jg121783

My wife and I are traveling to the Philippines December 10th. When I booked our tickets I wasn't paying attention and booked it so we are in the Philippines 33 days so I am assuming I will need a balikbayan visa correct? What documents do I need to obtain one? Unfortunately we have misplaced our original PSA copy of our marriage certificate. However we do have a photocopy of it along with the original local copy. Will this be sufficient or do we need an original copy of the PSA certificate? If we need the original is there any way we can obtain one before our trip from the consulate in Chicago? If not are there any other options or do I need to try to change the dates of our flight?

Looks like its official now. https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/OHP-NEW-DESIGN/Entry-Guidelines.html

My understanding is immediately.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/02/marcos-oks-more-lax-entry-rules-to-ph/ PAL website (updated last night):

I dont think that is up to date.

It appears that the Philippines no longer requires foreigners to be vaccinated to enter. The only requirement for unvaccinated people is a rapid covid test before departure. Also no one is required to quarantine any longer. Thought this info might be useful to some people here. We are going December 10th and this happened just in time for us. The Philippines airlines website has been updated to reflect the changes.

I just noticed this. Did the rules change? Their website up until recently said unvaccinated foreigners couldn't enter. If this info is accurate that is good news for my wife and I as we are unvaccinated and wanted to go to the Philippines in December.

I have seen more than one person on some facebook groups I'm on claim that they are an unvaccinated foreigner and were able to enter Manila with a 5 day quarantine. They all say this is only possible if entering on a balikbayan visa but there is no way to verify what these people are saying. I had someone tell me to call the Bureau of quarantine and they will verify that I can enter with a quarantine. Who knows if there is any truth to this. I will probably wait until an official notice is issued about any rule changes just to be safe. Cebu might be an alternative option for us if I can verify they are actually letting unvaccinated foreigners in. We were planning on going there for a few days anyways.

It appears the public health emergency expires in September. However it can be renewed. My guess and I could be wrong is that it will be allowed to expire or renewed with less restrictions. No one can say for sure if or when the vaccine requirement will be dropped but the way Marcos is talking about covid restrictions and bringing back tourism things seem to be going in the right direction. Also Marcos has commented that the covid rules would be reviewed the middle of this month. All we can do is wait and see. The Philippines is in the minority of countries now that require a vaccine for tourists so it is only a matter of time before they have to join the rest of the world in being reasonable. As far as the "Cebu loophole" goes I have seen reports of foreigners being allowed to enter Cebu unvaccinated and I have seen reports of them being turned away so as far as that goes it is travel at your own risk.

I have been reading that the public health emergency expires in September and unless Marcos renews it all covid restrictions will end and I haven't seen anything indicating he plans on renewing it. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/philippines-to-revise-covid-19-restrictions-in-august-marcos-says Not sure exactly what this means as there aren't a lot of details but it looks like a move in the right direction. That combined with the push to bring back tourism gives me hope that the covid rules might change soon.

My wife just renewed her and my step son's passports this last Monday in Chicago. All we had for my step son was the original green birth certificate and a photocopy of the PSA version. My wife had no problem getting them to accept it. I can't say if it will be the same in DC but I hope that helps you. Just take the original green one and the photocopy of the PSA version to show them and make photocopies of both to give them. Good luck.

True. But as I said my wife doesn't feel comfortable taking him without me. So either the rules will have to change in the foreseeable future to allow me to go or he wont be going until he is older unfortunately. It's sad because we told him we were going before I realized the rules wont allow me to go and he keeps asking when we are going to the Philippines to see his relatives that he talks to online all the time. It is what it is though. Nothing I can do about the rules in the Philippines and I'm not going to do something that puts my health at risk just to be able to go.

He is 4. My wife doesn't feel comfortable traveling with him without me going also. My step son who is a Philippines citizen is 15 so that is a little different. Those two might end up going alone next summer worst case if the rules don't change.

Apparently practically speaking they cannot. However the governor of Cebu issued an executive order allowing unvaccinated foreigners to enter Cebu with a quarantine. She cited wanting to bring back tourism as a reason. I guess because of this all international flights bound for Cebu are being rerouted to Manila from what I have read. I'm not sure about that but I am fairly certain the governor of Cebu did issue the executive order.

It was a joke.

My wife doesn't feel comfortable traveling with our son without me and none of us will be getting vaccinated under any circumstances. That leaves only a couple options. Wait and see if the rules change or if they don't by next summer my wife and step son (both Philippines citizens) will go without our younger son and myself. I did however read about getting our son Philippines citizenship and it looks like it is done by mail and is fairly straightforward. The only part I can't figure out is the affidavit stating why we waited longer than a year to report his birth. Can I use ignorance of how the process works as an excuse?

I think as of right now we are going to hold onto the plane tickets we have and see if the rules change between now and whenever our deadline for getting a refund or changing dates is. My wife thinks the new president will change the rules but no one can predict the future. It appears as though the rules are different in Cebu and technically speaking anyways unvaccinated foreigners can come there so maybe that will put some pressure on the new president but who knows. So we'll wait until around the last possible day we can get a refund then decide what to do at that point. Our plan B would be to plan for next summer and hope the rules change by then. Our last option is my wife and step son go without our son and myself.

I am also wondering about the Cebu rule difference. I have read airlines are not honoring it effectively nullifying it. However I wonder how much this might put political pressure on the new president to change the rules. I have been doing some reading trying to find what his views are on covid policies but haven't found anything. I am wondering if anyone has any insight on this. I am trying to decide if I should try to get my plane tickets refunded now or wait it out for a few months and see if the rules change by December. Any thoughts on this from anyone who follows Philippines politics would be appreciated.

It appears after reading this post I misunderstood the rules on unvaccinated foreigners and thought the quarantine rules applied and wasted money on plane tickets to go visit my wife's family in the Philippines in December. Just to clarify our son born in the US and myself will not be able to enter the Philippines on the Balikbayan visa without vaccines even if we did the quarantine with my wife. Someone please tell me this is incorrect or there is a chance this could change before December.

It appears from everything I have been reading only unvaccinated Philippines citizens can enter the Philippines. Unvaccinated foreigners cannot. Please tell me I am missing something here otherwise I just wasted a lot of money on plane tickets. Hopefully there is an unvaccinated US citizen here who can confirm they traveled to the Philippines.

Just purchased our plane tickets on Korean Air. Got a 15 hour layover in Seoul on the way there. Anyone know what the requirements are to leave the airport or if my wife and step son would even be able to with Philippines passports? I am reading they have short guided tours of the city from the airport which might be an interesting way to kill time. Otherwise it looks like there is a lot to do and even places to sleep in the airport.

My wife and step son are Philippines citizens and we are actually going to Chicago next Monday to renew their Philippines passports. Our 4 year old son is a US citizen born in the US and we are about to apply for his US passport. Are you saying we should get him a Philippines passport and if so what is the process and purpose of doing so and is it too late to add it to our appointment next Monday?

My wife, myself and our two kids are planning on going to the Philippines in December to visit her family. I have some questions regarding this trip hopefully you guys can answer. First question is how long can our US citizen son and myself stay in the Philippines (I assume they still give you the visa at the airport, correct me if I am wrong)? I know last time I went before we were married I had a 30 day visa but I thought if you were married to a citizen it is longer than 30 days. I am asking because I am currently looking at buying our plane tickets and I can get the best price if we stay a few days longer than 30 days. Second question is regarding covid rules. We are unvaccinated so it is my understanding we will have to have a negative covid test and stay in a quarantine when we arrive. How long according to current rules do we have to be in quarantine and can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel we can stay at for the quarantine? I am sure I will have more questions as we get closer to the trip so I will reply to this post when I come up with more.

We are planning a trip to go visit my wife's family in the Philippines this December and January (If anyone knows where I can find reasonably priced plane tickets let me know) and my wife and step son have Philippines passports that need to be renewed. After months of trying the scheduling website I was finally able to get them an appointment at the Chicago consulate which is on July 11th. My first question is what documents do we need to bring with us and does my minor stepson have to be with us to renew his passport? I know we need the confirmation email and the application form they emailed us but beyond that I am not sure what else we need. The next question would be what are the fees we have to pay and what forms of payment do they accept? A couple other questions I have are will I be able to go in with my wife (and step son if he is required to be there) and how hard is it to find a parking spot in this area? Thanks in advance for your answers.