Monday, January 02, 2012

Migration and Freedom 15: Visa Free for Filipinos

I saw this interesting info -- some 89 countries do not require any pre-departure visa for Philippine nationals for short visits. For longer stay, a visa will be required.

Personally, I believe that the visa system should be abolished. All travelers will only be required to bring their passports as their "national ID" just to determine that they are a national or resident of a particular country, that they have no outstanding criminal record in their country that their passports have to be cancelled. We do not want murderers, rapists and thieves to be roaming around the world.

What will prevent "abuse" of travel by some people is the prospect of starving and/or harsh weather or cultural conditions in foreign land if the traveler is unskilled or have no definite job or schooling to land there. Governments only have to promulgate the rule of law in their respective countries, and normally there are certain laws that are universal: no killing/murder, no stealing. Protection of citizens' right to private property, right to life.

I'm not sure if this list is found in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website, I think not. But nonetheless, prospective Filipino travelers can check with the embassy or consular offices of their destination country/ies before flying.
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http://twentyfive.hubpages.com/hub/Visa-Exemption-for-Filipinos

Visa Free for Pinoys
By twentyfive

If you’re a Filipino and a holder of Philippine passport who likes traveling and exploring the beauty of the world, but hates the visa requirement to some countries, frown no more for you can still go to wonderful places without hassle-visa-appointments.

The list of countries below doesn’t require a visa for Filipinos prior to arrival. All you need are passport, plane tickets / itinerary, and some money for your tour.

No Visa Required for Filipinos in the Following Countries…

Asia

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

Brunei Darussalam - 14 days
Cambodia - 21 days
Indonesia - 30 days
Laos - 30 days
Malaysia - 30 days
Singapore - 30 days
Thailand - 30 days
Vietnam - 21 days


Non- ASEAN
Azerbaijan - 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$100
Bangladesh - 90-days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Republic of China (Taiwan) - 30 days if holding a vaild visa for Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Schengen countries, United Kingdom or United States
Georgia - 90 days visa issued on arrival for US$10 ~ US$200
Hong Kong - 14 days
Iran - 15 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Israel - 90 days
South Korea (Jeju Island only) - 30 days
Macau - 30 days
Maldives - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Mongolia - 21 days
Nepal - 15/30/90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$25/40/100
Sri Lanka - 30 days
Timor-Leste - 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$30

Europe
Kosovo - 90 days

Oceania
Cook Islands - 31 days
Fiji - 120 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Marshall Islands - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Federated States of Micronesia - 30 days
Niue - 30 days
Palau - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Samoa - 60 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Tuvalu - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Vanuatu - 30 days

North America
Bermuda - 31 days before but since May, they now require visas for Philippine passport holders
Costa Rica - 120 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Dominica - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Haiti - 30 days
Nicaragua - 30 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Saint Lucia - 60 days Visitor's Permit issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 30 days visa issued upon arrival (free of charge)
Turks and Caicos Islands - 30 days

South America
Bolivia - 59 days
Brazil - 90 days
Colombia - 90 days
Ecuador - 90 days
Peru - 90 days
Suriname - 120 days

Africa
Burundi - visa issued upon arrival
Cape Verde - visa issued upon arrival
Comoros - A free 24 hour transit visa issued upon arrival at the airport. Within 24 hours this must be converted into a full visa at the immigration office in Moroni (fee payable)
Djibouti - 10 days visa issued upon arrival for DJF3,000; 30 days visa issued upon arrival for DJF5,000
Gambia - At port of entry passport 24-72 hour transit pass is issued. This must be converted into a full visa valid up to 1 month at the immigration department in Banjul (fee payable)
Kenya - 90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Madagascar - 90 days visa issued upon arrival for MGA140,000
Morocco - 90 days
Mozambique - 30 days visa issued upon arrival for US$25
Saint Helena - visa issued upon arrival
Seychelles - 30 days
Tanzania - visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Togo - 7 days visa issued upon arrival
Uganda - 180 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50
Zambia - 90 days visa issued upon arrival for US$50

**Details may change due to new law updates so double-check the immigration rules of the country you’re planning to visit

**Transit visa may be required when you're not on a direct flight

**The List is from Wiki but hard to find so I thought of posting it here for easy search result :)
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Meanwhile, I wrote this on August 26, 2010:

No Visa, More Freedom


For me, Globalization = Mobility. And Mobility = Freedom. So more globalization means more freedom -- for both capitalists and socialists, businessmen and workers, teachers and students, athletes and spectators, rock stars and rock fans, men and women, young and old. If people are not happy with their country or society, then they may consider getting out and move somewhere else when there is an opportunity.

Of course it is one thing to get out of your country, and another thing to be accepted by the country you wish to go to. The most ideal situation is when there is zero restriction to get out, and zero restriction to visit another country, on the assumption that the person has some resources and network to allow him/her to move across countries or continents.

The Economist magazine, August 25, 2010 issue, has this interesting graph: countries where citizens are not required to get a visa to visit other countries. The rich countries of Europe, North America and Asia are very lucky. Their citizens can visit at least 140 countries and territories without needing a visa for short visits.

For the Philippines, I know that there are about 120+ countries whose citizens can enter the Philippines visa free for short visits. But I do not know how many countries extend the same privilege to Filipinos. Perhaps less than 20? For fellow ASEAN member-countries, we do not need a visa for 30 days visit or less, except Myanmar perhaps.

Citizens of many oil exporting countries are also given visa-free travel privileges by many other countries. My Venezuelan friend proudly told me that he can visit many European countries without visa for short visits. Venezuela is a major oil exporting country.

Personally, I wish to see someday that visa restrictions will be abolished. Only people with serious criminal records will be required to get a visa. The rest of humanity will simply present their valid passports and enter another country. What will prevent people from abusing this privilege is economics, not politics. If they go to another country to work or migrate and if they don't get work early enough, they will starve, no welfare to be extended by the host government.

There are many hindrances to migrate or work easily in other countries, even if the visa system is abolished: language, culture, religion, climate, economic level of development, among others. Someone moving to China for instance who does not speak the Mandarin or other local languages will be courting starvation if he does not have friends to support him there.

If we re-frame the rules of international mobility of people to economics and not politics (visa system, among others), then there will be more personal freedom around the world. There will be more economic dynamism, more job and business opportunities, more sports-culture-music-etc opportunities to pursue in many parts of the world.

Globalization = Freedom.

1 comments:


Anonymous said...
I wish this to, for the world... but there are just too many Filipinos whose main purpose is to go abroad just to make more money, despite being happy back at home. Too many employers abroad are more than willing to hire these workers for the sake of cheaper labour. It's really sad if you think about it. Sometimes I wish we have more things to think about that simply feeding our family... and if we have to go abroad just to feed our family, why bother having a family in the first place.
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See also:
Visa-free entry and people mobility, February 23, 2006
Migration and Freedom 6: Passport and People Mobility, November 30, 2010
Migration and Freedom 7: Restrictions to OFWs , April 13, 2011
Migration and Freedom 9: Immigration bureaucracy, July 19, 2011
Migration and Freedom 11: Two migration theories, September 03, 2011
Migration and Freedom 12: Visa-free entry in Asia, October 24, 2011
Migration and Freedom 13: Travel Tax Robbery, December 06, 2011
Migration and Freedom 14: Shrink or Abolish the POEA, January 01, 2012

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What if we turn the other way around. Filipinos go abroad because they work there and eventually do business there. Look at the Japanese, Chinese or Vietnamese people they go abroad to do business. I've seen Vietnamese people owning supermarkets in Florida why can't we do that??