Hi Steven, No need to apply for the 9a before you leave the US. Americans get can enter the Philippines for 30 days visa-exempt. You can then extend another 29 days (technically called a visa waiver) through a Bureau of Immigration office or their website. You can use that time to apply for your 13a marriage visa. If you need more time after 59 days, you can keep extending by 1,2, or 6 months for up to 3 years. If you have any more questions about the visa process or your 13a application, we can help.

If I apply after 7days before my visa expires is there a penalty

Hi Daryl, yes, it would be considered an visa overstay. How much it would cost you depends on the immigration agent, but you can use $73 as an estimate. The breakdown of an overstay cost is here.

Hi there, what happens in the case where you extent your Tourist VISA for 2 months, get your ACR Card, then Leave the Philippines. You then decide to return to the Philippines and you get a new 30 Day VISA on Arrival stamp, resetting the process, will your ACR Card (1 year validity) still be deemed as valid?

Hi Ryan, Assuming you have a tourist ACR, then yes, it should still be valid if you leave then return to the Philippines on a new 30 Day visa-exempt stamp.

Hi Marco, Thanks for the info about filing the 29 day visa waiver online. That was a huge time saver! You mention that the tourist visa extensions can't be done online, though when I did the visa waiver, it had a section on the website for Tourist Visa Extensions (1, 2 and 6 months). Is this something new they've added since your guide was posted, or if one were to use the Tourist Visa Extension on the website, would it just be rejected and need to be done in person? Just want to check before spending time/money using the e-forms. Thank you.

Hi Sam, it's new. Within the last few months, the BOI revised the website to allow extensions online. There are two caveats: One, you aren't guaranteed 6 months. Two, sometimes the website doesn't want to work, which case, you'll need to do it the old fashion way. I'll be updating this article for 2024 soon. Cheers!

Hi! I'm a US citizen and I've already booked my flight to the Philippines in January and will be staying for 37 days. Do I apply online for the waiver after my arrival? I followed your steps and got this message on the portal: "The supplied latest arrival date does not match our records."
Thank you very much for the assistance.

Correct. You apply for your 29 day waiver (some folks refer to it as a visa extension) after you arrive. You can apply online or at the Terminal 3 Bureau of Immigration branch at the airport.

What's the best way to setup my flights?

Thank you for your response, Marco! Btw, I've seen some info saying it is required to present an onward ticket dated within 30 days after the arrival date. Does that apply to me even if I'm coming from the US which is visa-exempt? I'm quite troubled as I've already bought my roundtrip tickets several months ago, I'm arriving Jan 10,2024 and my return flight is on Feb 14, 2024.

You are required to have an onward departure ticket no more than 30 days from your arrival date, even if you plan to extend your visa. There are several ways to get an onward ticket if you want to stay longer, however, most foreigners and expats just rent an onward ticket for $16 from here.

Hi Yato, regrettably, there is no super secret site that gives cheap airfare to the Philippines, but Kiwi travel does have "hacked" flights that you don't see listed on normal websites. Give Kiwi Travel a shot.

CAN I CHANGE MY FLIGHT FIRST BEFORE APPLYING FOR EXTENSION TO STAY IN PHILIPPINES MORE OR NO?

Hi San, to clarify, are you talking about your flight out of the Philippines or your arrival flight?