Tag: IATF Resolutions

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Updated Advisory: Traveling to the Philippines and the U.S.

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Traveling to the Philippines

According to IATF Resolution No. 97 released on January 28, 2021, U.S. citizens or non-Filipinos who are not dual citizens and naturalized U.S. citizens are not allowed to enter without valid Philippine visas among other requirements. 

The resolution states that non-Filipinos may enter the Philippines, subject to the following conditions:

  1. With valid and existing visa at the time of entry;
  2. With pre-booked quarantine accommodation for at least seven nights in an accredited quarantine hotel/facility;
  3. Subject to COVID-19 testing on sixth day from date of arrival; and
  4. Subject to maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.

Note that those with no Philippine passports but with valid visas who fall under the following categories will be allowed entry into the Philippines subject to the same requirements above:

  1. Foreign spouses of Filipino nationals; or
  2. Foreign parents of minor Filipino children and of Filipino children with special needs, regardless of age.

Those who comply with the above and who are allowed to enter the Philippines  will have to comply with the mandatory 7 days quarantine upon arrival at approved Department of Health (DOH) facilities. This rule applies despite negative COVID tests upon arrival. On the sixth (6th) day of arrival, the traveler will have to take a mandatory COVID-testing. 

Make sure before traveling and before making a hotel reservation that the hotel is an accredited quarantine hotel/facility by the Philippine Department of Health. For a list of accredited quarantine hotels and facilities, travelers should exercise due diligence by researching only on reputable information sources. Or they may contact their airlines for any list or their partner quarantine hotels for recommendation.

Traveling to the United States

All airline passengers traveling to the United States, including U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 viral test or recovery from COVID-19.

Effective January 26,2021 all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide either a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel or provide a positive test result and documentation from a licensed health care provider or public health official of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel.  Passengers must also attest, under penalty of law, to having received a negative qualifying test result or to recovery from COVID-19 and medical clearance to travel.   

Airlines must deny boarding to passengers who do not meet these requirements.   U.S. citizens in countries where adequate COVID-19 testing is not available or may not be able to satisfy the requirements, should depart immediately or prepare to be unable to return to the United States until such time as they can meet the requirements.    

Categories
Updates

Spouses & Minor Children of Filipinos or Dual Citizens With No Visas Will Be Denied Entry to the Philippines (Updated)

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SAN FRANCISCO CA- On August 8, 2020, the Bureau of Immigration issued a press release stating that “foreigners (non-Filipinos) who have Filipino spouses and dependents can only enter the Philippines if they have the appropriate visas. This rule is embodied in a July 31, 2020 Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution 60.

This is a blunt departure from the prior IATF Resolutions 14 & 56 issued on March 20, 2020 and July 21, 2020 that permitted spouses and minor children of Filipinos to enter by showing proof of their relationships.

Commissioner Jaime Morente of the Bureau of Immigration emphasized in their press release that prior to the issuance of said IATF-EID resolution, non-visa required foreign nationals married to Filipinos were indeed allowed to enter the country upon presentation of their marriage certificates and other proof of their matrimonial relationship. “But that is no longer the case with the issuance of this latest IATF-EID resolution . Foreign spouses of Filipinos must now secure entry visas from our Consulates abroad before traveling to the Philippines. Otherwise, they will be denied entry by our immigration officers and sent back to their ports of origin,” Morente warned.

Naturalized U.S. citizens who are dual citizens should make sure that they are aware of these travel restrictions if they have U.S. citizen children and spouses traveling with them to the Philippines. The only way that their immediate family who are not Philippine citizens may travel with them is if they obtain appropriate Philippine visas.

Obtaining Philippine visas for non-Filipino spouses and children may be done through Philippines embassies or consulates. On August 9, 2020, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs released a travel advisory stating that “foreign spouses, minor children including with special needs regardless of age, and foreign parents of minor Filipino nationals, including of children with special needs regardless of age, are exempted from the temporary suspension of visa issuance to all foreign nationals.” This means that non-Filipino citizens may now be able to get Philippine visas for purposes of an impending travel to the Philippines. For more information, please contact your nearest Philippine Consulate for information on how to obtain Philippine visas.

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is an immigrant advocate and legal counsel based in San Francisco CA. She is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Tancinco Law, P.C. and may be reached at law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or at 1-888-930-0808)