South Korea cancels visa-free entry to Jeju

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos have been barred from visiting the tourist island of Jeju, South Korea in the wake of novel coronavirus (nCoV) cases reported in the Philippines.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said the new travel restriction takes effect after the South Korean embassy temporarily suspended visa-free entry privileges to Filipino tourists bound for Jeju Island on Monday.

“We have already instructed our immigration officers not to allow the departure of any Filipino bound for Jeju unless the passenger was issued a visa by the Korean embassy,” BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said yesterday.

The embassy announced the suspension of the visa-free privilege a day after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first reported death from nCoV outside China – a Chinese tourist confined at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.?It was learned, however, that the suspension of visa-free entry privileges to Jeju applies not only to Filipinos but to all foreign tourists.?

Meanwhile, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said nearly 300 foreigners have been turned back upon arrival at airports as a result of the travel ban imposed by the government on travelers from China, Macau and Hong Kong.?

“This does not include the ones that did not deplane and reach immigration during the first day of implementation,” said Sandoval.?

She said the BI expects a sharp decline in the number of arriving passengers covered by the ban because of the airlines’ voluntary suspension of flights from China and its two special administrative regions to the Philippines.

Screening in Taiwan

In another development, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan announced that beginning today, it will require the disclosure of recent travel history of those applying for a visa to enter the Philippines.

MECO chairman Angelito Banayo said all Taiwanese travelers will be required to submit a certification from Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency of their recent travel history.

This additional requirement will allow MECO to determine if the visa applicant had previously been to places covered by the Philippine government’s travel ban.

Banayo noted that Taiwanese passports are not subject to entry and exit stamps upon entering and leaving China, Hong Kong and Macau. “This makes it difficult for our consular services unit to determine previous travel to the restricted areas,” he said.

Moreover, Banayo said the MECO has suspended its issuance of multiple entry visas as an additional precautionary measure while the nCoV threat exists.