ADVISORY NO. 13/2021
PARTIAL LIFTING OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ENTRY OF FOREIGN NATIONALS INTO THE PHILIPPINES
The Embassy wishes to announce that in accordance with Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution No. 113 dated 29 April 2021, the temporary suspension of entry of foreign nationals into the Philippines is partially lifted effective 01 May 2021 (see previous Advisory No 11/2021), and the following rules will be observed:
A. Filipino nationals are allowed entry to the Philippines, and remain unaffected by the temporary suspension and its partial lifting.
B. Diplomats and members of international organizations and their dependents may apply for the appropriate visa. They will be issued visas only after the visa authority is received from Manila.
C. Foreign seafarers. Foreign seafarers arriving by air as well as foreign seafarers arriving through seaports for crew change, may apply for individual seaman’s 9(c) visa or crew list visa (CLV), accordingly. The Embassy will issue the appropriate visa upon fulfilling the visa requirements without need for authority to issue visa from Manila.
D. Foreign nationals who are covered by the Balikbayan program and coming from non-visa required countries like Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, namely, former Filipino citizens and their foreign spouses and children (regardless of age) travelling with them, and foreign spouses and children (regardless of age) of Filipino citizens travelling with them, may enter visa-free and without need for an entry exemption document.
E. All those foreign nationals not included in D above, such as grandparents and grandchildren of Filipino nationals or former Filipino nationals, foreign spouses who are entering alone and not accompanied by the Filipino national or former Filipino national, foreign nationals visiting their spouses or children, need a 9a visa and an entry exemption document. Their 9a visa applications shall be processed only after their entry exemption has been secured.
All foreign nationals who were issued 9a visas before 22 March 2021 need to present an entry exemption document before they would be allowed to enter. Those holding LBIs that have no expiry date as their entry exemption document cannot use these for entry to the Philippines or for visa application starting on 01 June 2021.
F. Holders of valid Special Resident Retiree’s Visas (SRRV) may enter the Philippines only if they have an entry exemption document to be secured from the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA).
G. Foreign nationals previously granted visa-free entry under visa waiver agreements need entry visas. All visa waiver agreements (including the APEC Business Travel Cards) remain suspended and the entry exemptions granted are only to allow for entry visa issuance, not for visa-free entry.
H. Entry exemption document. Foreign nationals seeking entry exemption for government and private businesses in the Philippines are advised to have their sponsors in the Philippines secure an endorsement from the appropriate National Government Agency (NGA). The endorsing NGA will submit the entry exemption request to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign nationals seeking entry exemption for private personal matters, like visiting a Filipino spouse or children in the Philippines, are requested to submit their documents to the Embassy as though applying for a 9a visa, and a letter requesting entry exemption and stating reasons for the necessity of the projected travel to the Philippines. No 9a visa will be issued until after the entry exemption has been secured and the visa authority is received from Manila.
Travel to the Philippines for tourism purposes, or to visit fiancés/fiancées, or to get married, are discouraged at the moment, and no entry exemption requests for these types of travel will be entertained.
I. Quarantine and testing protocols. All arriving travellers are subject to the current quarantine and testing protocols approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force and implemented by the Bureau of Quarantine and other government offices, which could be subject to modification. Please see Advisory 12 /2021 on the new protocols in place.
The foregoing rules are without prejudice to immigration laws, rules and regulations such that the Commissioner of Immigration shall have the exclusive prerogative to decide on waiver or recall of exclusion orders for foreign nationals.
(Per CIR-1255-OUCSCA-2021 dated 08 May 2021)
