It’s Thursday, time yet again for another installment of our regular Questions and Answers segment of PhilFAQS, the place to get the answers about living in the Philippines.  I really should have started this article out with a hearty  Konnichiwa to our Japanese readers and friends, because I notice a number of recent searches from Japan regarding:

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How long can a Japanese national can stay in the Philippines?

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The short answer is, everything you read about US visitors is essentially the same for our Japanese friends.  The Philippines is a pretty easy country to visit for the vast majority of the world’s citizens and much, much easier to stay long-term in than say, the US.  Here’s the full list of countries that can visit the Philippines and follow the same set of rules:

ENTRY VISA INFORMATION

• Guidelines on the Entry of Temporary Visitors to the Philippines
  1. Nationals from countries listed below who are traveling to the Philippines for business and tourism purposes are allowed to enter the Philippines without visas for a stay not exceeding twenty-one (21) days, provided they hold valid tickets for their return journey to port of origin or next port of destination and their passports valid for a period of at least six (6) months beyond the contemplated period of stay. However, Immigration Officers at ports of entry may exercise their discretion to admit holders of passports valid for at least sixty (60) days beyond the intended period of stay.
  2. Nationals from the following countries are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a period of stay of twenty-one (21) days of less:
     1. Andorra
     2. Angola
     3. Antigua and Barbuda
     4. Argentina
     5. Australia
     6. Austria
     7. Bahamas
     8. Bahrain
     9. Barbados
     10. Belgium
     11. Benin
     12. Bhutan
     13. Bolivia
     14. Botswana
     15. Brazil*
     16. Brunei Darussalam
     17. Bulgaria
     18. Burkina Faso
     19. Burundi
     20. Cambodia
     21. Cameroon
     22. Canada
     23. Cape Verde
     24. Central African Republic
     25. Chad
     26. Chile
     27. Colombia
     28. Comoros
     29. Congo
     30. Costa Rica
     31. Cote d’Ivoire
     32. Cyprus
     33. Czech Republic
     34. Democratic Republic of the Congo
     35. Denmark
     36. Djibouti
     37. Dominica
     38. Dominican Republic
     39. Ecuador
     40. El Salvador
     41. Equatorial Guinea
     42. Eritrea
     43. Ethiopia
     44. Fiji
     45. Finland
     46. France
     47. Gabon
     48. Gambia
     49. Germany
     50. Ghana
     51. Gibraltar
     52. Greece
     53. Grenada
     54. Guatemala
     55. Guinea
     56. Guinea Bissau
     57. Guyana
     58. Haiti
     59. Honduras
     60. Hungary
     61. Iceland
     62. Indonesia
     63. Ireland
     64. Israel*
     65. Italy
     66. Jamaica
     67. Japan
     68. Kenya
     69. Kiribati
     70. Kuwait
     71. Lao People’s Democratic Republic
     72. Lesotho
     73. Liberia
     74. Liechtenstein
     75. Luxembourg
     76. Madagascar
     77. Malawi
     78. Malaysia
     79. Maldives
     80. Mali
     81. Malta
     82. Marshall Islands
     83. Mauritania
     84. Mauritius
     85. Mexico
     86. Micronesia
     87. Monaco
     88. Mongolia
     89. Morocco
     90. Mozambique
     91. Myanmar
     92. Namibia
     93. Nepal
     94. Netherlands
     95. New Zealand
     96. . Nicaragua
     97. Niger
     98. Norway
     99. Oman
     100. Palau
     101. Panama
     102. Papua New Guinea
     103. Paraguay
     104. Peru
     105. Poland
     106. Portugal
     107. Qatar
     108. Republic of Korea
     109. Romania
     110. Rwanda
     111. Saint Kitts and Nevis
     112. Saint Lucia
     113. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
     114. Samoa
     115. San Marino
     116. Sao Tome and Principe
     117. Saudi Arabia
     118. Senegal
     119. Seychelles
     120. Singapore
     121. Slovakia
     122. Solomon Islands
     123. Somalia
     124. South Africa
     125. Spain
     126. Suriname
     127. Swaziland
     128. Sweden
     129. Switzerland
     130. Thailand
     131. Togo
     132. Trinidad and Tobago
     133. Tunisia
     134. Turkey
     135. Tuvalu
     136. Uganda
     137. United Arab Emirates
     138. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
     139. United Republic of Tanzania
     140. United States of America
     141. Uruguay
     142. Venezuela
     143. Vietnam
     144. Zambia
     145. Zimbabwe
  3. The following are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a stay not exceeding fifty-nine (59) days:
     1. Holders of Brazil passports; and
     2. Holders of Israel passports
  4. The following nationals are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a stay not exceeding seven (7) days.
     1. Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports.
     2. Holders of British National Overseas (BNO) passports.
     3. Holders of Portuguese Passports issued in Macao
     4. Holders of Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports

So, if you get a visa from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo in advance of your visit, you can stay for 59 days. (60 really, the day you arrive is a day “in the Philippines”, the day you leave is not counted as a day in the Philippines.)

If you come with no visa, you get an automatic, no cost “visa waiver” stamp at the airport.  Either the standard 59 day visa or the visa a waiver can be extended at any Philippine Bureau i-of Immigration office (for a fee, typically PhP 3000 or PhP 4000 (about 6000 to 7000 Yen at today’s rate)  extensions are for 2 months at a time up to a total of 16 months.  You may also stay longer than 16 months but this requires direct application/approval from the BI central office and is on a case by case basis).

You may leave the country at any time during those first 14 months and return, and the “cl
ock” will be reset for another 16 month stay.

If you are married to (or happen to get married to) a Philippine national or former Philippine national, then she or he can sponsor you for a permanent residency visa, which is good for life.

If you are unmarried, or married to a national of a country aside from the Philippines, you can look into an SRRV (Special Resident Retirement Visa).  There are investments required with this visa, they vary based on your age, but the program also provides a life-time “come and go” permanent Philippine residency status.  This program is quite popular with Japanese nationals to my understanding, you may have seen it marketed in Japan.

Lastly, if you are a businessman and want to open a business employing Filipinos. you may want to kook into an SVEG (Special Visa for Employment Generation) which requires substantial investment in a business but also provides lifetime come and go privileges.

Hope this helps.  As noted, these choices not only apply to our Japanese tomodachi wanting to visit the Philippines , but to all nationals listed in the unrestricted list above.

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So, what’s your question?  Leave me a message here, call me on 719-966-4295 or text me on 0919-231-5625. More Q&A next week

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