Visas
The Department of Foreign Affairs, through its Philippine diplomatic and consular establishments, is responsible for the administration abroad of Philippine immigration laws and regulations.
Aliens wishing to enter the Philippines need to apply for a visa to the Philippines. A visa means an endorsement made on a passport or travel document by the consular officer denoting that the visa application has been properly examined and that the holder is permitted to proceed to the Philippines. The visa thus issued is not a guarantee that the holder will be admitted into the country. Admission of aliens is a function of the immigration authority at the port of entry.
Click here for the list of aliens allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa.
As a general rule, all incoming foreign passengers must be in possession of a travel documents valid for at least six (6) months beyond the intended state in the Philippines. Click here for the advisory in this regard.
Visas are issued to aliens falling under the following categories:
A. Non-immigrants
- Temporary Visitors - visitors coming for business, pleasure, medical treatment, training, attendance in conferences, meetings and workshop/seminars; visitors on board private yacht/sailboat; persons visiting for the purpose of making a movie or film documentary; journalists, athletes and performing artists.
- Aliens in transit.
- Alien seamen.
- Treaty traders/investors.
- Accredited officials of foreign government, their families and attendants.
- Alien students and Foreign Nationals taking short-term non-Degree course
- Pre-Arranged employees.
- Special non-immigrants granted admission by the President.
- Refugees granted temporary admission by the President.
- Waiver of Exclusion Ground Requirements and Form.
B. Other Non-Immigrant Visas Allowed Under Special Laws
- Offshore Banking System Visa under PD 1034.
- Special Investors Residents Visa (SIRV) under EO 226.
- Special Resident Retiree's Visa under EO 226 (Philippine Retirement Authority).
- General Information (Philippine Retirement Authority)
- Application Form (Philippine Retirement Authority)
- Medical Form (Philippine Retirement Authority)
- Telegraphic Transfer Form (Philippine Retirement Authority)
- Bank Account Form (Philippine Retirement Authority)
- Subic Special Investor's Resident Visa under RA 7227.
- Subic Special Resident Retiree's Visa under RA 7227.
- Subic Special Working Visa under RA 7227.
- Quota Immigrants
- Preferred Quota Immigrants - Fathers and mothers of Filipino citizens who are 21 years of age or over; wives, husbands and unmarried minor children of permanent resident aliens.
- Non-Preferred Quota Immigrants
- Non-Quota Immigrants
- Wife or husband or unmarried minor children of Philippine citizens.
- Child of alien parents born during temporary visit abroad of permanent resident mother.
- Child born subsequent to issuance of immigrant visa to accompanying parent, visa not having expired.
- Filipino women who lost citizenship by marriage.
- Returning residents.
- Wife or the husband or the unmarried minor of an alien admitted the Philippines for permanent residence.
- Returning natural-born Filipinos who were naturalized as citizens of foreign countries.
RE-ENTRY PERMITS
Re-entry permits are issued to aliens previously lawfully admitted to the Philippines for permanent residence who wish to depart for temporary visit abroad. A returning resident when in possession of a valid re-entry permit does not need a visa to re-enter the Philippines.
The holder of a re-entry permit which is soon to expire, and who desires its extension must apply for its extension in the form of an affidavit sworn to before a Philippine consular officer. The application for extension may also be sent directly by its holder to the Philippine Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.
Application for extension shal lbe made within 60 days before the date of expiration of the permit.
The relevant visa application forms can be found in the Downloadable Forms section.
The above forms have been prepared and converted to Portable Document Format (PDF) format. This prevents the files from being inadvertently edited. It also facilitates viewing and makes downloading faster due top its optimal compressed file size. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to Print or View these documents. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader from here.
