Foreign spouses, children of Filipino citizens not required to carry return tickets

FILE PHOTO Airline ground staff (L) wearing protective gear work at the counter at the airport in Manila on August 4, 2020. Restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have shuttered many businesses, halted public transport and grounded flights in the capital to rein in the virus. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens or former citizens with balikbayan privileges will no longer be required to carry return tickets not later than 30 days from their arrival to the Philippines, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.

Nograles said that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases amended provisions in its Resolution No. 160-B.

“It’s stated in IATF Reso No. 160-B na (that) foreign nationals traveling to the Philippines for business and tourism purposes may enter the Philippines without visas provided they have valid tickets for their return journey to the port of origin or next port of destination not later than 30 days from date of arrival in the Philippines,” Nograles, also the task force’s co-chair, said during the Laging Handa briefing.

“In this new resolution, there’s an exemption. So, it now reads, ‘except for foreign spouses and/or children of Filipino citizens and former Filipino citizens with balikbayan privilege under Republic Act No. 9174 including their foreign spouse and/or children who are not balikbayans in their own right and are traveling with them to the Philippines,’” he added.

Resolution 160-D likewise allowed citizens coming from 157 countries, under Executive Order 408 series of 1960 as amended, who intend to stay more than a month for purposes aside from tourism or leisure through an entry exemption document.

Travelers from the 157 countries must follow the IATF’s existing rules and regulations:

-must be fully vaccinated, except minors aged below 12 who should be traveling with a fully inoculated parent or parents;

-must show vaccination proof;

-present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test taken within 48 hours prior to the date and time of departure from origin country, “first port of embarkation, in a continuous travel to the Philippines, excluding layovers, provided that he/she has not left the airport premises or has not been admitted into another country during such layover”.

Moreover, foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens who are not from the countries under EO 408 may now enter the Philippines “without need of an entry exemption document provided they have been issued a 9(a) visa with the appropriate visa notation.”

They must also be compliant with the IATF’s existing rules and regulations.

EDV