Bureau of Immigration Issues Guidelines for Filipinos Departing the Philippines for Abroad

The Philippine Embassy wishes to inform the Filipino Community in Brunei Darussalam that the Bureau of Immigration has issued guidelines providing for definite parameters in the strict enforcement of immigration departure formalities.

Filipino travelers are classified under the following category:

TOURIST TRAVELERS

A Filipino traveler intending to go abroad with a tourist/temporary visitor's visa shall be subjected to the following:

a. Primary Inspection

The following documents shall be required from a traveler:

i. Passport
ii. Visa (when required)
iii. Roundtrip ticket

b. Secondary Inspection

The Bureau of Immigration will conduct a secondary inspection of the Filipino traveler, when deemed necessary, for the purpose of protecting victims from human trafficking and illegal recruitment through the assessment of the following circumstances:

i. Age
ii. Educational attainment
iii. Financial capability to travel

If the Filipino traveler is not financially capable to travel, immigration authorities may

• entertain an authenticated affidavit of support, indicating therein the relationship within the 4th civil degree of consanguinity or affinity with the sponsor; and

• entertain an affidavit of undertaking.

Travelers subjected to a Secondary Inspection will be required to accomplish a Bureau of Immigration Border Control Questionnaire.

The following shall be automatically subjected to a Secondary Inspection:

i. Travelers without financial capacity to travel and who are accompanied by a foreigner who is not related to them;

ii. Minors traveling alone or without either parent/ legal guardian, and without the required travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);

iii. Repatriated irregular workers. Travel may not be allowed without a clearance from the IACAT;

iv. Partners and spouses of foreign nationals intending to depart to meet and/or marry his/her fiancé without the CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate;

v. Travelers departing for countries with existing employment bans, alert levels, and travel advisories and those in possession of a visa to the said countries; and

vi. Passengers who stayed abroad for more than 1 year during a previous departure from the country as a tourist/temporary visitor, intending to depart for the second and/or subsequent time.

The Bureau of Immigration may ask questions related to the abovementioned documents/purpose.

A traveler found to be misrepresenting the purpose of his/her travel shall not be cleared for travel.