How to Register for Philippines eTravel: Step-by-Step (2026)

How to register for eTravel: the short answer

Go to etravel.gov.ph, the only official website, and complete the arrival registration within 72 hours (three days) before you land in the Philippines. The form takes about ten minutes per person, and at the end you get a QR code to show at check-in and on arrival. Registration is free; we are an independent service that files it for travelers for $15, with the QR code emailed within 24 hours — but the steps below are the official do-it-yourself route, and they work.

Two things decide whether this goes smoothly: doing it inside the 72-hour window, and having your details ready before you start. With passport, flight, and hotel information at hand, nothing here takes longer than ten minutes.

Before you start: the 72-hour window

The system accepts registrations within 72 hours before your arrival, counted from your arrival time, and the window includes your arrival day. Do not register a week early out of caution. A record with the wrong arrival date causes more trouble than a fresh registration made on time. Register one or two days before your flight: details final, QR code fresh, time left to fix errors.

The window, worked for three sample arrival dates:

Registering on etravel.gov.ph, step by step

The portal walks you through the form block by block. Here is the sequence as you will meet it:

The registration steps

• 1. Open etravel.gov.ph in any browser — phone or laptop. No app is needed, though the optional eGovPH app also works.
• 2. Start a new registration and choose the arrival option for your status: foreign passenger, Filipino passenger, or crew. Cruise passengers use the cruise travel registration link instead.
• 3. Enter your personal information: full name exactly as printed in your passport, sex, date of birth, and nationality.
• 4. Enter your passport details: passport number and expiry date. Type them character by character — a typo here is the most common cause of problems later.
• 5. Enter your contact details: an email address you can access during your trip, plus a phone number. Your QR code and reference number go to this email.
• 6. Enter your travel information: airline, the flight number of the leg that physically lands in the Philippines, arrival date, and port of entry. Connecting through another country? Use the final leg.
• 7. Enter your accommodation in the Philippines: hotel name and address, or the address where you will stay. Have your booking confirmation open in another tab for this block.
• 8. Complete the health declaration (eHDC) questions: illness in the past 30 days, contact with sick persons, and countries visited. Answer honestly — your answers set your QR color.
• 9. Review every block before submitting. Check the passport number and the flight number twice; these are the two fields most often mistyped.
• 10. Submit the form. The system displays your QR code immediately, along with your reference number.
• 11. Screenshot or download the QR code before you close the browser. The official FAQ stresses this step — reopening a closed session takes extra steps.
• 12. Check your email for the confirmation, and keep the reference number. You will need it if you ever edit or retrieve your registration.

What the QR code means and where you show it

The QR code is your proof of registration. Airline staff may ask to see it when you board, it is checked as you approach immigration in the Philippines, and customs can scan it after baggage claim.

Green means complete and correct: you go straight to the immigration counter. Red means the Bureau of Quarantine checks you further before immigration — usually because of a typo in your data or a reported illness or sick contact in the past 30 days. Red is a delay, not a denial. The QR mechanics are explained fully in our complete Philippines eTravel guide.

How to fix a mistake after submitting

Plans change and typos happen, and the fix flow takes two minutes. Editing works until border officers have processed and verified your record — after that, the counter handles differences in person. If you accidentally registered twice, pick one QR code and present that one everywhere; mixing codes causes delays, the official FAQ warns. And never register a second time to fix a typo — edit instead:

Editing your registration

• 1. Open etravel.gov.ph/search.
• 2. Enter your reference number and date of birth, then continue.
• 3. Use the Edit Registration tab to correct flight, accommodation, or contact details.
• 4. Submit the edit and take a fresh screenshot of your QR code.

Common registration errors and how to avoid them

From our filing desk, these are the errors we see most:

The five most common errors

• Registering five or more days early, then rebooking — the record holds a stale arrival date. Fix: register inside 72 hours, edit if plans change.
• A mistyped passport number. Fix: type from the bio page, character by character, and re-read it before submitting.
• Using the departure flight instead of the arriving flight. Fix: the form wants the leg that physically lands in the Philippines.
• An email address with a typo, so the confirmation never arrives. Fix: the QR code on screen still works — screenshot it — and the record is retrievable at etravel.gov.ph/search.
• Closing the browser before saving the QR code. Fix: same search page, reference number plus date of birth.

Your pre-flight checklist

Twenty-four hours before departure: registration done inside the window, QR code screenshotted, reference number saved, flight number matching your final leg, hotel address entered. That is everything eTravel asks of you.

Prefer to hand it off? Start my application and we register for you: $15 flat, details verified against your passport before filing, QR code by email within 24 hours, full refund if we fail to deliver. Or follow the steps above yourself, free, at etravel.gov.ph — and see our eTravel requirements checklist for what to prepare first.

Frequently asked questions