Traveling Abroad with a Filipino Child: What You Need to Know
Dear PAO,
Hi! I’m an American. I have a non-marital (illegitimate) Filipino child with my Filipina partner. In a public document, I acknowledged him to be my son, and this was duly annotated in his birth certificate. By May this year, I would visit the Philippines, and I plan that upon my return to the US, in that same month, my son would travel with me. By June, my Filipina partner would follow us in the US. If my son travels with me in the US, do I need a travel clearance? If the child travels with her mother, does she need a travel clearance? Steven
Understanding Travel Clearance Requirements
Dear Steven,
To address your questions, we refer you to Administrative Order 12, dated Nov. 10, 2017, issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), entitled Omnibus Guidelines For Minors Traveling Abroad. Part V thereof requires the following minors to secure a clearance when traveling abroad:
- Filipino minor who is traveling alone using the Philippine passport only for his/her travel outside the Philippines
- Filipino minor traveling with prospective adoptive parent/s for the purpose of inter-country adoption
- Filipino minor traveling with a person other than his/her parent(s), legal guardian, or person exercising parental authority/legal custody over him/her
- Filipino minor who is illegitimate and is traveling with his/her biological father
- For married minors, the same requirement applies to that of unmarried minors traveling abroad
From the foregoing, it is clear that if you fly back to the US with your non-marital child, you are required to secure a travel clearance from the DSWD. However, if your child will travel to the US with her biological mother, she is not required to secure the same travel clearance.
Exceptions to the Travel Clearance Requirement
Under the same administrative order, a Filipino minor, accompanied by the following, are not required to get a travel clearance:
- Either or both of the minor’s parents, if the minor is legitimate
- The minor’s biological mother, if the minor is illegitimate
- The minor’s father who has been granted sole parental authority or custody by the proper court, if the minor is illegitimate
- The minor’s legal guardian
- The person, including of the minor’s parents, who was granted sole parental authority or legal custody by the proper court, in which case the court decision should specifically include a statement to this effect, i.e., naming the person to whom sole parental authority or legal custody over the minor has been granted
- Minor’s adoptive parents if the minor is granted with adoption decree and Certificate of Finality
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated on.
