THE further relaxation of requirements for international travelers will help restore the country’s place as a major destination to study English as second language (ESL).
This developed as Malacañang moved to further relax restrictions on international travel as part of its push toward economic recovery.
In a statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said the new government guidelines will enable foreign nationals to travel to the country visa-free or using their 9A visas, and apply for their special study permit (SSP) upon entry.
“Visitors who come for our education tourism—ESL in particular—stand to benefit from this development as this will grant foreign nationals who wish to study in the country an interim process to remotely secure their visas,” she explained.
The DOT said prior to the pandemic, the Philippines was ranked fifth among the world’s providers of ESL lessons. Most students who study ESL in the country come from South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Taiwan, the Middle East, and Russia.
ESL schools, mainly located in Baguio and Cebu, have already expressed their readiness to accept foreign students, and commitment to follow government guidelines, as well as introduce additional measures that will ensure the safety of educators and students, according to the tourism chief. Throughout the pandemic, the Department of Tourism (DOT) continued to promote the Philippines as an ESL hub and piloted initiatives such as the Master Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) to upgrade the skills and certify ESL teachers nationwide.
Data from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) showed that SSP applications had been rising prior to the pandemic in early 2020. SSP applications reached 59,428 in 2018 from just 22,561 in 2013. The SSP allows foreigners to study in the Philippines for short term courses.
On March 21, 2022, President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 166, adopting a 10-point policy agenda to speed up and sustain economic recovery from Covid-19. For one, government committed to “further relax requirements relating to international travel and provide quarantine exemptions for vaccinated individuals coming into the country, in order to boost international tourism, increase foreign investments, and restore jobs in the tourism sector.”
Romulo Puyat said, “As we move towards relaxing the entry of foreign tourists, the DOT sees brighter prospects for the country’s tourism industry. We will ensure that this transition will be done in careful accordance to the prescribed health and safety measures.”
The Philippines is reopening to fully vaccinated tourists from all countries starting April 1, after the IATF approved their entry without the need of an entry exemption document (EED), provided they comply with applicable visa and immigration laws, rules, and regulations. The EED was earlier required of foreign visitors to be able to get a short-term visa during the pandemic lockdown.
The IATF earlier approved the entry of fully vaccinated leisure tourists from visa-free countries starting February 10. From that date until March 22, there were 125,296 arrivals from abroad, of which 53,563 were balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) and the rest were foreign tourists. The data was gathered via One Health Pass from international airports in Pasay, Clark, Subic, Mactan, Davao, and Panglao Island.
Romulo Puyat expressed optimism that more foreign leisure tourists will keep arriving in the country with the further simplification of entry requirements. “We thank our colleagues in the IATF and the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as our public and private sector partners, who have been working with the DOT since the onset of the pandemic to ensure that the country’s reopening is carefully planned and carried out with health and safety in mind,” she said.
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