BEGINNING June 1, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will no longer allow the entry of foreign nationals who present entry exemption documents (EEDs) issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) before February 8, 2021.

The BI will implement the said travel guidelines pursuant to a communication received from the DFA, which said that entry exemption documents now have a validity of 90 days from the date of issuance.

Thus, all such document issued before February 8 are deemed expired by June 1 and aliens who are still holding said EEDs that remain unused must enter the country on or before May 31.

Atty. Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division Chief, disclosed that entry exemptions issued by the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) during the travel ban from March 22 to April 30 may still be used until May 31.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), in a resolution passed earlier this month, ruled that entry exemptions issued by the NTF shall be recognized as valid until May 31.

Capulong reiterated that in compliance with the IATF rules, all 9(a) visa holders, as well Special Resident Retirees Visas, are required to secure entry exemptions from the DFA to be allowed entry into the Philippines.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Itchie G. Cabayan