Foreign ministry under fire for failing to notify travelers of change
By Lee Hyo-sik
The Philippines has tightened immigration rules on Korean travelers since March 1, denying entry to ones with a passport that allows them to go overseas only once, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday.
A dozen Korean tourists holding the so-called ``one-time’’ passport have been denied entry to the Southeast Asian country over the past week and had to return home, it said. Tourists with a passport permitting them to visit foreign countries multiple times still can visit the Philippines without obtaining a visa and stay there for up to 21 days.
However, the foreign ministry has been criticized for having failed to inform airliners, travel agencies and travelers of such change in a timely manner. Ministry officials say that they were not notified of the immigration rule change by their Filipino counterparts in advance, stressing they have and will make every effort to minimize the inconvenience experienced by Korean tourists.
``The Philippine government began disallowing Korean visitors with the one-time passport to enter the country on March 1. We found out about it last Saturday and informed the public Monday,’’ said a foreign ministry official who declined to be named. ``We haven’t yet to hear from the Philippines Embassy here about why the Southeast Asian country where Koreans are the largest foreign tourist group made such a change.’’
He said a total of 12 Korean travelers have been denied entry, saying those seeking to visit the Philippines should get a multiple-year passport.
There are two types of passports issued by the foreign ministry. The one-time passport, which is valid for one year, allows holders to leave the country only once. Multi-year passports, which are valid for either 5 or 10 years, permit holders to unlimited travel to foreign countries.
Some tour agencies catering to mostly those traveling in a group prefer to obtain the one-time passport on behalf of their customers because it is cheaper and easier to get.
``We will have talks with officials from the Philippines Embassy about why the amendment was made to their immigration policy. If the explanation is deemed unreasonable, we will request the Philippines government take the necessary steps to minimize inconvenience for travelers from Korea,’’ the official said.
Airliners operating flights between Korea and the Philippines and travel agencies catering to those visiting the nation have complained that the change caught them off guard.
``We have not heard anything from the foreign ministry concerning changes to the Philippines’ immigration rules. We found out about it when one of the passengers on our March 3 flight to Manila was denied entry,’’ an Asiana Airlines spokesman said. ``Since then, we have informed all passengers departing for the Southeast Asian country of the information.’’
Korean Air said it was notified by the Philippine immigration authorities on Feb. 10. ``Since we were told of the change to immigration rules in the Philippines in advance, none of our passengers have been denied entry,’’ a Korean Air spokeswoman said.
The Philippines Tourism Office here also said it had not known about the change before the news broke out. ``We should have informed travel agencies in a timely manner. But we did not hear anything about it from the embassy,’’ a spokeswoman said. ``We don’t think it will negatively affect our efforts to attract Korean tourists. We will do our best to make it as easy as possible for Koreans to visit the Philippines.’’