ADVISORY ON THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN MINOR CHILDREN TO PHILIPPINES
A Waiver of Exclusion Ground (WEG) is required for foreign minors below fifteen (15) years of age, travelling unaccompanied by or not joining his/her parent(s) in the Philippines, regardless if the minor needs an entry visa or not.
Waiver of Exclusion Ground applications are processed and approved by Philippine immigration authorities at the port of entry, after submission of a notarized affidavit of support and guarantee with consent to travel for WEG and other supporting documents.
Either parent or the child’s legal guardian may execute the affidavit before a consular officer at the Philippine Embassy, therein stating that the child will be travelling to the Philippines, either alone or accompanied by a duly appointed travel companion, and indicating the child’s place of residence while in the Philippines.
Philippine Immigration authorities currently charge Php 3,120.00 (three thousand and one hundred twenty Philippine Pesos per child) for the processing and approval of the WEG.
The parent of the child needs to present the following documents at the Philippine Embassy Consular Section’s notarial services window:
- Two copies of duly accomplished Affidavit of Support and Guarantee with Consent to Travel for WEG, to be signed by the child’s parent/legal guardian in person at the embassy, or before a Japanese notary public (Kosho Yakuba)* if the parent/legal guardian cannot appear in person at the embassy.
Download ASGCT Form for WEG; - Two copies of duly accomplished Application for WEG (signed by parent/legal guardian).
Download WEG Application Form ; - Two (2) pcs. passport-sized photograph of the minor child;
- Two (2) copies of the data page of the minor child’s valid passport;
- Two (2) copies of the data page of the travelling companion’s valid passport;
- Two (2) copies of the data page of the parent/legal guardian’s valid passport; and
- Two (2) copies of the child’s Record of Birth, which may be any of the following:
- If the child is Japanese, submit the child’s original Koseki tohon along with the properly filled-out Family Register Form for WEG in two (2) copies. The Family Register Form may be downloaded from the Embassy website. Download Family Register Form for WEG
- If the child is a foreign minor (other than Japanese), submit a birth certificate issued by the government where the child was born. If the birth certificate is written in foreign language other than English, submit also an English translation of the birth certificate notarized by their Embassy.
- If the child was born in the Philippines of foreign parents, parent may opt to submit a birth certificate issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) or the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
- If the child was born in Japan of one Filipino parent, and the birth was reported to the Philippine Embassy, submit the child’s Report of Birth issued by NSO or PSA.
All copies to be submitted must be in A4 size paper.
Processing Fee/s
Notarization Fee: ¥3,750 per document for regular processing (notarized document to be released after 3 working days from the date of filing)
Verification Fee: ¥3,750
For express processing, additional ¥1,500 will be charged per document
CLARIFICATORY INFORMATION:
- Issuance of the WEG Order is subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Immigration and all those who will be granted the WEG shall pay the corresponding fee upon arrival at the port of entry in the Philippines.
- The payment collected from the public at the Philippine Embassy is for the legalization of the affidavit executed by the parent(s)/legal guardian. It is not the WEG fee.
- The payment of the WEG fee and the issuance of the WEG Order are both done at the port of entry in the Philippines.
*Parents who cannot appear in person at the Embassy for the legalization of their Affidavit of Support and Guarantee with Consent may have their affidavit notarized before a Japanese notary public (kosho yakuba), and secure an APOSTILLE from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Gaimusho). An Apostilled affidavit no longer needs authentication by the Philippine Embassy.