The Philippines are opening their borders…and I can’t wait!
The Philippines are opening their borders to vast swathes of foreigners from February 2022 - a move that could propel the island nation to the very top of attractive international destinations to visit.
What’s happening?
As of the 1st February, The Philippines will:
Remove their Red, Orange, Green list system (similar to the former UK traffic light system) ending mandatory hotel quarantine for the former two lists
Allow free flow of Filipino Citizens who are fully vaccinated
From the 10th February, in addition to the above, foreign tourists from 150+ countries with visa-free privilege will be able to enter The Philippines.
What’s required for entry?
All travellers will need an RT-PCR test 48 hours prior to departure. For fully vaccinated individuals, no test or quarantine is required on arrival, but you are asked to monitor coronavirus symptoms for five days after arrival (although you should do this all the time). I assume that the list of accepted vaccinations will be broad mirroring the WHO’s list, which includes all UK/EU/US approved vaccinations, as well as Russia’s Sputnik vaccine (which is in use throughout the country).
Unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unverifiable individuals will need to go into 5 day mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival followed by a 9 day home quarantine. Unverifiable individuals is defined as a country who has not accepted The Philippines VaxCertPH as proof of Covid Vaccination - thus they do not accept your country’s certificate in return. The UK government has confirmed that The Philippines accept UK proof of vaccination including the NHS Covid Pass. I would recommend getting a formal letter of vaccination from the NHS in addition to your Digital Covid Pass.
The Philippines will have the most liberal border policy in Asia
After a strict border closure for 2 years, The Philippines has been catapulted from some of the most draconian measures to the most liberal border measures. Unlike Thailand there is no test or one night quarantine on arrival and unlike Singapore there are no designated vaccinated flights. This is great for simplicity, as it gives you far more travel options to get to the country, but also reduces the risk of your ending up in a hospital for isolation if you test positive on your arrival test.
The new approach to Covid border regulation
The border policies relating to Covid will be the simplest within ASEAN and all of Asia - I suspect that this may now become a race between South East Asian countries for tourist dollars. Other countries, like Thailand, may see prospective tourists switch to The Philippines to reduce expenditure on testing or to eliminate the risk of ending up in mandatory isolation whilst abroad. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement from other ASEAN governments reducing their entry requirements to that of The Philippines or further - such as a lateral flow test instead of PCR.
Some issues imminently
If you’re looking to get to The Philippines imminently, then you may face some problems. If you’re paying for a cash fare then expect sky high prices in every class of travel starting at around GBP 1000 return in Economy. This is due to reductions of capacity into the country due to suppressed demand over the past 2 years resulting in limited flights being available to purchase. The other additional factor is the closest major airport hub in Hong Kong is a non-starter for all foreigners due to the travel bans imposed by the territory. Many airlines such as BA, Finnair and Lufthansa would use Hong Kong to connect passengers to The Philippines using Cathay Pacific or Philippine Airlines - rather than serving directly. This option is now gone and transit impossible in the city in the foreseeable future. Buying travel with points or airline miles is difficult also with a lack of options on both oneworld and Star Alliance from my recent checks.
If you can overcome this however, and I suspect market forces will come into play, you may be able to win big by visiting The Philippines soon. Tourism is unlikely to pick up in vast numbers until The Philippines’ biggest market sources, South Korea and China, end their quarantine requirements on return - so you could beat the crowds and visit many of the hotspots without bother. As noted in my article about Laos last week, this could also be an extension to a South East Asian holiday - instead, this time going to Singapore/Thailand and then The Philippines to make the most of the current arrangements.
