By September 3, Filipinos heading to another country need to provide additional documents in line with the government’s revised guidelines for international Filipino travelers.
Self-funded travelers may now need to provide additional documents, such as proof of accommodation, proof of employment, and proof of their financial capacity or source of income.
Meanwhile, travelers being sponsored by relatives and others will also need to prepare more paperwork. Those being sponsored by relatives need to secure birth or marriage certificates that show the relationship between the passenger and sponsor, along with supporting documents and a notarized affidavit of support and guarantee.
For travelers sponsored by a non-relative or a juridical entity such as a company, they must also show a notarized affidavit of support and guarantee, as well as a document showing the relationship between the passenger and sponsor.
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Overseas Filipino workers also need to prepare an OFW clearance issued by the Department of Migrant Workers, along with supporting documents such as their work permit and employment contract.
The additional requirements could extend the already-lengthy immigration process that has caused Filipino travelers to miss their flights and hampered OFWs from seeking work abroad.
But according to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the revised departure rules are necessary to combat what they call the “evolving profile of human trafficking victims.” The council said that trafficking victims increasingly pose as tourists with sufficient means to travel abroad. But in actuality, their intention is to seek overseas employment.
“It is of paramount importance to emphasize that the Revised Guidelines have been formulated not to encroach upon the fundamental right to travel, but to serve as a protective bulwark shielding our fellow citizens from the dire perils of human trafficking,” IACAT said in a press release on Tuesday, August 22.
The guidelines were first published on August 18 and will take effect 15 days from that date, or on September 3.