for a TIN.
Where this goes wrong
Treating the 29-day waiver as a monthly extension. It is a one-off that completes the 59-day maximum initial stay.
Assuming the online route is cheaper. It is ₱3,030.00 against ₱2,130.00 at the regular counter.
Forgetting the ACR I-Card is extra. Every extension fee here excludes US $50.00 for the card.
Extending monthly out of habit. The second month costs ₱500.00 on top of a one-month extension for a 16-and-above applicant.
Letting the authorized stay expire first. An unexpired stay is a condition of extending, and overstaying moves you to a Highly Technical process needing the Commissioner’s approval.
Frequently asked questions
- How long can I stay visa-free?
- 30 days on arrival under Executive Order 408. A 29-day visa waiver extends that to 59 days, which the charter calls the maximum initial stay for aliens. Beyond 59 days you move onto ordinary extensions.
- How much is the visa waiver?
- ₱2,130.00 at the regular lane, ₱3,130.00 at the express lane, and ₱3,030.00 through the e-services online system. The online route costs ₱900.00 more than the regular counter and ₱100.00 less than express.
- What is the maximum total stay?
- 36 months for non-visa required nationals and 24 months for visa required nationals. Holders of AJACS and AJACSSUK visas have a 21-day cap. Those are stated as conditions on any further extension, so reaching them ends the ordinary route.
- How much is a one-month extension after 59 days?
- At the regular lane, ₱2,150.00 for a minor, ₱3,150.00 at 14 to 15 years of age, and ₱3,400.00 at 16 and above. Every one of those figures is exclusive of the US $50.00 ACR I-Card fee, which is converted at the BSP rate.
- Is the express lane worth it?
- That depends on which extension, because the surcharge is not uniform. It is ₱1,000.00 on most extensions, ₱1,500.00 on a two-month extension for visa-required nationals, and only ₱500.00 on a Brazilian initial extension.
- What conditions must I meet to extend?
- Three, and all must hold: your authorized stay has not yet expired, your passport validity is more than six months, and your total stay has not reached the maximum allowable period. Letting the stay lapse first moves you into a different and slower process.
- What if I have already overstayed?
- Overstaying more than 12 months, or staying beyond the 24 or 36 month cap, is a separate service classified as Highly Technical. It requires the recommendation of the Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division and the approval of the Commissioner, which is a different order of process from clicking through e-services.
- Do Indian passport holders get different treatment?
- Yes. Indian passport holders with a valid America, Japan, Australia, Canada, Schengen, Singapore or UK visa get a 14-day admission and a 7-day one-time or final extension under FSC 36-12, rather than the 30-plus-29 pattern.