PUBLIC ADVISORY No.

11 on COVID-19

Updated Travel Restriction Guidelines of All Travelers from Countries with

Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 B117 Strain

The Philippine Consulate General in Houston wishes to urgently announce that FOREIGN
TRAVELERS are PROHIBITED from entering the Philippines effective 03 January 2021,
until 15 January 2021, if they are coming from the United States (US) or have been in
the US in the past fourteen (14) days.

ALL VISA ISSUANCES are suspended with immediate effect until 15 January 2021
to foreign nationals coming from the US and other countries covered by travel restrictions.

The US joins the list of countries with similar travel restrictions to the Philippines listed
below:

1. Denmark 8. Switzerland 15. Sweden

2. Ireland 9. France 16. South Korea
3. Japan 10. Germany 17. South Africa
4. Australia 11. Iceland 18. Canada
5. Israel 12. Italy 19. Spain
6. The Netherlands 13. Lebanon 20. United Kingdom
7. Hong Kong SAR 14. Singapore

Effective immediately, Filipino citizens coming from the US, or who have been to the US
within 14 days immediately preceding arrival in the Philippines, including those arriving
after 03 January 2020, shall not be prohibited from entering the country, but shall be
required to undergo an absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine period notwithstanding
a negative RT-PCR result.

The aforementioned additional measures, including the prohibition to enter the Philippines
shall apply to all foreign nationals regardless of their visa category, including holders of
9E visas, as well as previously issued endorsements or exemptions from the temporary
suspension of visa issuance from the Department, and privileges under Republic Act No.
6768 (i.e., “Balikbayan”) for the duration of the travel ban.

In addition to the above, the following rules shall apply to Filipino and foreign passengers
merely transiting through a country covered by the travel restrictions:

A. All passengers, whether Filipinos or foreigners, merely transiting through any of

the above-mentioned countries with travel restrictions shall not be deemed as
having come from or having been to such covered country, provided they stayed in
the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry into the covered country by
its immigration authorities;
B. Upon arrival in the Philippines, passengers covered by the immediately preceding
paragraph need not complete a full 14-day facility-based quarantine, and may be
allowed home quarantine upon testing negative on RT-PCR at point of entry, pursuant
to existing protocols of the national government.

C. Transiting foreign passengers who left the airport of transit or were cleared for entry
into the covered country/jurisdiction by its immigration authorities shall be prohibited
from entering the Philippines; and

D. Transiting Filipino nationals who have left the airport or were cleared for entry into the
covered country/jurisdiction by its immigration authorities shall not be prohibited from
entering the Philippines, but shall be required to undergo an absolute facility-based
14-day quarantine period regardless of a negative RT-PCR result.

The Consulate General advises all travelers to the Philippines to carefully reconsider their
travel plans, including postponing their trips until after the end of the travel restrictions to
avoid personal inconvenience and possible additional expenses as well as help prevent
the incidence of the new COVID-19 variant in the country.
For further inquiry on this matter, the Consulate may be reached at the following email
address: pcghouston.visa@gmail.com.

END