Philippines travel guide: what you need to know as the UAE is added to the green list

The Philippines has extended its green list, adding the UAE and Oman to destinations from where visitors can travel without supervised quarantine.

This means travellers who are fully vaccinated will not need to undergo quarantine in a facility as long as they have a negative PCR result within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

The news comes a week after the Philippines was added to Abu Dhabi's green list, allowing quarantine-free travel to the UAE for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.

The Asian country implemented a new traffic light system to replace the blanket travel ban on some destinations in September. The travel ban to the Philippines was first introduced in April in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The UAE had been on the list since May 15.

If you're thinking of travelling to the Philippines soon, here's a handy guide with the key information you’ll need to know before you go.

Who can travel?

Currently, only some travellers can fly to the Philippines without quarantine according to the country's Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

People allowed to enter the country include Filipino citizens, foreign spouses, and parents or children of Filipino citizens with valid visas.

Foreign nationals with valid and existing visas, or with entry exemption documents, and diplomats are also allowed to travel to the Philippines.

Is the Philippines open for tourists?

A deserted beach in the Philippines. The country is not yet open for tourism. EPA

No, the Philippines is not yet open for tourism and entry for foreign tourists remains suspended. No visa on arrival services are operational at this time.

However, Bloomberg reported on November 11 that a travel bubble between the Philippines and South Korea could revive the country's pandemic-hit tourism sector. If this happens, it will be the first sign of international tourism restarting in the Philippines.

What do I need to do before travelling to the Philippines?

International travellers and returning Filipinos who wish to enter the Philippines are required to register their details via the One Health Pass portal. After registration, a QR code will be issued to travellers and must be presented upon arrival in the country. A form is needed for each individual travelling, including children.

Before arriving in the country, travellers should also download the Traze app and there is a mandatory face shield policy in place for those on flights to or from the country, so passengers must ensure they wear this at all times during their journey.

What PCR tests do I need to take?

Children queue for free coronavirus swab testing at a gymnasium in Navotas City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Reuters

Before flying to the Philippines, travellers need to submit a negative PCR test result that should be taken no more than 72 hours before departure.

Upon arrival, there will be further testing so travellers should expect delays at terminals. Filipino passengers will undergo a PCR test free of charge on arrival. All permitted foreign travellers must cover the cost of their on-arrival PCR test.

Do I need to quarantine?

Yes, all arriving passengers flying to the Philippines must quarantine on arrival. This applies to Filipino citizens and foreigners and is not dependent on Covid-19 vaccination status.

How long do I have to quarantine in the Philippines?

Passengers walk past a thermal scanner at the quarantine area at Manila International Airport arrivals, in the Philippines. AP photo

The length of time you’ll need to quarantine in the Philippines depends on the country you depart from and whether it is classified by authorities as a red, green or yellow destination. If you've been in any other country 14 days before travelling to the Philippines, you will need to take that into consideration and your Covid-19 vaccination status may also impact quarantine duration.

All travellers arriving from red list destinations will have to complete 14 days of quarantine, at least 10 of which will be in a government-approved hotel. Foreigners are not allowed to travel to the Philippines from red list destinations. Only Filipinos returning to the country via government-initiated repatriation, non-government-initiated repatriation, and Bayanihan Flights may be allowed entry from red-listed countries.

For any vaccinated travellers coming from a yellow country, there’s a 14-day quarantine period, the first five nights of which must be at a government-approved hotel. If travellers receive a negative Covid-19 test result after the fifth day, they can continue the remainder of their isolation period at home. Unvaccinated travellers from yellow countries must spend the first seven nights in an approved hotel. Foreigners must pre-book at least six days in such a hotel before flying to the country.

These travellers will have a PCR test on day seven, and if they get a negative test result on day 10, can complete the remaining four days of isolation at home. This is the same for both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.

Travellers flying from green list destinations who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and have a negative PCR test before flying do no need to undergo quarantine in a hotel but can self-isolate at home until the 14th day, with the first day being the date of arrival.

Unvaccinated travellers flying from green countries must follow the rules in place for travellers from yellow countries.

What is the new traffic light system for travel?

Passengers wearing hazmat suits are seen in Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila. Reuters

Alongside lifting a Covid-19 travel ban on passengers from 10 destinations, a traffic light system has been rolled out for travel to the Philippines.

Previously, the country only had a green list of countries from where fully vaccinated travellers were allowed a shorter quarantine time. The Inter-Agency Task Force has now approved yellow and red classifications for destinations, with allocations based on the countries’ Covid-19 incidence rates.

Yellow list countries have a moderate risk of Covid-19 transmission. Red countries are high-risk.

The Philippines' green list : UAE and Oman added

Oman and the UAE are among the countries added to the Philippines green list effective from November 16. Photo: Unsplash/ Katerina Kerdi

Travellers flying to the Philippines from green list destinations who are fully vaccinated will only have to self-isolate at home, as long as they have a negative PCR test before travelling.

There are currently 45 destinations on the most up-to-date green list, which comes into effect on Thursday, November 16. They are:

American Samoa
Bhutan
Chad
China
Comoros
Cote d’Ivoire
Falkland Islands
Equatorial Guinea
Federated States of Micronesia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Malawi
Mali
Marshall Islands
Montserrat
Morocco
Namibia
Niger
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Paraguay
Rwanda
Saint Barthelemy
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sint Eustatius
South Africa
Sudan
Taiwan
Togo
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Which airlines are flying to the Philippines?

Cebu Pacific is one of several airlines operating flights between the UAE and Manila. Photo: Wikimedia

Philippine Airlines is operating to and from Manila and Cebu to several destinations around the world. The airline flies regularly from the Filipino capital to Dubai, Riyadh, Dammam and Doha.

Cebu Pacific, the largest airline in the Philippines, is also flying to Dubai.

Emirates flies daily to Manila from Dubai and Etihad, the national airline of the UAE, is also operating flights to and from the Filipino capital and Abu Dhabi.

Which vaccinations are accepted in the Philippines?

Travellers that have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before travel with an approved vaccination and who are arriving from a green list country, will have a shorter quarantine period.

Accepted vaccines include:

· Oxford-AstraZeneca

· Covishield

· Janssen

· Moderna

· Pfizer-BioNTech

· Sinopharm

· Sinovac

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com

How to apply for a drone permit

Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
Submit their request

What are the regulations?

Fly it within visual line of sight
Never over populated areas
Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
Should have a live feed of the drone flight
Drones must weigh 5 kg or less