Foreign spouses, kids of Filipinos to be allowed entry to PH starting Dec. 7

Arrivals at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. INQUIRER FILE

Foreign spouses and children of Filipinos will be allowed entry to the Philippines starting next week as the government continued to relax one of the strictest Covid 19 restrictions in the world and signs the pandemic has “plateaued” in the country.

The inter-agency task force “allowed the entry to the Philippines of Filipino citizens’ foreign spouses and children, regardless of age, who are traveling with them, starting Dec. 7,” announced Palace spokesperson Harry Roque.

The IATF also allowed the “entry of former Filipino citizens, including their spouses and children, regardless of age, who are traveling with them,” he added.

The travelers are allowed visa-free entry and required to pre-book a quarantine facility and Covid 19 test at an airport laboratory, Roque said in a statement.

The IATF directed the immigration bureau to “ensure the smooth implementation of this policy” and the tourism department to “issue the necessary guidelines,” said Roque.

The Philippines has recently relaxed some travel restrictions to help the country’s battered economy recover from recession. The rise in the number of new Covid 19 cases have fell below 2,000 a day for nearly three weeks, prompting officials to say the trend of Covid 19 cases in the country has “plateaued.”