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<\/p>\nOverstaying is a serious matter for anyone who\u2019s looking to visit the Philippines. Much like how Filipinos get deported when they overstay with a tourist visa overseas, any foreign national caught overstaying will get deported.<\/p>\n
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OVERSTAYING. It involves jail time, fines, and never being able to go back to the Philippines. Make sure you visit \u00a0the Bureau of Immigration before your visa expires. Image grabbed from\u00a0Philippine Directory<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of information going around the internet about how to avoid getting caught, but overstaying will still be overstaying and if you get caught, you\u2019ll never be able to go back to the country ever again. There\u2019s also a lot of information about when can you be considered as overstaying, which can sometimes be inaccurate.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a simple guide to the basics of overstaying and what you should be doing in case you are about to go beyond the stay your visa will allow:<\/p>\n What is overstaying?<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019re an overstaying national if you\u2019ve exceeded the maximum number of days your visa allows. This poses a problem, though, as 163 countries<\/a> are allowed visa-free entry into the Philippines for anywhere between seven to 59 days.<\/p>\n ENTRY, EXIT, AND TRANSIT. Take note of these colors and stamps, as they are crucial to whether or not you\u2019ll be allowed back into the country. Image grabbed from <\/em>pixabay<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Out of these 163 countries, only Brazilians and Israelis are allowed to stay for 59 days without a visa. Anyone who wants to stay beyond 59 days will have to be brought up with the Bureau of Immigration (BI); otherwise, you\u2019ll be sent home packing, no questions asked.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t be able to get away with overstaying in the Philippines since you\u2019ll be deported and blacklisted, i.e. you\u2019ll never be able to go back in the country again. If you want your Black List Order (BLO) lifted, you\u2019ll have to file a letter of request addressed to the Commissioner of the BI. It\u2019s best to get assistance from an immigration lawyer to have this arranged for you.<\/p>\n What to do if you\u2019re about to overstay<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re about to be tagged as overstaying, there\u2019s really only one thing you can do: go to nearest immigration office or the BI main office seven days before your visa expires and settle everything that needs to be settled (fees and documents).<\/p>\n The process will depend on the length of your stay, but the most you can extend is 6 months. You can still stay in the Philippines without actually extending your stay for 6 months as long as your passport remains valid, but you\u2019ll already be tagged as overstaying the moment it goes beyond what your visa or visa-free entry allows.<\/p>\n As most foreign nationals visiting the country are from countries that do not require a visa for a visit of at most 30 days, we\u2019ll put a focus on getting a Visa waiver, issued to tourists who want to request for an initial extension of 29 days.<\/p>\n Note: Before you proceed to the Bureau of Immigration to process your visa extension, please go through this <\/em>checklist<\/em><\/a> of documentary requirements for a tourist visa extension.<\/em><\/p>\n If you want to go beyond 59 days, you should get a Long-Stay Visitor Visa Extension, or LSVVE. The process is similar to getting a visa extension, but it will involve a much higher fee of P11,500, broken down as follows:<\/p>\n Fine for overstaying is at P500 per month. You\u2019ll also be charged an additional P500 if you go beyond the maximum allowable stay or if you\u2019ve overstayed for more than 6 months to get a Motion for Reconsideration on Updating and Extension of Authorized Stay.<\/p>\n![\"passport-1402644_1920\"](\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/tips-guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/11\/passport-1402644_1920.jpg\")
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