Do I need a visa now to go to the phillipines?

[glazierguy 20]

I’m from the United States. I’ve been to the phillipines before. Never had to have a visa before, do you now? There is so much different info out there. Also it seems like maybe no more 10 day quarantine in your hotel if you’ve got proof of fully vaccinated and within 72 hours travel no Covid test results. I really want to go see my fiancé badly. Please tell me what it takes if anyone truly knows for sure. I can’t afford the cost or time to sit in a hotel for 10 days quarantine of denied entry without a visa. Thank you.....

[Crazy Cat 41,460]

***I have moved this topic to the Philippines Regional discussion area*****

[J B L 4]

If you are seeing just a fiance then you can't get in as of now, been that way for 19 months now.  I suspect you are looking at another 6 months before they open up for tourism and can enter Philippines with presentation of passport upon arrival.

 

[J B L 4]

1 hour ago, glazierguy said:

I’m from the United States. I’ve been to the phillipines before. Never had to have a visa before, do you now? There is so much different info out there. Also it seems like maybe no more 10 day quarantine in your hotel if you’ve got proof of fully vaccinated and within 72 hours travel no Covid test results. I really want to go see my fiancé badly. Please tell me what it takes if anyone truly knows for sure. I can’t afford the cost or time to sit in a hotel for 10 days quarantine of denied entry without a visa. Thank you.....

 

[glazierguy 20]

Is there a country near by that filipinas can travel to with just a passport, and no quarantine and maybe meet that way? Like Thailand or something? Thanks

[top_secret 2,347]

12 minutes ago, glazierguy said:

Is there a country near by that filipinas can travel to with just a passport, and no quarantine and maybe meet that way? Like Thailand or something? Thanks

 Since October 1, Thailand is open to fully vaccinated Filipinas and Americans without quarantine through their "sand box" scheme whereby they would have to stay in Phuket for 7 days and get tested several times before traveling elsewhere in Thailand.   There are a number of other requirements but it is possible without quarantine if fully vaccinated.  Filipinas have always had allot of trouble with Philippine immigration trying to depart the Philippines alone, and that has only gotten worse during COVID lockdown.  So for many the greatest challenge would be just getting out of the Philippines.  It's often is not as simple as just buying a plane ticket and meeting the requirements of the destination country.

[glazierguy 20]

So basically nothing is a for sure thing. Thanks for your reply. 

[andrewfromdenver 31]

5 hours ago, top_secret said:

 Since October 1, Thailand is open to fully vaccinated Filipinas and Americans without quarantine through their "sand box" scheme whereby they would have to stay in Phuket for 7 days and get tested several times before traveling elsewhere in Thailand.   There are a number of other requirements but it is possible without quarantine if fully vaccinated.  Filipinas have always had allot of trouble with Philippine immigration trying to depart the Philippines alone, and that has only gotten worse during COVID lockdown.  So for many the greatest challenge would be just getting out of the Philippines.  It's often is not as simple as just buying a plane ticket and meeting the requirements of the destination country.

from what i understand the biggest obstacle is IO........many girls were stopped right before boarding a plane

 

they said the reasons were IO didnt consider meeting fiance as essential travel, some said IO told them they were too young to marry and some said that they needed to pay a 20,000 peso fee

 

but that is just what i read from collection of facebook stories.....so i do not know if the incidents have been confirmed or not

[Just Paul 4,595]

5 hours ago, glazierguy said:

Is there a country near by that filipinas can travel to with just a passport, and no quarantine and maybe meet that way? Like Thailand or something? Thanks

Precovid we meet up in Hong Kong, but one time immigration 'offloaded' her thinking she might be a victim of trafficking.  So I had to take a day and fly over to accompany her.  They still stopped us again, interviewing both of us, and finally letting us travel together.  That was the last time we tried traveling internationally separately until after we got married.  Then she made the Hong Kong trip many times alone.

 

Singapore is pretty much open for tourists, but she still has to get out the the country.

[top_secret 2,347]

24 minutes ago, andrewfromdenver said:

from what i understand the biggest obstacle is IO........many girls were stopped right before boarding a plane

 

they said the reasons were IO didnt consider meeting fiance as essential travel, some said IO told them they were too young to marry and some said that they needed to pay a 20,000 peso fee

 

but that is just what i read from collection of facebook stories.....so i do not know if the incidents have been confirmed or not

There is no ban on non-essential outbound travel.  The Philippines lifted that ban October 21, 2020.  Non-essential travel is permitted.

 

In the Philippines one needs their passport stamped to leave the country.  Generally, the first IO at exit Immigration would ask a few basic questions about the trip and either stamp their passport and send them on their way, OR refer them for a secondary interview with the offloading officer.  If they get referred for a secondary interview, they could be asked to show all sorts of documentation about the trip, the relationship with anyone they may meet and any and all manner of things the secondary IO thinks up.  There are no limits on what the IO may ask. It's totally at their discretion.  If the passenger passes the secondary interview, they get sent back to the first IO to get their passport stamped and cleared for departure.  If they fail the secondary interview they get "offloaded".  They are sent back to the airline check-in so they can, check-out.

 

They have a published policy, however it kind of leaves everything up to the discretion of the IO.

https://lisbonpe.dfa.gov.ph/images/pdf/GuidelinesonDepartureFormalitiesforInternational-BoundPassengersinallAirportsandSeaportsintheCountry.pdf

 

Basically, if it's a first trip abroad, there is an almost certain referral for a secondary interview.  If there is a foreign sponsor funding the trip, there is an almost certain referral for a secondary interview and a whole lot of hard questions about the relationship.

[VanHalen 3]

12 hours ago, top_secret said:

There is no ban on non-essential outbound travel.  The Philippines lifted that ban October 21, 2020.  Non-essential travel is permitted.

 

In the Philippines one needs their passport stamped to leave the country.  Generally, the first IO at exit Immigration would ask a few basic questions about the trip and either stamp their passport and send them on their way, OR refer them for a secondary interview with the offloading officer.  If they get referred for a secondary interview, they could be asked to show all sorts of documentation about the trip, the relationship with anyone they may meet and any and all manner of things the secondary IO thinks up.  There are no limits on what the IO may ask. It's totally at their discretion.  If the passenger passes the secondary interview, they get sent back to the first IO to get their passport stamped and cleared for departure.  If they fail the secondary interview they get "offloaded".  They are sent back to the airline check-in so they can, check-out.

 

They have a published policy, however it kind of leaves everything up to the discretion of the IO.

https://lisbonpe.dfa.gov.ph/images/pdf/GuidelinesonDepartureFormalitiesforInternational-BoundPassengersinallAirportsandSeaportsintheCountry.pdf

 

Basically, if it's a first trip abroad, there is an almost certain referral for a secondary interview.  If there is a foreign sponsor funding the trip, there is an almost certain referral for a secondary interview and a whole lot of hard questions about the relationship.

But if a female was going to Japan to work as GRO and send money back to Philippines, then the government would probably carry her luggage onto the plane 

[John & Rose 7,239]

On 10/18/2021 at 9:22 AM, J B L said:

If you are seeing just a fiance then you can't get in as of now, been that way for 19 months now.  I suspect you are looking at another 6 months before they open up for tourism and can enter Philippines with presentation of passport upon arrival.

 

Unofficial word in Manila is tourism will open back up late 2022 or early 2023 depending on vaccination rates in the Philippines.  There has been some good news lately with quarantine times so hopefully they unofficial information is wrong.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 minute ago, John & Rose said:

Unofficial word in Manila is tourism will open back up late 2022 or early 2023 depending on vaccination rates in the Philippines.  There has been some good news lately with quarantine times so hopefully they unofficial information is wrong.

 

There will definitely have to be clarity on what countries consider the definition of "open back for tourism."  The news coming out of SE Asia is Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc are opening up to tourists and that high season has arrived.  However, if someone looks at the details, they may be scared off of even going to a country for tourism purposes.  For example, Singapore is opening up to US travelers, but the country has strict rules on his citizens.  You need a vaccine passport to enter a mall, restaurants, gym, etc.  Also, Singapore plans to make testing a way of life, its quite possible you may have to test 3, 4 and 5 times a day depending on the circumstances.  I am off to Singapore next week as I need to enter the country for 1 day every calendar year to maintain my PR status, but it will be anything but a vacation.  Since its only myself, at least Ill be able to go to a restaurant or mall. 

 

Many countries still have indoor mask regulations, while others still have regulations to wear a mask indoors and outdoors.  Also, curfews can still persist in these newly "opened" countries.  Its all different by country.  If a person is going to meet a family member or significant other, then these kind of rules could be tolerated, but if a person is going on a vacation, I doubt many will want to deal with all of the rules in place.

 

For the Philippines, they are more interested in opening up domestic tourism starting the first quarter of 2022.  According to that timeline, opening up for international tourism in late 2022 or 2023 would make sense.  

[John & Rose 7,239]

2 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

There will definitely have to be clarity on what countries consider the definition of "open back for tourism."  The news coming out of SE Asia is Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc are opening up to tourists and that high season has arrived.  However, if someone looks at the details, they may be scared off of even going to a country for tourism purposes.  For example, Singapore is opening up to US travelers, but the country has strict rules on his citizens.  You need a vaccine passport to enter a mall, restaurants, gym, etc.  Also, Singapore plans to make testing a way of life, its quite possible you may have to test 3, 4 and 5 times a day depending on the circumstances.  I am off to Singapore next week as I need to enter the country for 1 day every calendar year to maintain my PR status, but it will be anything but a vacation.  Since its only myself, at least Ill be able to go to a restaurant or mall. 

 

Many countries still have indoor mask regulations, while others still have regulations to wear a mask indoors and outdoors.  Also, curfews can still persist in these newly "opened" countries.  Its all different by country.  If a person is going to meet a family member or significant other, then these kind of rules could be tolerated, but if a person is going on a vacation, I doubt many will want to deal with all of the rules in place.

 

For the Philippines, they are more interested in opening up domestic tourism starting the first quarter of 2022.  According to that timeline, opening up for international tourism in late 2022 or 2023 would make sense.  

That is pretty much in line with what we hear from my wife's relatives there.  Throw in the election in May and I see other things taking priority over international tourism.

[Lola Lolo 34]

21 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Precovid we meet up in Hong Kong, but one time immigration 'offloaded' her thinking she might be a victim of trafficking.  So I had to take a day and fly over to accompany her.  They still stopped us again, interviewing both of us, and finally letting us travel together.  That was the last time we tried traveling internationally separately until after we got married.  Then she made the Hong Kong trip many times alone.

 

Singapore is pretty much open for tourists, but she still has to get out the the country.

Same thing happened to us before back in 2014.  My husband and I going to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia and it’s my first time to travel out of the country and we are gf/bf those time. The IO in Manila he asked me about many questions and I show him some pictures of our trips domestic and then they let me fly with my now my husband of course. 
Then we travel again and again to Singapore , Kuala Lumpur, with no question at all… Yes most IO are so strict to their own filipino especially woman traveling alone no travel history and meet there fiancé to the other country. But now is more difficult to travel in the Philippines so many restrictions because of Covid-19.