The opening time of Philippine visa has been set, and the Philippines will soon open the entry of foreign tourists!

Authorities have approved in principle foreign visitors from "green countries" to enter the Philippines if they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, acting spokesman for the Philippine presidential Nograles Karlo said Friday.

Although the opening date has not yet been set, Noglas said that the inter-agency epidemic prevention working group and relevant government agencies are finalizing the implementation details.

He told a press conference: "The inter-agency epidemic prevention task force already has preliminary guidelines, but we need to adjust something. We are announcing here just to inform the world in advance that we are about to welcome foreign tourists from green countries and regions who are fully vaccinated against the new crown."

According to the latest guidelines, inbound travelers from green countries and regions, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, only need to present a negative report of COVID-19 72 hours prior to departure, without mandatory hotel quarantine, but must monitor themselves for flu-like symptoms within 14 days.

Inbound passengers who have not been vaccinated against the new crown are subject to 6 days of mandatory quarantine observation and RT-PCR new crown testing on the fifth day of arrival.

At the same time, the testing and quarantine protocols for minors should follow the protocol with their counterparts, regardless of their vaccination status.

Philippine Tourism Department (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said on Friday morning that the inter-agency epidemic prevention task force has approved in principle the entry of foreign tourists from "green countries/regions" into the Philippines, provided they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Puyat said that according to preliminary discussions, foreign tourists must be fully vaccinated with vaccines authorized by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration for emergency use or authorized by the World Health Organization and produce relevant certificates.

She added: "Allowing foreign tourists from green countries and regions to enter the Philippines will help the recovery of the country's tourism industry and boost consumer confidence, because the tourism industry is an important contributor to the country's GDP or GDP growth."

At present, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are all on the list of green countries.

"Our ASEAN neighbors, such as Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, have also opened their international borders. We believe that it is also time for us to reopen our borders for inbound tourism as a way of full recovery," said Puyat."

At the same time, the Philippine Ministry of Tourism will work to establish a tourism bubble mechanism for foreign tourists from yellow countries and regions.

The latest red, yellow and green entry restriction list

According to the latest data from the Philippine authorities, only one country is on the red list (no entry), and 49 countries and regions are on the green list.

Red list (high-risk countries and regions): No entry

Bermuda

Green list (low-risk countries and regions):

American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Taiwan, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint E, nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, St. Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.

All other unmentioned countries, regions or jurisdictions are on the yellow list (medium risk countries and regions).

International travelers from red-listed countries are not allowed to enter the Philippines regardless of their vaccination status. Only Filipino citizens returning to the Philippines through government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation and Bayanihan flights can be allowed to enter the country, subject to entry, testing and quarantine agreements.