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<\/p>\nSince last\u00a0month, the Bureau of Immigration allowed foreign traders and investors to enter the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Now, foreigners who were in the Philippines but temporarily left since December 17 will now be allowed re-entry by the\u00a0Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).<\/p>\n
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Among the foreigners who can return to the Philippines are those with permanent residence in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
As stated in section 9 (g) of the Commonwealth Act 613 or the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, foreign visa holders are those \u201clawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, who is returning from a temporary visit abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foreigners who wish to\u00a0go back to the Philippines after overseas travel must have a valid and existing visa on the date of the arrival; a pre-booked testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at a laboratory operating at the airport; and a pre-booked quarantine facility.<\/p>\n
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Returning foreigners must also be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.<\/p>\n
The IATF-EID, in its Resolution 89 issued on Thursday, said the new policy should be \u201cwithout prejudice to immigration laws, rules and regulations.\u201d Based on the new resolution, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente still has the \u201cexclusive prerogative\u201d to decide on waiver or recall of exclusion orders for the foreigners.<\/p>\n