STARTING February 10, 2022, the Philippines will reopen its borders to fully-vaccinated foreigners traveling to the country for leisure or business from visa-free countries.
The new guidelines (IATF Reso.160-B) cover fully-vaccinated former Filipino citizens with Balikbayan privilege, including their foreign spouses and/or children traveling with them to the Philippines; provided that they are not restricted nationals; and fully vaccinated citizens of countries entitled to stay visa-free for not more than 30 days under Executive Order 408, S. 1960.
Unvaccinated foreign nationals will be denied admission into the country.
A foreign national is considered fully-vaccinated when he orshe has received the second dose in a two-dose series, or a single dose of a recognized vaccine more than 14 days prior to the date and time of departure.
The documents to be presented by foreigners before flight to the Philippines are: Proof of vaccination; Negative RT-PCR test taken within 48hrs. prior to departure; Valid return-tickets not later than 30 days after arrival in the Philippines; Passport valid for at least six months and travel insurance for COVID-19 treatment costs from reputable insurers, with a minimum coverage of USD35,000.00 for the duration of their stay.
Valid proof of vaccination may be any of the following: – WHO International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis; VaxCertPH; the national/state digital certificate of the country/foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement; vaccination certificate issued by a foreign state whether digital or physical; or the vaccination certificate issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, whether digital or physical.
The rules for foreign minors traveling with their Filipino parent are: Unvaccinated foreign children below 12 years of age traveling with their Filipino parent, shall follow the entry, testing, and quarantine protocols of their Filipino parent traveling with them;- Foreign children from ages 12 to 17 years of age traveling with their Filipino parent, shall follow the protocols based on their vaccination status (i.e., vaccinated or unvaccinated). If the child is unvaccinated, either parent should accompany the child during their facility-based quarantine.
Fully-vaccinated foreign nationals will no longer be required to undergo facility-based quarantine. Instead, they shall self-monitor for any sign or symptom for seven days with the first day being the date of arrival, and shall be required to report to their local government unit upon the manifestation of symptoms, if any.
BI EXPECTS INCREASE IN ARRIVALS
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that it expects at least a 30% increase in arrivals on the first day of the opening of the country’s borders to foreign tourists.
According to BI port operations division (POD) chief Atty. Carlos Capulong, they are expecting almost 7,000 arrivals today, a significant increase from Feb 9’s 4,816 arrivals.
Most of the expected travelers to the country are Filipinos, while they project around 27% will be foreign nationals.
The BI earlier announced the opening of the country to international tourism starting Feb. 10. Fully vaccinated foreign nationals may be allowed entry subject to the presentation of required documents as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente instructed port personnel to remain vigilant and ensure only eligible aliens will be allowed entry.
Morente shared that they expect that families, loved ones, and partners of Filipinos will be among those who will arrive on the first wave of tourist arrivals.
“Many unmarried couples and families have long lobbied for the reopening of our borders for them to be reunited with their loved ones,” said Morente. “We expect that some of the first to arrive here will be those who wish to be together with their families,” he added.
Morente said that the BI projects that the numbers could rise up to 10-12k arrivals per day in the succeeding months.
“Hopefully everything goes well as we transition towards the new normal,” said Morente. “We see this as the start of the recovery of the tourism industry which we hope will renew its vigor as in the previous years,” he added. (Baby Cuevas)
