‘Red, Yellow, Green’ list updated: Bureau of Immigration announces travel ban on four countries

Bureau of Immigration (File photo)

Manila, PHILIPPINES – Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente announced on Saturday the implementation of the temporary travel bans of passengers coming from four countries starting September 19.

The countries include Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, and Slovenia.

In an advisory, Morente said that following the recent resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) as approved by Malacanang, passengers coming from, or who have been in the said countries within the last 14 days prior to their arrival to the Philippines, shall temporarily be barred entry.

Meanwhile, those included in the Green List are American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gabon, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikstan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Yemen.

Morente further said that other countries not mentioned are in the Yellow List.

“Classified under the yellow list are those countries, jurisdictions, and territories that the IATF deem as ‘moderate risk’,” added Morente.

Those coming from Green and Yellow countries, if part of allowable classes, may be allowed to enter, subject to quarantine and testing protocols, as implemented by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).

The travel ban is set to take effect on September 19, 2021, until September 30, 2021.

Morente stressed that aliens coming from the green and yellow lists do not automatically qualify for entry to the Philippines.

“The general travel restrictions are still in effect. Only Filipinos, balikbayans, and foreigners with valid and existing visas are allowed to enter the Philippines,” said Morente.

“Tourists remain restricted from entering,” he clarified.