NAIA Balikbayan and OFW Guide - Travel Tax, Fees, Lounges, Hotels

More than a third of the passengers through NAIA are Filipinos coming home or leaving for work abroad, and the airport treats them as a category of their own: separate lounges, separate immigration lanes, a tax that some pay and some do not, and arrival halls where whole families wait for one person. This guide collects the practical rules as they stand in 2026 and the hotels that make the first or last night together simple.

eTravel first

Every Filipino citizen and most foreign visitors must complete the eTravel declaration at etravel.gov.ph within 72 hours before arrival in or departure from the Philippines. It is free, it takes ten minutes, and the QR code it produces is checked at check-in and at immigration; it replaced the paper arrival card and the health forms. Do it on your phone the day before the flight, screenshot the code, and do it for each family member including children.

Travel tax

The Philippine Travel Tax is collected from Filipino citizens, permanent residents and foreigners who have stayed more than a year, on international departures: ₱1,620 in economy and ₱2,700 in first class, with a standard reduced rate of ₱810 and ₱1,350 for eligible categories and a privileged reduced rate of ₱300 and ₱400 for dependents of OFWs. Many airlines collect it in the fare; if yours did not, pay online through TIEZA before you travel or at the TIEZA counters by check-in (a card surcharge applies at the airport). OFWs are exempt when flying to their country of employment, including on a connecting itinerary, and the exemption is automatic once the OEC or OFW Pass is on record; OFWs flying as tourists pay. Infants under two, eligible Filipino permanent residents abroad and balikbayans within the one-year visa-free privilege are among the other exemptions. Refunds for double payment, cancelled flights or offloading are claimed from TIEZA, same day if you paid at the airport.

The terminal fee

Since 14 September 2025 the passenger service charge at NAIA has been ₱950 for international departures (up from ₱550) and about ₱300 for domestic flights, and it is included in the ticket price at purchase rather than paid at a counter. OFWs are exempt but, because the fee is collected inside the fare, they pay it up front and claim it back through the operator’s refund process with the boarding pass and OEC; keep both.

OEC, OFW Pass and the OFW lanes

Departing overseas workers need the Overseas Employment Certificate or its app-based successor, the OFW Pass from the Department of Migrant Workers, to pass the labour-assistance desk and use the OFW immigration lanes. The documents also unlock the lounges: at Terminal 3 the free OFW Lounge is landside before check-in, open 24 hours, with its own immigration lane beside it, showers, hot meals, bag storage and 216 seats; at Terminal 1 the OFW Lounge is airside, also 24 hours, with meals, massage chairs and a prayer room (lounges guide). Terminal 2 is domestic only.

Balikbayan privileges and the box

Former Filipino citizens, their foreign spouses and children travelling together, and Filipinos resident abroad enter under the balikbayan privilege: one year visa-free and the travel-tax exemption above. The balikbayan box is duty-free up to the Bureau of Customs limit for personal effects and is collected at the oversize belt; an arriving family with several boxes should book a hotel with a car park and a luggage trolley route, which in Newport means crossing Runway Manila with the carts and golf carts provided at the bridge. Duty Free Philippines’ Fiestamall on Ninoy Aquino Avenue near Terminal 1 sells to arriving passengers for 48 hours after arrival on presentation of the passport and boarding pass.

Meeting the family at arrivals

NAIA keeps well-wishers outside the terminal buildings: at Terminals 1 and 2 the greeters’ areas are on the arrivals driveway, at Terminal 3 the arrivals hall is public and the meeting point is at the arrival bays and the transport hub at the far end. Flights land in waves around midnight and in the early morning, so a family driving in from the provinces often arrives hours early; the Newport hotels’ lobbies and cafés across the bridge are the comfortable place to wait, and the Holiday Inn Express and Hilton car parks are free for guests. If the arrival is at Terminal 1 or 2, the 24-hour free inter-terminal shuttle is for passengers only; greeters use the UBE Loop or a Grab.

Hotels for the first or last night

For a relative landing late at Terminal 3 with the family in tow, the Belmont Hotel Manila (family connecting rooms, rooftop kids’ pool, free parking with its Rest and Jet package) and the Savoy Hotel Manila (684 rooms, Muslim-friendly dining, five minutes from the arrivals hall) are the value choices, the Holiday Inn Express the cheapest with breakfast included, and the Sheraton the celebration hotel with a kids’ club and rooms for up to eight. For a dawn departure from Terminal 1 or 2, the Nobu Hotel Manila is 10 minutes away, or stay in Newport and take the free shuttle. Our family friendly hotels guide compares them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do OFWs pay travel tax and terminal fee at NAIA?

OFWs flying to their country of employment are exempt from the ₱1,620 travel tax automatically once their OFW status is on record through the OEC or OFW Pass. The ₱950 international terminal fee is built into every ticket at purchase, so OFWs pay it and claim a refund afterwards through the airport operator's refund process. OFWs travelling as tourists pay both.

What is eTravel and when do I fill it in?

The free government arrival and departure declaration at etravel.gov.ph, required for Filipino citizens and most foreign visitors. Complete it within 72 hours before the flight and show the QR code at check-in and immigration. It replaced the paper arrival card and the separate health forms.

Where is the OFW Lounge?

Terminal 3 has a landside OFW Lounge before check-in, open 24 hours, with its own immigration lane beside it, showers, hot meals, bag storage and 216 seats. Terminal 1 has an airside OFW Lounge, also 24 hours, with meals, massage chairs and a prayer room. Both are free for departing overseas workers with an OEC or OFW Pass.

Which hotel is best for a family meeting an arriving relative?

For a Terminal 3 arrival, the Belmont, Savoy or Holiday Inn Express across Runway Manila: family rooms, pools and breakfast, five to ten minutes on foot, with free or cheap parking for the relatives who drove. For Terminal 1 arrivals (PAL international, Korean Air, EVA, AirAsia) the Nobu Hotel Manila is 10 minutes away.

Information last verified: October 1, 2026