Manila: Paper-based departure cards will be phased out from May 1, 2023, the Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration (BI) has announced.
Instead, passengers need to fill out the online departure cards via the eTravel portal — etravel.gov.ph.
The platform, initially launched in December 2022, “harmonises” and consolidates immigration and health declaration formalities at the country’s international travel gateways.
What happens from April 15
From April 15, paper-based cards will “gradually disappear”, the bureau said.
Departing travellers should be able to access the site as early as 72 hours and no later than 3 hours prior to their scheduled flight.
One Health Permit platform replaced
The One Health Permit platform, which the government had previously used for travel health declaration checklist, was similarly replaced by the eTravel platform.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansiongco, the eTravel system's expansion will simplify the formalities for departing passenger and speed things up without compromising security.
He expects quicker and more efficient immigration processes at the country’s major travel gateways. Eventually, both departing and incoming passengers would use the eTravel platform, he said.
“This is a major step in streamlining documents presented by departing travelers, allowing for faster and more efficient immigration processing,” Tansingco said in a statement.
How to use e-Travel platform:
- (1) Log in to the web portal etravel.gov.ph before your flight
- (2) Fill up all the required fields in the online form.
- (3) Hit the submit button.
- (4) You will get an acknowledgement email.
Data privacy
The government assures the privacy of customer data.
The National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Department of Transportation (DoTr), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ), and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) are all partners in the eTravel system project.
