Heads up, travelers! Here are the new travel guidelines from IATF

With the community quarantine slowly easing for most places in the country, international tourists and returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are expected to flock to the country soon. In line with this, the inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) released on Thursday, October 14, the new travel guidelines for international arriving passengers to the Philippines, and updated the red, green, and yellow lists effective until October 31.

Previously, the government has issued a classifications list of countries and jurisdictions based on their respective number of COVID-19 cases and incidence rates.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced in a press statement that Romania is the only country added to the red list, while 49 countries and jurisdictions were added to the green list.

The newest additions to the green list are Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, and Yemen.

Meanwhile, all other countries not under the red and green lists are considered to be under the yellow list.

Testing and quarantine protocols for arriving international passengers to the Philippines depend on the traveler's country of origin and its corresponding classification on the red, green, and yellow lists.

Below are the must-know travel guidelines for arriving international passengers to the Philippines.

Below are the updated guidelines for arriving international passengers to the Philippines as of October 2021 / Source: Pexels

Green list countries

• Fully vaccinated foreign nationals are required to present a negative RT-PCR test 72 hours before departing their country of origin. No required facility-based quarantine is required upon arrival, but they're enjoined to do self-monitoring for any symptoms until the 14th day after arriving.
• For fully vaccinated OFWs or non-OFWs, they have an option to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken upon arrival. Or they could opt to present a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours prior to departing their country of origin. If they choose the latter, they would no longer need to undergo facility-based quarantine upon arrival, but will also be instructed to monitor themselves for any symptoms for the next 14 days.
• For unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, and those whose vaccination status cannot be independently verified, and those vaccinated but failed to have an RT-PCR test before flying, they will be required to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test to be taken on the fifth day. Foreign nationals are require to book hotel reservations for at least six days.
• Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated minor children traveling with their fully vaccinated parent/s or guardians, will have to follow quarantine protocols based on their vaccination status. Their parents/guardians shall also accompany them during the full duration of their facility-based quarantine.

Yellow list countries

• Fully vaccinated individuals need to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day. After yielding a negative RT-PCR result, they will then be required to undergo home quarantine until 10th day after arrival. Foreign nationals, on the other hand, need to pre-book an accommodation of at least six days for their quarantine period.
• For unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, and those whose vaccination status cannot be independently verified, and those vaccinated but failed to have an RT-PCR test before flying, they need to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the seventh day. After that, they're required to self-quarantine at home until the 14th day after their arrival. Foreign nationals are required to book an accommodation of at least eight days for their quarantine.

Red list countries

• Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation, and Bayanihan Flights shall be allowed entry. All other inbound international travelers, regardless of vaccination status, who have been to Red List countries within the last 14 days prior to arrival to the Philippines shall not be allowed. All passengers merely transiting through Red List countries shall not be considered as coming from the said countries. They should have stayed in the airport the whole time and wasn't cleared for entry by the immigration authorities of the said country.
• Returning Filipinos from Red List countries shall undergo a 14-day quarantine period, with the first 10 days required to observed in a quarantine facility.
• RT-PCR test shall be conducted on their seventh day, and the passengers are required to finish their mandatory 10-day quarantine at the facility regardless of a negative test result.

To validate their vaccination status, OFWs, their loved ones, and foreigners can present their VaxCertPH digital vaccination certificate, Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ)/World Health Organization (WHO) - issued International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV), or the national/state digital certificate of the country where they were vaccinated, which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF.

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