Travelling To The Philippines From April 2022 Onwards

As summer approaches, most people around the world are eagerly making travel plans for the holidays. One of the places that a lot of people have put on their itinerary for this year is the Philippines, and for a good reason too!

The Philippines is a gorgeous collection of over 7,000 islands that provide tourists with everything they could ask for in a vacation. Luxury and affordable hotels, miles of untouched beaches, diverse landscapes, unrivalled natural sights and amazing customer service are all hallmarks of an excellent holiday in the Philippines. 

So, if you’re looking for guidelines to travel to the Philippines in 2022, don’t worry! This blog post serves as a Philippines travel advisory and will clear all your doubts about the process.

Guidelines For Travelling To The Philippines, April 2022

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic began, the travel landscape has changed dramatically. There are several other steps to complete before you can depart from or arrive in any country, and many travellers face difficulties or have to cancel their plans because they didn’t know about the entire process. 

This Philippines travel advice piece will help you clear your entry process fairly quickly because that’s how we did it. So, what are the steps for entering the Philippines as a fully vaccinated foreign national? Let’s find out.

1. Make Sure You Have A Valid Passport

While it may seem like a no-brainer to most people, we have seen quite a few people on our travels who were turned away because their passports had less than six months left before expiry. 

So, before you do anything else, make sure your passport is valid for longer than six months when you enter a country.

2. Provide An Acceptable Proof Of Vaccination

Currently, to enter the Philippines you need to show proof of a Covid-19 International Certificate of Vaccination or ICV, which is a document that records an individual’s vaccinations required to travel into the Philippines. It is recognised by member countries of the World Health Organization, and a digital copy is fine to present at the validation counter in the Philippines.  

However, if you are not vaccinated and plan to get vaccinated, you need to ensure that a second dose of one of the accepted vaccines should have been administered at least fourteen days before your date of arrival into the Philippines. 

Keep in mind that foreign nationals travelling to the Philippines through a 9(a) visa cannot enter the country if they are unvaccinated. However, if a foreign national travels to the Philippines and has proof of vaccination but it isn’t acceptable in the country, they are allowed to enter but need to subject themselves to a mandatory quarantine.

3. Book A Return Ticket

While this is not something you’ll typically find on many Philippines travel advisory websites, you should know that you won’t be allowed into the country if you don’t have a return ticket. 

This ticket can generally be to any country, not just to your country of departure. Some people only book or rent their tickets via services like Onward Ticket or book free cancellation tickets through websites such as EDreams Philippines.

4. Have The Specified Travel Insurance

The Philippines' latest travel advisory guidelines indicate that you need to have a proof of travel insurance before you’re allowed to enter the country. 

Generally, the guidelines require you to have travel or medical insurance with a minimum coverage amount of $35,000 USD. In addition, your travel insurance needs to include COVID-19 treatment in its coverage or the Filipino authorities will not accept it. Safety Wing is a recommended option, as you are able to apply for travel insurance that will cover up to $250,000 USD including COVID-19 treatment, and you can cancel the insurance at any time, as they provide month to month subscriptions.

5. Get A COVID-19 or Rapid Laboratory Antigen Test Done Prior To Arrival

Now, this is the part most people have problems with, but it’s fairly straightforward if you plan ahead. Currently, the Philippines accepts a negative RT-PCR test that you’ve taken within 48 hours before your arrival or an antigen test taken 24 hours before your arrival. The Antigen test must be carried out in a medical facility, which provides a Laboratory certificate.

Just make sure you have your negative results with you and it’ll be all good!

6. Get Your One Health Pass

The One Health Pass is a piece of documentation that you need to fill out no more than three days before your arrival into the Philippines. It’s quite an extensive document and it took us around 15 minutes to complete. 

In addition, you’ll also need to make sure that you have digital copies of your documentation such as your identity documents, Antigen or RT-PCR test results and your proof of vaccination certificates, as you’ll be asked to upload them online. 

Just make sure you have them ready because at times the One Health Pass website refreshes if you take too long. Another piece of Philippines travel advice that we might like to offer you is to have a place to stay already booked before you travel. We say that because you’ll need to enter your place of stay in the One Health Pass and also report it to the authorities at the airport. You can book a cheap accommodation through Agoda. 

7. Get An S-Pass 

An S-PaSS is a document you need to travel domestically in the country because different islands and cities in the Philippines have different travel restrictions and requirements. Having an S-PaSS ensures that you’ll be allowed to travel wherever you like without any hassle.