BI implements Oman, UAE travel ban starting May 15
BEGINNING May 15, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is implementing the extended travel ban, to include Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in an effort to stop the entry of the new COVID-19 variant from India.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong said the BI is not expecting anyone coming from said countries, as airline companies were instructed not to allow the boarding of passengers prohibited from entering, unless they are part of repatriation efforts of the national government.
Capulong also clarified that those who will be merely transiting through the said region will be allowed to enter.
“Transiting would mean that they did not leave the airport terminal, were not cleared by immigration authorities, and are just there for a layover,” he said.
The said travel ban is based on an order from Malacañang extending the ongoing temporary travel ban for travelers coming from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka until May 31, 2021.
As such, those coming from Oman and UAE will temporarily be barred as well, until the end of the month.
Capulong said those who will be coming from, or have a travel history within the last 14 days from the said countries, will be excluded and sent back to their port of origin.
