Studying English in the Philippines involves local fees on top of tuition and housing: the SSP, visa extensions, the ACR I-Card, utilities and more. The total depends on how many weeks you stay. We added up the official fee tables of three schools in Cebu and Clark for 4 to 24 weeks. Checked on 29 October 2026.
In short
At Target in Cebu, local fees come to 19,500 pesos for 4 weeks and 79,670 pesos for 24 weeks, excluding the deposit. Visa extensions and the ACR I-Card are added as your stay gets longer, and the biggest jump comes when you go from 8 to 12 weeks. Schools count different items as local fees, so add up your own school’s table for your number of weeks.
Local fees change with the length of your stay
Some local fees are paid once when you start and others grow with your stay. The SSP is paid once whatever the length, while visa extensions and the ACR I-Card are added as you stay longer. Utilities and books are charged per week or per four weeks.
Visitors admitted for 30 days need an extension to stay longer, and the ACR I-Card is required once a stay exceeds 59 days (BI). The steps are in our article on the SSP and ACR I-Card.
- Once: the SSP (and, at some schools, the SSP card)
- Over 30 days: visa extensions (added each time you extend)
- Over 59 days: the ACR I-Card
- Per week or per four weeks: utilities, facility fees, books, laundry and more
Local fees for 4 to 24 weeks
These are the totals from each school’s official table, added up by number of weeks. The deposit is returned when you leave, so it is not included. All amounts are in Philippine pesos.
Each school includes different items in its table, so the totals cannot be compared directly. The next sections list what each school includes.
- 4 weeks: Target 19,500, CEGA 14,400, HELP 17,800
- 8 weeks: Target 30,840, CEGA 21,830, HELP 28,040
- 12 weeks: Target 47,750, CEGA 33,230, HELP 43,550
- 16 weeks: Target 58,390, CEGA 37,330, HELP 53,090
- 24 weeks: Target 79,670, CEGA 46,160, HELP 72,170
Target (Cebu): what the local fees cover
At Target Global English Academy, the SSP application fee of 7,800 pesos and the SSP E-CARD fee of 4,500 pesos are required whatever the length of stay. The ACR I-CARD fee of 4,300 pesos is required for nine weeks or more.
Visa extensions total 5,140 pesos for 5 to 8 weeks, 11,550 pesos for 9 to 12 weeks, 15,990 pesos for 13 to 16 weeks and 24,870 pesos for 21 to 24 weeks. Electricity (600 pesos), water (200 pesos) and a shared-facility fee (500 pesos) are charged per week, and electricity above a set amount costs extra.
Textbooks are charged for what you buy. The table’s guide is 2,000 pesos for 3 to 4 weeks, 3,000 pesos for 5 to 8 weeks and 1,000 pesos for every four weeks after that, which we used in the totals. The deposit is 2,500 pesos.
CEGA (Cebu): what the local fees cover
CEGA lists the SSP at 11,800 pesos. Its visa fee includes the immigration office’s charge and a handling fee: free for 4 weeks, 4,830 pesos for 8 weeks, 9,930 pesos for 12 weeks, 11,430 pesos for 16 weeks and 15,060 pesos for 24 weeks.
The I-card costs 3,700 pesos and is listed as required for stays of two months or more. In the totals we added it from 12 weeks, in line with the BI’s 59-day rule. Utilities and drinking water cost 500 pesos a week and facility management 150 pesos a week.
Textbooks (150 to 600 pesos a book) and laundry (paid yourself, about 25 to 35 pesos per kg) depend on how much you use, so they are not in the totals.
HELP (Clark): what the local fees cover
The Clark campus of HELP English Academy publishes a total of local fees for each length of stay. We show that total minus the 3,000-peso deposit, which is returned.
The table covers the SSP and E-Card (12,300 pesos), visa extensions, utilities, maintenance, laundry, the ACR I-Card (4,000 pesos from 10 weeks), learning materials and a student ID. Utilities exclude air conditioning, and laundry over 16 kg costs an extra 35 pesos per kg.
The week where fees jump
At all three schools, of the five lengths in the table, the biggest increase comes when you go from 8 to 12 weeks. Beyond 8 weeks, the second visa extension and the ACR I-Card are both added.
At Target, for example, 30,840 pesos for 8 weeks becomes 47,750 pesos for 12 weeks: visa extensions go up by 6,410 pesos, the ACR I-Card adds 4,300 pesos, and utilities and books add four more weeks. When you decide how long to stay, check how local fees change at each step.
Three things to check for your own stay
Each school counts its fees differently. When you read your school’s table, check these three points.
- Whether visa extension amounts are per extension or a running total
- Whether utilities are charged per week, per four weeks or at cost
- Whether books, laundry and the deposit are included
Next step: add local fees to your quote
Quotes for tuition and housing may not include local fees. If you have a quote, check it with the Study Abroad Quote Check and compare the total including local fees.
For example totals that combine tuition, housing and local fees, see our guide to studying English in the Philippines. Compare schools in the list of schools in the Philippines.
Sources
Government and public bodies
- Bureau of Immigration (Philippines): Special Study Permit (checked 29 Oct 2026)
- Bureau of Immigration (Philippines): FAQs (checked 29 Oct 2026)
