Do I Need a Visa for the Philippines? (Updated September 2026)

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The Philippines is one of the easiest countries in Asia to walk into, with one online form you must not forget. This guide was checked against the UK Foreign Office advice and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration in September 2026.

Do I need a visa for the Philippines?

Visa-free for 30 days: British, Irish, EU, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand passport holders can enter the Philippines without a visa for tourism or business and stay up to 30 days. Americans get the same 30 days as everyone else; the 59-day visa-free stay applies only to Brazilian and Israeli passports.

eTravel is compulsory: within the 72 hours before you arrive, register on the government's free eTravel system at etravel.gov.ph and keep the QR code it gives you. Some airlines will not let you board a flight to the Philippines without it. It replaced the old paper arrival card.

Proof of onward travel: immigration officers and airlines may ask to see a return or onward ticket, so have it to hand.

Staying longer than 30 days: extend at a Bureau of Immigration office before your 30 days are up, or, if you know before you go, ask a Philippine embassy or consulate for a 59-day visa instead.

• Stay: 30 days visa-free from the day you arrive.
• Passport: valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned stay.
• Extending: the first extension adds 29 days (59 in total) at a Bureau of Immigration office; further extensions are possible after that.
• Overstaying: is treated seriously: fees and fines, detention if you cannot pay, or deportation at your own cost.

Entry requirements

• A passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your planned stay.
• Your eTravel QR code, from etravel.gov.ph, registered within 72 hours of arrival.
• A return or onward ticket.
• A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with a risk of transmission, and a polio vaccination certificate from certain countries.
• Currency limits: no more than 50,000 Philippine pesos, and foreign currency worth over US$10,000 must be declared on arrival.
• Leaving from Cebu: the UK Foreign Office says a departure tax of 850 pesos applies at Mactan-Cebu airport (there is none at Manila). Check with your airline whether it is in your fare.

Registering on eTravel (and extending your stay)

No visa application is needed for a trip of up to 30 days. What every traveller does need is the eTravel registration, and anyone staying past 30 days needs an extension.

• Register on the official site only: etravel.gov.ph. It is free; the Bureau of Immigration has warned about copycat sites that charge for it, and a QR code bought from one of them will not work at the airport.
• Do it in the 72 hours before you land: fill in your passport and flight details, then save the QR code on your phone or print it.
• Show it twice: at check-in, where airlines may ask for it, and at immigration on arrival.
• To extend: go to a Bureau of Immigration office with your passport before day 30 and apply for the 29-day extension, which takes you to 59 days. Longer stays are extended again from there.
• Need a visa? If your passport is not visa-exempt, or you want a longer visa before you travel, apply through the Philippine embassy or consulate for your country.

The quickest way to see the exact rules for your passport is to check your requirements with Sherpa, which keeps track of the latest entry changes for you.

Travelling within the Philippines

Once you are through immigration, the whole country is open with no extra permits, from Manila to Cebu, Bohol, Boracay and Palawan. All four of our group trips fit inside the 30 days: the 10-day Express Adventure from Cebu to Boracay by way of the Moalboal sardine run and Osmeña Peak, the 14-day Backpacking Philippines from Manila to Coron, the 17-day Island Explorer with its three-day boat expedition from Coron to El Nido, and the 23-day Philippines Expedition. Volunteers on teaching, environmental conservation or construction placements longer than 30 days need the extension. For the best months to go, see our Philippines weather guide.

Official sources

Check the latest visa requirements:

• UK Foreign Office: Philippines entry requirements
• eTravel (official registration)
• Bureau of Immigration: visa waiver extensions
• Contact the Philippines embassy or consulate in your country

Handy tools for your trip

• Flights: compare fares for your Philippines flights on Skyscanner.
• Money: dodge bad exchange rates with a Wise travel card.
• Travel insurance: cover your backpacking trip with Nomad Insurance from SafetyWing.

No visa, one free QR code and 7,000 islands. Do the eTravel form when you check in for your flight and the rest is beaches. Check out our Philippines backpacking tours.