Heads up, Pinoy travelers: Departure cards must be filled out online starting May 1
Travelers flying out of the Philippines will no longer have to fill out their departure cards at the airport and will instead be required to accomplish it online starting May 1.
In case you missed it, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced last March 31 that it is expanding the government's eTravel portal to include the embarkation form used by immigration authorities to record a person's departure from the country.
“The eTravel platform will soon be used for both arriving and departing passengers,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco. “Travelers no longer have to fill out departure cards, and instead may log in the online portal prior to their flight.”
According to the commissioner, the move aims to streamline "documents presented by departing travelers, allowing for faster and more efficient immigration processing."
Travelers can start filling out the form online via etravel.gov.ph on April 15. BI will meanwhile phase out the paper-based cards on May 1.
In the form, travelers must provide their full name, nationality, passport number, flight number, port of exit and destination, the purpose of their trip, address aboard, occupation, contact number, email address, and signature.
According to Dennis Javier, eTravel technical working group chairperson, travelers would have to fill out the online form as early as 72 hours but not later than three hours before their departure flights.
Officially launched on December 5 of last year, the eTravel platform replaces the paper arrival card and the One Health Pass, or health declaration form, that travelers must accomplish for immigration clearance.
Prior to expanding the portal to include the online departure form, the Department of Tourism launched on Feb. 28 its Online Travel Tax Services Systems (OTTS), which gives travelers the option to pay their travel tax online before their scheduled flight.