Manila: The Philippines has liberalised the entry of foreigners by doing away with the six-month passport validity requirement, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced on Wednesday.
Citing, among other reasons, the need to keep the country’s entry rules consistent with those of other countries, De Lima said she has approved a new circular lifting the six months passport validity requirement on foreigners visiting the country upon the recommendations by the Bureau of Immigration and the Office for Competition.
“There is a need to revise the purpose and practicality of the six-months passport validity rule given the improvements in our country’s immigration controls and to align with international best practices,” De Lima said.
The reasons why the country imposed the requirement for foreigners entering the country in the first place was not specified, but there are 52 other nations aside from the Philippines that observe this rule.
The new rule is expected to encourage more foreign travellers to visit the country.
The passport validity requirement had been a concern in the past since it saw some travellers cancelling plans to visit the country.
But under the new Circular, foreign nationals holding valid passports upon arrival would be allowed entry on the following conditions: If their embassies or consulates in the Philippines are authorised to renew or extend the validity of their passport; and if there is no ground to deny them entry into the country under existing laws, rules and regulations.
For his part, Immigrations Commissioner Siegfried Mison said “the enforcement of a new Passport Validity Rule is consistent with the primary mandate of the Immigrations [Department] to administer and enforce immigration laws.”
“It will lessen instances of exclusion of foreign nationals based solely on the deficiency in their passport validity and contribute to our tourism efforts — for good guys to be given ease of access,” he said.
Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy, Head of the Office for Fair Competition said the country’s policies on must be responsive to current situations.
“Government must constantly review and update rules and regulations for the public to experience better administration while ensuring the integrity of border security,” he said.
