DOT: Starting February 10, Philippines Will Admit Fully-Vaccinated Travelers From Visa-Free Countries

Beginning February 10, the Philippines will allow fully-vaccinated foreign leisure travelers from visa-free countries.

After the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the Department of Tourism’s proposal, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat made the announcement today (Friday) (DOT).

“We at the Department of Transportation are grateful to our IATF-EID colleagues for approving our request to allow international leisure passengers admission. The Department views this as a positive development that will help restore jobs, particularly in tourism-dependent towns, as well as the reopening of enterprises that were closed during the pandemic,” Puyat added.

“We are confident that we will be able to keep pace with our ASEAN neighbors who have already made similar strides to reopen to foreign tourists,” added the tourism chief, citing years of coordination between national agencies, industry stakeholders, and various local government units (LGUs) to prepare our destinations for tourism in the new normal.

The recent IATF-EID ruling, according to Puyat, will only apply to leisure travelers from countries whose citizens are granted visa-free access to the Philippines.

Last year, the IATF-EID approved the admission of fully vaccinated tourists from Green List countries, territories, and jurisdictions beginning December 1, 2021, however the program was temporarily halted due to the omicron variant.

The IATF-EID announced earlier today that the nation classification system will be suspended on February 1, 2022. Starting Feb. 1, fully-vaccinated returning abroad Filipinos will no longer be subjected to quarantine if they can show a negative result of an RT-PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure from their point of origin.

Qualified leisure tourists will no longer be needed to undergo quarantine starting Feb. 10 after consulting with health professionals, as long as they can provide a negative result of an RT-PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure from their point of origin.

“We’re also conscious that, given the virus’s unpredictability, there’s no room for complacency.” “We’ll keep a close eye on the issue and make sure that all health and safety regulations are followed in all tourism facilities,” Puyat said.

Leisure visitors from visa-free nations will be allowed to enter the country if their passports are valid for at least six months at the time of arrival and they have outgoing tickets to their place of origin or next destination, according to the IATF-EID standards.

Leisure visitors must additionally show proof of COVID-19 immunization, which must be acknowledged by the IATF-EID. They include World Health Organization (WHO) vaccination certificates, the Department of Health’s VaxCertPH (available at https://vaxcert.doh.gov.ph), and a national/state digital certificate of a foreign government that has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement, unless the IATF says otherwise.

The countries whose citizens are permitted to enter the Philippines without a visa are specified under Executive Order 408 and may be found here: https://dfa.gov.ph/list-of-countries-for-21-day-visa