The government further eased the rules for foreign travelers as the Philippines opened its doors to fully vaccinated visitors from abroad, a move that is expected to spur tourism and businesses in the country and help the economy recover from two years of border closures and lockdowns.
The government’s pandemic task force on Thursday said it would no longer require the foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens or “balikbayans” traveling with them to present a return ticket before being allowed to enter the Philippines.
In its updated rules, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) also said foreign nationals from visa-free countries who intend to stay beyond 30 days in the country would be allowed to come to the Philippines through an entry exemption document.
Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens who are from visa-required countries, or who are restricted foreign nationals, may enter the country without the need for an entry exemption document as long as they have been issued a temporary visitor’s visa.
All of these foreign nationals must be fully vaccinated and must be able to show proof of vaccination, according to acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles.
Exempted are children below 12 years old who are traveling with their fully vaccinated parents, Nograles said.
These travelers must also present a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test taken within 48 hours prior to date and time of departure from country of origin or first port of embarkation in a continuous travel to the Philippines, he said.
The IATF will also now recognize the vaccination certificates of Brazil, Israel, South Korea and Timor Leste for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols as well as for interzonal and intrazonal movement.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said at the Laging Handa public health briefing on Thursday that the tourism sector has been preparing for this reopening since the pandemic began in March 2020.
She said the Department of Tourism (DOT) was looking forward to the return of travelers from the country’s top travel market, South Korea, as well as tourists from other Asian countries and balikbayans (expatriates) from the United States. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
