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Over the last few years, some countries in Asia made it more and more difficult for long-term tourists (or none-working Expats) to stay longer than just a few months in country. Thailand only recently made their Visa Rules more difficult and complicated; before that monthly Visa Runs to the neighbouring countries were quite common.
Indonesia introduced a Visa-On Arrival (VOA) for maximum 30 days with respective fees only back in 2004 - before you could get a 3 months stamp for free. The bureaucratic processes to attain and extend a Social Visa are legendary. Although there were some rumours of longer VOA (up to 120 days) a few months back, those have yet to materialize.
I remember when I first went to the Philippines and overstayed my Visa for a few days, I paid something around USD 150 to be able to follow my already checked-in luggage on my plane out.
Ouch! 
So it’s nice to hear that things are changing for the better:
The Philippines announced just a few days back, that foreigners are now allowed to stay in the country for up to 24 months! That is really great news - as the Philippines are quite far off from the rest of Asia and therefore a more expensive flight ticket would be required to just doing a Visa Run.
Of course there are always these kind of ‘agencies’ who only let your passport travel; but then, those can be quite tricky too in case something goes wrong. Thailand tried to eradicate this kind of businesses with some success, too bad for the foreigners who were caught in the middle.
The Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines is going even further, they are even thinking of doing away with Visas completely!
Wow, that’d sound great. Can’t wait to see that in place!
Besides the many thousands of Pinoy islands with plenty of beaches, the Philippines have still relatively low costs of living in Asia, but you don’t have to miss out on Life’s modern amenities as well.
As we are warming more and more up with moving again to some place new some time next year - the Philippines just moved to our Top Spot on the list of interesting countries. A nice site to learn more about Living in the Philippines is this one for instance.
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bkit walang adobo,?he.he Filipino is the best….
I hope that longer timeframe for Visa expiration can attract more tourists in the Philippines
You can’t escape.
I will find you anywhere.
You will see it soon, when i am knocking on your door….
Better make it to Bali first; easier and cheaper accessible than one of the more remote 7001 islands in the Philippines!
Hey cool, cheers for the update. I’m heading that way in January with no set plans in mind so it’s nice to know I can stay for awhile if I want. I guess that also means that one way tickets are ok? I can’t imagine staying 2 years but ya never know eh! Pretty flexible to say the least.
That’s good news. I surmise you’ll soon make it again here in my country, my friend. Good luck to your nomadic journey
I would love to go to the Philippines or anywhere in SouthEast Asia*
Dream Trip*
Canada’s too Cold in the Winter + sadly the Girls just aren’t as Friendly!!
;PPP
[...] The Philippines for instance have the great advantage of having a population which can speak English fluently and who have adopted the American Way of Life to a great extend. Still you can live there on a budget of about USD 500-1.000 per month with a higher standard of living you could enjoy in the US of A on that money. On top of that, the Philippines just relaxed their Visa Regulations for Long-Term Visitors. So it’s really a great place to start, to get out from where you are now and to jump in with less risks than almost anywhere else. [...]
This has got to be the best post on your blog i’ve read so far! Well not really, many of your posts are much more inspiring, but this one really has the most positive ramifications for me! The Philippines have been on my places-to-go list for quite a while, and this will just make it so much easier for me!
darcy - thank you for the compliments and you are most welcome! Do you have already concrete plans? Where are you planning to go in particular?