Why travelers may soon pay a P480 border security fee
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos traveling abroad could soon face a new P480 round-trip charge under a proposed border security modernization project that the government says will come at no cost to taxpayers.
Malacañang said that the proposal is still under review and has not been decided on. Should it be implemented, every traveler entering or leaving the Philippines would pay a $4 (around P240) user fee, which would be collected on top of existing travel-related charges.
What is it?
The proposed Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services project seeks to modernize the Bureau of Immigration's processing of international travelers through an integrated digital system that can verify identities, screen passengers against security databases and record their movements.
Among its expected outcomes are "reducing queues and congestion" and preventing the "entry of persons involved in transnational crimes, human trafficking, terrorism and other serious threats to national and regional security."
Based on its Project Information Memorandum, the project envisions that "every international traveler entering or departing the Philippines will be processed through an integrated platform that accurately identifies them, screens them against relevant databases, and records their movement within seconds."
The project costs P10.74 billion but can be adopted at "no cost to the Philippine government," according to the Project Information Memorandum from the Bureau of Immigration.
The system and technology behind it will be initially funded by US-based firm Securiport LLC. While existing bureau funds and taxpayers may not directly fund the project, travelers would effectively finance it through user fees collected for every departure and arrival.
How much will travelers pay?
Under the proposal, each traveler passing through immigration will be charged a $4 user fee, or around P240 at the current exchange rate, every time they enter or leave the Philippines.
For a round trip, the total user fee would amount to $8, or approximately P480.
The fee would be separate from existing travel-related charges, including airfare, travel tax, terminal fees and baggage fees.
Should the project proceed, the cost of a one-way international trip would include airfare, P1,620 travel tax, P1,000 to P2,000 baggage fees for 20 to 25 kilograms of pre-booked check-in baggage, terminal fees and a P240 CAISS user fee.
For example, a traveler from Manila flying to Hong Kong would incur these costs. Based on Google Flights, the cheapest one-way economy flight from Manila to Hong Kong in June 2026 costs P3,860, excluding baggage fees. A 20-kilogram baggage allowance would add to the cost. The Passenger Service Charge, or terminal fee, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for international departures is P950.
Thus, the estimated cost of a one-way trip would be:
P3,860 airfare + P1,620 travel tax + P1,000 to P2,000 baggage fee + P950 terminal fee + P240 CAISS user fee
This applies only to one-way travel. A traveler would not need to pay the travel tax and terminal fee again upon return, but would be charged another P240 CAISS user fee for the return trip.
Price adjustments.It is also important to note that the proposed P480 round-trip user fee is not fixed.
"The User Fee is subject to adjustments due to inflation, material change in foreign exchange rates, or expansion in Project scope, the details of which are set forth in the PPP Agreement," the project document read.
Why are travelers being asked to pay?
The CAISS was submitted as an unsolicited proposal to the Bureau of Immigration in May 2023 through the government's Public-Private Partnership program.
Under Section 18 of the PPP Code of the Philippines, or Republic Act No. 11966, there are two schemes through which private partners may recover their investments and earn profits: a revenue-based scheme or an availability-based scheme.
A revenue-based scheme allows private partners to "charge and collect, in whole or in part, from the users, reasonable tolls, fares, fees, rentals, and other charges." The CAISS project is an example of a revenue-based scheme.
An availability-based scheme, on the other hand, allows private partners to recover their investments and earn profits through "predetermined payments, which do not take the form of charges paid by the users of the works or of the service, but of regular payments by the Implementing Agency." In this case, the implementing agency would be the Bureau of Immigration.
Under this arrangement, the government, not travelers, would make payments to the private partner using public funds.
The question of who should pay is likely to draw scrutiny because the Bureau of Immigration already receives billions of pesos in government funding and generates revenue from immigration-related collections.
According to the DOJ's Transparency Dashboard, the Bureau of Immigration's allocated budget from 2024 to 2026 ranges from P4 billion to P5.79 billion. For 2026, P4.64 billion is allocated to the bureau.
Aside from this budget, the Bureau of Immigration also generates revenue. Based on available data from the Bureau of the Treasury, the bureau generated P40 million in revenue from immigration tax alone in the first quarter of 2026.
Private partner's controversies
Concerns about the proposed fee have also drawn attention to Securiport's operations in other countries, where travelers were charged additional security-related fees.
Securiport LLC's operations in some African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and The Gambia, have sparked public outcry.
A 2025 report by Ecofin Agency, a sector-focused economic news agency in the DRC, bared that Securiport LLC charged arriving and departing passengers an additional $30 as a user fee. The fee was criticized by Congolese nationals as a new airport tax.
Meanwhile, a 2022 investigative report by Malagen, a non-profit investigative news platform in The Gambia, found that Securiport LLC only charged ordinary passengers and exempted key government officials and diplomatic passport holders from paying an airport security fee.
What happens next?
As of May 18, 2026, according to Bid Bulletin No. 8 posted on the Bureau of Immigration's website, the project's contract is already in the process of finalization and approval.
At a press briefing by the Presidential Communications Office on Tuesday, June 2, Palace spokesperson Usec. Claire Castro said the proposal is still under study.
“'Wag nating pangunahan, nasa pag-aaral pa lang ito,” Castro assured the public. (Let's not jump to conclusions. The proposal is still being studied.)
The proposal remains under review, and no user fee can be collected unless the project is approved and implemented.
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