The government will be allowing the entry of fully vaccinated foreign individuals from non-visa-required territories to the Philippines from December 1 to 15, 2021, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced.
Nograles made the statement after the government's pandemic task force eased quarantine and testing protocols for Filipino and foreign travelers coming from green, yellow, and red list territories.
In his press briefing, the acting presidential spokesman explained that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases made the decision to set December 15 as the last day for now but this is subject to change upon evaluation of its implementation.
"Upon the implementation of this ng December 1, siyempre imo-monitor natin (of course, we will be monitoring this), we will make proper adjustments kung kinakailangan (if necessary) while we are monitoring its implementation on the ground. If we will extend it, we will extend it," he said on November 26.
"Right now the IATF is just prepared to release a resolution that says up to December 15 pero 'pag makita naman po natin na maganda ang implementation nito, ie-extend natin ang dates (but if we see that it is being implemented well, we may extend the dates)," he added.
Based on the new IATF resolution, only foreign nationals with passports valid for at least six months at the time of arrival will be allowed to enter the country. They must also have a return ticket.
Prior to their arrival, foreign passengers should have stayed exclusively in green list territories for 14 days.
According to Nograles foreign nationals entering the country must have the following proof:
- WHO (World Health Organization) International Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis
- VaxCertPH; or
- National/state digital certificate of foreign government's which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF
Meanwhile, the following testing quarantine protocols for inbound foreign passengers shall be observed in all ports of entry:
- Negative RT-PCR test that was taken within 72 hours prior to their departure from the country of origin.
- Upon arrival, no facility-based quarantine and on-arrival RT-PCR test will be required.
- Passengers are enjoined to self-monitor for symptoms until the 14th day from their arrival with their arrival date as the first day.
Travelers merely transiting through non-green list territories are not considered having been there if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry.
Testing and quarantine protocols of minors shall follow the protocols of the parent/guardian traveling with them.
For those vaccinated but failed to comply with the test-before-travel requirements, they shall follow the protocols for unvaccinated individuals coming from green list countries. They will be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day.
These passengers will likewise be required to self-monitor until the 14th day with the date of their arrival being the first day.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website, nationals from the following countries are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a period of stay of thirty (30) days or less:
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil*
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Costa Rica
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel*
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of Korea
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Spain
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Togo
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- United Republic of Tanzania
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Brazilian and Israeli nationals are given 59 days stay based on existing agreements.
The following are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a stay not exceeding 14 days:
- Holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative (SAR) passports
- Holders of Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports
The following are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a stay not exceeding seven days:
- Holders of Macau-Portuguese passports
- Holders of Hong Kong British passports