A few of my girl friends who are married to foreigners have told me, not once, but a number of times that they will adopt their husbands’ citizenship when the time comes, if only for the chance to change their passport.According to them, travelling between countries is a hassle when you’re holding the Philippine passport. Visa and immigration officers tend to give one a hard time, a sad fact of life that comes with being the citizen of the Third World whose enterprising countrymen can come up with anything – from fake LVs to fake documents. Yes, including what am talking about in this post. 😀
I don’t know yet how I’ll decide when the time comes.Apart from that unfortunate incident with the US Embassy a few months back, I haven’t really felt discriminated in a port of entry or given the run-around. Also, travelling to the US and Europe doesn’t hold luster for me anymore, as I’ve done it when I was younger and my fear of flying sucks. Right now, I am just enamored with travelling in and around Asia. It’s good thing that being a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Filipinos can roam around most parts without need for a visa.
Also , Doubting Thomases among immigration and embassy personnel should rest easy with the implementation of the new machine-readable passport since late 2007, and a biometric one coming up soon. Technology these days has made it virtually impossible for anyone to manufacture passports in their own backyard, which should be a good thing for legitimate travellers like you and me 😛
Luckily, I chanced upon the Henley Visa Restrictions Index which ranks countries according to the “travel freedom their citizens enjoy.” In the global ranking, Denmark topped the list, with 157 countries their residents can go to without need for a visa. The Philippines had a score of 50, ranking below Zimbabwe, and just the same as Ukraine. This means there are 50 countries we can go to without need for a visa. Partial list after the jump:
South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
North America: Costa Rica, Dominica, Haiti, Turks & Caicos Islands
Europe; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
Non-ASEAN: Hong Kong, Macau, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Middle East: Iran, Israel
Note: I guess this is the disadvantage of having a PI passport. You’d want to travel unimpeded to Paris and Tuscany but your option is visa-free access to Azerbaijan instead. Ugh. UGH.
For health, passport, and visa requirements on your next trip, this KLM site is really helpful.
as a Filipino citizen, I don’t think u need a visa to go to Brunei since they’re also a member of ASEAN
great post, it’s really very helpful. matanong ko lang ajay, merong ba nitong nakapost na list of countries pareho ng post mo na galing sa gov’t website or something similar? not that i don’t believe you, pero it helps din sana noh pag meron. kaso website ng mga gov’t agencies natin sa pinas eh… naku, i don’t wanna start.
anyway, thanks again and Happy New Year pala! 🙂
Hi Ajay,
Thanks for creating this blog. Nakakalungkot na nakakainis ang katotohanan na hassle kung Philippine passport ang nais mag-travel lalo na sa US. Nasubukan ko rin just 2 months ago kung ano ang pakiramdam ng isang “na-deny” sa interview that lasted only for 5 minutes! Kung sa DS-160 lang pala sila magrerely eh di sana electronically ay sagutin ka nalang nila kung you passed their requirements or not! Napaka impersonal ng interview ni hindi ka tignan kasi nakatutok sa computer na alam ko naman na ang electronically application form that I have submitted ang binabasa… Tapos ang nakakainis pa uulit ang ilang tanong na sinagot mo na nga sa DS-160. Ni hindi ka man lang bigyan ng chance to show whatever documents you have in hand. Transit Visa nga lang inaaplayan ko.. ni hindi nga ako lalabas ng airports sa mga connecting flights ko! Hay nakakainis!
Anyway, may tanong din ako. Visa free parin ba ang pag punta sa Costa Rica? Aside sa passport meron pa bang ilang requirements para makapasok ng Costa Rica. I will join a private sailing boat that does sailing mission ministries which will dock in Costa Rica two months from now.
I will highly appreciate your reply.
GOD bless you!
hi po,
i just like to ask about no visa going to maldives,is it confirm?i am planning to go there and as u post here naman .
thanks!
MAS MAHIRAP ANG KUMUHA NG SCHENGEN VISA KUNG WALA KANG TRABAHO SA PINAS TAPOS MAY NAG-INVITE LANG SA IYO NA FRIEND/BF/GF. as in…. i had made a protest and remonstration request to the embassy because of the result (denied visa application) of my applications (twice application lahat denied). last past 2 weeks nakatanggap ako ng remostration grant then they have asked me (through post mail) several questions. yun, lampas 2 weeks na akong naghihintay sa result ng remostration. hu hu hu i hope they will say yes..
i have found this site as i search for visa free countries for Philippines Passport holders…
sheynne nomio vom Davao
Azerbaijan is actually stunning!
I’m a Filipino living in Russia and Azerbaijan is actually stunning 🙂 I recommend it to Pinoy travelers.
BWAKANANG INANG MGA US, BRITISH, EU, AUSTRALIAN, CANADIAN, JAPANESE AT KUNG ANO ANO PA! PAG SILA ANG PUPUNTA SA ATING BANSA WALANG CHE-CHE BURETSE DIREDIRETSO SA IMMIGRASYON NATIN ANG MGA HINAYUPAK NA DAYUHAN, AT KUNG MGA MAKA- ASTA PA AY AKALA MO KUNG SINONG MGA PONSIO PILATO, SUBALIT TAYO NAMANG MGA PINOY AY BILIB NA BILID AT HANGNGANG-HANGA SA MGA HUNGHAS NA WALANG PAKUNDANGAN PAG HAMAK AT PAG ALIPUSTA NG MGA DAYUHAN SA SARILI NATIN BAYAN. SUBALIT BAKIT KAPAG TAYO ANG TUTUNGO SA KANILANG BANSA KUNG TRATUHUN TAYO NG MGA IMMIGRASYON OFFISYAL NILA AY TILA BAGA TAYO’Y MGA PUSAKAL NA KRIMENAL!!! SA AKING PANANAW AY NAPAHIRAP SIKMURAIN NG GANITONG SITWASYON, SUBALIT MARAMI SA ATIN AY NAG NANAIS NA ALIPUSTAHIN AT YURAKAN ANG SARILING PAGKATAO, IBENTA ANG SARILING PRINSIPYO PARA LAMANG MAGKAMIT NG KONTING KAGINHAWAHAN AT MAPAG MALAKIHAN ANG KAPWA PILIPINO NA NATILI AT NABAON SA HIRAP NG BUHAY,DAHIL SA MALING SYSTEMA , BALUKTOT NA PAG-IISIP AT GANID SA PERA AT KAPANYARIHAN NG MGA TINAGURIAN NATING MATATALINO AT MATAAS ANG PINAG ARALAN!!! ALAM KONG MARAMI PA DIN MGA PILIPINO NA ILALAAN ANG SARILING BUHAY PARA SA KANILANG SARILING PRINSIPYO! MABUHAY KA!!!
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unfortunately your information regarding visa free access to Azerbaijan is no longer applicable 🙁
Sorry to hear this!!
Iran is not a free Country to travel…
they need a visa….
i’ve encountered 2 problems of having a PI passport.
1. its very hard to get a visa and i blame it to those effing tnts and being in a 3rd world country.
2. immigration staff in our airports. they are curropt and they think they can bully people around. an older immigration officer in Cebu whose last name starts with a C asked me why i have a valid student visa for eu when i was on my way to sg and asked me about the previous departure-arrival stamps in my passport. i told her my reasons and explained, she told me that i might not be able to go because of my visa so i asked her why. she didnt even bother looking at me and asked me how much money do i have with me. i told her just enough for the sg trip. that’s when she told me to go to the office and i almost missed my flight. these people are bashing fellow pinoys for god knows what.
i love the Philippines (except the government) but i’d like to get a passport from another country so that these immigration officers can kiss my a** and i dont have to go through the hassle of getting a visa.
*corrupt 🙂
Yes it is really difficult and i hate holding a philippine passport where i live right now (Gibraltar). Our government should make arrangements to other countries so that we can travel to them.
I am from the Philippines. I have a US visa. Do I need visa to go to the Bahamas?
i am filipina,who want to go to azerbajian,,do i need visa
hello, pwede bang pumunta ng thailand na manggaling akong malaysia? mag tour ako sa malaysia for 2 days then punta akong thailand for 4 days pwede ba yun?
hello, i am from norway having a residence working permit, gusto ko pong mag punta nang Poland, kailangan ko pa po ba ng visa duon? your answer will be appreciated.. thank you
Had a great time reading this blog and as much as I love my country, the Philippines, it sucks that I’m holding the PI passport. I love to travel a lot but I have questions and doubts and somehow baffles on what to do. Sana Ajay, matulungan mo ako. Flight ko will be from Manila- Bahrain- Dammam- Doha- Baku- Tbilisi. Wala akong problema from Bahrain- Dammam pero pag-abot ko ng Doha on my way to Tbilisi, kailangan ko pa bang kumuha ng VISA for Qatar and Azerbaijan even though layover lang. I won’t be going out of the airport? Hope you can help me. Thanks in advance.
plz help me. My name is ashok kumar.i live in ludhiana.i want to go to denmark.
Hi…is it true that I can go to france via azerbaijan visa free? How? If its possible…can I still do it this year?hope to hear from u soon..thanks!
Am married to philippines am a nigeria how easy it for me to go to canada?urgent reply please.
Hi Carlo,
u don’t need a visa for qatar since ur not going out of the airport nman. just for a lay-over. qatar has been my regular stop-over ever since and since then, i never pass through immigration deck, not only in qatar but all airports/cities that i have been through for layover/connecting flights, not unless ur connecting to the same city with different airports 🙂
Pey,
PHL Passport holder
Resident of GB/UK
Ehmhie,
Hi there!
You definitely need a schengen visa to enter france or schengen states regardless where is ur point of entry. Azerbaijan is not a member of schengen space, therefore u need a visa to enter france/schengen states. Don’t worry, it is very easy to secure a schengen visa at ur nearest french consular office.
Pey,
PHL Passport Holder
GB/UK Resident
Addendum:
Sri Lanka – you need to Apply ETA or entry permit online
Taiwan – If you have a valid (US, Australia, Canada, Schengen, UK visa), you can apply for a free entry permit for Taiwan
Bahamas – no visa Needed if you have a valid US visa
hi there kyrian nigerians can get visa going canada easier from malaysiqa if
im from philippines. do i need a visa going to turkey? thank u
Please somebody help me how will I apply visa to go to New Caledonia.What is there site to apply tourist visa.
bombojoint. tanga mo -.- . you ever see an American, “TNT” in the philippines? come here on a visitors visa and try to find work and never return? Eh tayo mga pinoy? ilan tao kilala mo gnwa na, o gstung gstu gawin un? They come from Richer countries, where if htey run into any problems here htey can always go back and make what you earn in a lifetime, in 1 year. Is it their fault that our government sucks ass? hindi diba? so why the fuck are you complaining? alam mong yumayaman ang pinas because of our tourists, because they bring their money to the philippines. and i wonder why they give Filipino’s a hard time? well maybe because every requirement 99% of us do not meet, and in other countries those requirements are a way of life (owning a house , car, good paying job, aka – ties to your country)
You want Other countries to go ahead and open up and let you in and risk you never returning and slowing down the economy because you cant find a decent job? You want to go to a big 8 country? plan your future.
work in a job that is in-demand, work that job for 3 years. Apply for a skilled visa. what a dumbass. buong akala mo ibbigay lang sayo ang lahat, ngng kasalanan pa ng ibang bansa na hnhyaan ntn ung government ng mgnakaw ng kayamanan ng pinas. isip isip din.
hello.I AM PINAY I WANT TO VISIT GERMANY PERO HIRAP AKO SA PAGKUHA NG TOURIST VISA, 2TIMES NA AKO NAG APPLY. I HEARD IT NA PDE AKO MAG TRAVEL FROM PHILIPPINES TO BOSNIA WITH OUT VISA CONNECTED TO GERMANY? TOTOO PO BA?
hello poh anu pong bansa na hinde kylangan VISA…thanks
Fanny you can get schengen visa and you can tour to any schengen country like France, Germany, etc.
its easy to get France visa than Germany…
what is Non-ASEAN ?
I am a Kiwinoy based here in Auckland. Though I can keep dual citizenship, I opted to renounce my Filipino citizenship. I like the Philippine country, it’s stunning. Pero ang mga tao sa gobyerno, lalo na sa Immigrations ang bulok at umaalingasaw! Dapat baguhin o palitan clang lahat!