FlyingSloth

I haven't been to Philippines since 2016. I'm only staying in Manila and Baguio for a month.

Does anyone know how the 30 days is calculated for a visa free stay? Say for example, if I arrive on April 7.. can I stay until May 6, 7, or 8?

I know it's possible to extend up to 59 days. Anyone know what the current few is for that in case it becomes necessary? I remember the pain of multiple visits to immigration offices in 2016.. and at some point they charge you for a pointless card to extract more money and also a mandatory "expedited fee" I can't remember though whether that's after the first extension or the second? I definitely don't wanna spend the extra $100 in fees for a 1 time extension. If it's a normal price I might just extend it. I still hate visiting the immigration offices though.. worse ones I've ever seen. Standing around in a packed room in dress pants with no A/C for 2 hours waiting for a stamp.

While I'm on the topic.. in the past I've done Airbnbs in the past. I'm wondering about hotels this time. Anyone have suggestions for safe and comfortable hotel with some amendities? Just want to get some ideas.

I've stayed in safer areas before in Manila.. likke BGC but still got my wallet stolen in broad daylight. Only been stolen from in 1 country out of 99 visited.. and it's been robbed twice in the Philippines.. and my Airbnb next door neighbor in Makati was also burgularized for everyrhing. Has anything changed or improved with the safety situation in the Philippines, especially Manila in recent years?

jeffrocowboy

Sorry to hear tour experiences.

8 visits since 2016 - no robberies etc.

Travel with husband who is Filipino - but still do plenty of walking/cafe visiting/shopping around Makati by myself and feel safe enough.

I like to stay in Makati - and we have always AirBnB in a condo (Beacon - great swimming pool) in the past. There is a reasonable policing of who enters the building. I have to admit the locks on the door are pretty flimsy, so if someone wanted to get in they could. It does seem largely residential although a few tourists are there (its large complex). I am likely to stay in hotels in September - but have not looked at this yet. AirBnB has lost its appeal after a few very average stays in Europe and increasingly restrictive cancellation policies.

kevino

You have to count each day, inc. the day you arrive and the day you depart, so May 6 is what I count.

RandomNobody

The rule is "today plus 30 days". At any rate, the leave-by date will be written on the entry stamp. That's the day you'll have to get on an airplane.

Examples: If you arrive November 1, you have to leave on December 1. If you arrive December 1, you have to leave on December 31. For your example, since April is a 30-day month, if you arrive April 7, you leave May 7.

I have been doing exactly 30 day visits exclusively for the last 10 years. For further support, here's a pic of a recent entry stamp of mine:

Recent 30-day entry stamp

RandomNobody

I need to check, but one could also get a tourist visa in advance, and that would be a 59-day visa. A single-entry visa good for 1 entry within 90 days was $30, which was about half the cost of an in-country extension (about P3600 or so). I used to use it a lot when the visa waiver was only 21 days. Not so much anymore with the 30-day waiver. You'd have to be near a Philippine Consulate, or mail your passport to one, though. I also said "I need to check" because they suspended the visa application during COVID, and I don't know if they've re-started it, yet. A multi-entry, good for 6 months was $60, and a 12-month multi-entry was $90. Each entry getting you 59 days.

Depending on which airport and terminal you go to you could also get the extension at the same time as entry. Acquaintances have had luck at NAIA T1 asking for an extension. if you had pesos on you, it was easy. They escorted you to the cashier and processed you for 59 days. If you didn't have pesos, you'd have to do a bit of sweet talking to get someone to escort you to a money changer before escorting you to the cashier.

FlyingSloth

ah thank you!

We still need to fill out the COVID health declaration at least 3 working days before arriving? But when I go to www.onehealthpass.com.ph all I get is error 404 not found

do you mean, on arrival you could ask for it?

thanks for the reply.. good info

Davvidd

It is not onehealthpass anymore. It is the e arrival card. It is www.etravel.gov.ph.

dinhoecotour

Regardless of whatever time you arrive, the date you arrive is day 1.

RandomNobody

No. Arrival day is day 0. The rule is "today plus 30 days". If he arrives April 7, he has to leave May 7, since April is a 30-day month.

Again, I've been doing exactly 30 day trips numerous times. See my post above (#4) for an example entry stamp.
And if you arrive right before midnight, don't dawdle trying to hit the desk after midnight. They know about that trick/attempt.

To further reinforce the statement, here's the exit stamp for the example entry stamp for post #4. This time I included both stamps. November is a 30-day month, and notice the Nov 4/Dec 4 pairing.



Entry and 30-day exit.

FlyingSloth

I have an unexpected question to ask everyone..

I'm currently suffering with some severe allergies and also a sore throat which might be related to the allergies or could be some bacterial infection (going to hopefully get it checked tomorrow). My trip to PH is coming soon. I already filled out the health declaration. I was supposed by the health declaration because to my knowledge the Philippines is the only country in Asia still doing that for COVID-19. It just made me wonder and start to worry.. is the Philippines enforcing any quarantines still or any airport testing, etc. if you 'look' sick, e.g: if you're sneezing due to allergies and have lost part of your voice. I don't know how far back in time the Philippines is over this.. so I just wanted to ask whether Philippines is still enforcing COVID stuff of any kind for arriving passengers, besides the health declaration, even for people who might appear to be sick? In my case.. I'm sneezing and watery eyes my usual hay fever symptoms.. this year it's pretty bad

Davvidd

Not they are not checking anything apart from that online thing. They will ask for the QR code on arrival. At the hotels all were checking your vaccination record. Certainly unto last month. They ask for this at check in. They do not ask for a PCR test but only the vaccination record.

RandomNobody

Pedantically, not quite. You do walk past an Infrared Camera on your way to the immigration checks. The camera is staffed by the Department of Health. So if you're feverish, you'll have to answer questions, if not a cursory examination. But practically, yes, it's just the E Travel Card/on-line health declaration. No more vaccine card checks. Though I would carry the vaccination card, as the Philippines is known to change the rules on the fly.

There might be a change in the future (think 12-24 months). As part of the recent immigration laws passed, the Philippine congress has opened up the authorization to 59 days. NOTE BENE!!!! The Bureau of Immigration still has to promulgate new rules to take advantage, so until you see a press release otherwise, assume your country's waiver rules haven't changed (e.g. most "western" countries get 30-day waivers). But keep an eye out for press releases to see if the BI has extended the waivers for your country. Conventional wisdom says that the likely beneficiaries will be the list of countries that already get 30-day waivers. Those with less than 30-day waivers currently aren't likely to get 59 days if BI does decide to extend.

That new law mainly modernized and restructured the BI. But there are 2 major changes that affect travelers directly. The potential for a 59-day waiver I listed in the previous paragraph is one. The other is the reduction of time-in-country before needing an exit clearance. Before, you didn't need an exit clearance until you were in-country for 6 months. The clearance was basically a criminal/legal background check to make sure there was nothing you had to stay in the PI to answer for. Now, the threshold is 59 days. Well, technically the threshold is once you had to extend a standard visa. Currently, a standard visa is 59 days.

teddybear99

When I had the need to extend, my hotel did all the paperwork for me. Sure, it cost me extra for them to send someone to the BPI (as it was known when I did), but I was able to go about my business in the PI while they did all the work.

FindingFoodFluency

China has a health declaration, too. It doesn't ask for any vaccines or test results, though.

italdesign

As mentioned above, China has a similar drill (health form, QR code, and self-administered RAT test), which I just went thru this week. I can share my experience.

As someone with year-round allergy long before Covid (and persists) and whose sneezing is exacerbated on planes, your question is dear to my heart. On the way to China, I was sneezing with runny nose quite a bit on the plane. My allergy has no other symptoms like cough, fever or anything, just sneezing and runny nose. At times I put tissues in my nostrils to avoid constant blowing. No one bothered me other than a sympathetic FA asking if everything is alright. This has been the drill for me for 10 years, Covid just made it a lil more noticeable perhaps.

In the past, the allergy persisted through immigration at times. This is where the mask comes in handy. I would put tissues in my nostrils under the mask, only taking them off when I'm front of line.

Fun story: on my first over-pond international trip after Covid (Mar 2022), I was having an allergy attack before departure. I had tissues up my noses under the mask. But for boarding, I had to take off the mask and forgot to remove the tissues beforehand. Was a fun "uh oh, are they gonna deny boarding" moment, but no problem after explanation.