The Philippine government plans to implement an electronic visa system

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has announced plans to implement an electronic visa system in the Philippines by the end of this year. Vice Minister for Jesus Domingo confirmed that the e-visa system will be launched in the third quarter of 2023. 

"The Philippine e-Visa system will allow foreign nationals to apply for appropriate Philippine visas remotely through personal computers, laptops, and mobile devices," Domingo explained.

Currently, only Taiwanese citizens have access to electronic authorization to travel to the Philippines. However, the new e-visa system will be available to a wide range of citizens, although the exact list of eligible countries has not yet been confirmed.

Travelers considering applying for an e-visa for the Philippines should be aware that there are additional entry requirements that they will need to meet. For example, eTravel to the Philippines is still required to enter the country.

The inclusion of the e-visa option in the Philippines' visa policy is expected to greatly simplify entry procedures and boost the country's tourism sector, which is important to its economy.

Domingo emphasized that the e-visa system will make the visa application process faster, more efficient and convenient for foreign nationals who want to visit the Philippines for tourism and business purposes.

Jaime FlorCruz, Philippine ambassador to China, hopes the new system will attract more Chinese visitors to the country. Before the pandemic, China was the second largest source of tourists to the Philippines after South Korea.

However, despite 1.7 million Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines in 2019, travelers from China are yet to return to the country in similar numbers.

"The outbound travel is modest and I think we’re getting a good share of that," FlorCruz noted. "But the reality is that the Chinese are not yet traveling out of China with full force as they used to".

Nevertheless, the ambassador is confident that the introduction of the e-visa system will encourage Chinese travelers to look at the Philippines again as a tourist destination.

The Philippines e-visa system provides a unique opportunity for tourists and business visitors to apply for and obtain a visa online. This means that visa-eligible travelers no longer need to visit embassies for paperwork.

Moreover, the introduction of e-visa will reduce the number of documents required and the time it takes to apply for a regular visa.

The Philippine government is actively working to make the e-visa process not only affordable but also user-friendly. With just a few simple steps, applicants will be able to complete the process and receive their e-visas via email.

The e-visa system in the Philippines is being developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in conjunction with the Department of Information and Communication Technology. Although the system is in its final stages of development, the latter organization's secretary, Ivan John Yu, stressed that there is still "anti-fraud element that needs to be consolidated with the platform" before it can be fully implemented. On our website you can order a visa for the Philippines at an affordable price.