only fully vaccinated foreigners can enter from February

Overseas tourists planning to visit the Philippines starting next month will need to ensure they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before travelling.

From February 16, only foreigners who have been vaccinated at least 14 days before travel will be able to enter the Philippines. This does not apply to Filipino citizens, there are other exemptions.

The new rules were announced at a news conference Friday by acting presidential spokesman Carlo Nograles.

He also explained a series of other updates to the country’s travel rules, including reducing the pre-departure PCR test time from 72 hours to 48 hours and adding countries to the red and green lists for travel, with India on the green list, Saudi Arabia Arabia is on the green list. turn red.

Exemptions from the new mandatory vaccination rules for foreigners include diplomats and their families, children and people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons.

Due to the global pandemic, most international travel to the Philippines remains suspended and tourist visas have not been issued.

A plan to reopen on December 1 to fully vaccinated tourists from green-listed countries has been put on hold due to a new Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Only a small group of foreigners can currently visit the Philippines and from February they will be required to be fully vaccinated. This includes those who already hold visas, those who are registered as former Philippine citizens under the Balibayan program, their foreign spouses or children, and those who hold special resident or retiree visas or entry exemption documents issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Saudi Arabia joins Philippines red list but no travel ban

The country’s red list has also been updated, with 14 new destinations including Saudi Arabia, Canada and Spain being added to the list, which will be in effect from January 16 until at least January 31.

Being on the list no longer means that travel from these destinations is prohibited, but additional measures must be taken to visit the Philippines. There are separate rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers from red-listed countries.

Eligible vaccinated travelers must have a negative PCR test within 48 hours prior to departure, undergo a 7-day facility quarantine upon arrival, and undergo a follow-up PCR test on day 7. If the result is negative, the traveler will be sent home and must continue to quarantine until Day 14.

Those who are not vaccinated or who are only partially vaccinated while flying must show a negative PCR result in a test no more than 48 hours before departure and undergo a 10-day facility quarantine. After a negative PCR test, they will be allowed to complete the final four days of isolation at home.

India added to green list for quarantine-free travel

In a recent update, more destinations have also been added to the Philippine Green List.

India, Indonesia and Japan were added to a list of eligible vaccinated travelers open to travel without quarantine. Travelers do not need to quarantine, but simply self-monitor for symptoms within 7 days of their return.

From January 16 to January 31, the Philippines Green List is as follows:

Bangladesh

The British Virgin Islands

Djibouti

Gambia

Hongkong

Japan

montserrat

Oman

Saba (special municipality in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Sierra Leone

Timor Read

Benin

China

Equatorial Guinea

Ghana

India

Kosovo

Morocco

Pakistan

Saint Barthelemy

sint eustatius

Uganda

Bhutan

ivory coast

Falkland Islands

Guinea

Indonesia

Kyrgyzstan

Niger

Paraguay

Senegal

Taiwan

On Thursday, CNN reported that the country’s inter-agency task force for managing emerging infectious diseases will discuss whether the government’s travel ban will continue.

The Philippines has recently experienced a surge in infections, reporting a record 34,021 cases on Thursday, the highest level since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Updated: January 14, 2022 8:31 am