Malacañang on Friday announced that all foreign nationals fully vaccinated against Covid-19 would be allowed to enter the Philippines without entry exemption documents starting April 1.
In a virtual presser, acting deputy Palace spokesman Michel Ablan said the country’s pandemic task force approved the measure in its 165th meeting.
The foreigners’ entry will be subject to the following conditions:
- they must be fully vaccinated, except only for minor children below 12 years of age traveling with their fully vaccinated parents;
- they must be carrying acceptable proof of vaccination;
- they must be carrying a passport valid for a period of at least 6 months at the time of their arrival to the Philippines; and
- they must obtain, prior to arrival, travel insurance for Covid-19 treatment costs from reputable insurance providers, with a minimum coverage of $35,000.00 for the duration of their stay in the Philippines.
Ablan said foreign nationals would also be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours or a negative laboratory-based antigen test taken within 24 hours, prior to the date and time of departure from their area of origin.
The Philippines’s Covid-19 landscape has been fairly mellow over the past few weeks.
The government is aiming to increase the number of booster shots administered and downgrade the entire Philippines to Alert Level 1. John Ezekiel J. Hirro