Philippines Yellow Card Vaccination Guide: Do You Need an ICVP to Enter, When You Need One to Leave, and Where to Get It

What the yellow card is, and who issues it in the Philippines

The "yellow card" is the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP), the WHO-format record of vaccinations required for international travel. In the Philippines it is issued by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), a line bureau of the Department of Health.

The BOQ's ICV FAQ page describes the ICVP as a document recording an individual's vaccinations required for travel abroad, recognized by World Health Organization member states. The same page is blunt about its limits: the ICVP is not mandatory, it is not an "immunity passport," it only serves as proof of vaccination, and not all countries require it. Whether you need one depends on the country you are going to.

The BOQ describes its mandate as keeping infectious diseases, emerging diseases and public health emergencies of international concern from entering and spreading in the country. The yellow-card work sits in its immunization section: yellow fever vaccination (first time and re-vaccination), reissuance and duplicate copies of yellow fever and polio ICVPs, and oral polio vaccination, which also appears in its service list. Its FAQ adds that, besides yellow fever vaccine, the BOQ offers inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR); check what is currently available.

During the pandemic the BOQ also issued a COVID-19 version of the ICVP to people vaccinated in the Philippines, so the "yellow card" in many drawers is actually that one. Whether it is still needed or still issued today depends on current BOQ announcements and the rules of your destination.

Two things are easy to confuse with the ICVP: a child's immunization booklet, used for school entry and catch-up shots, and the ordinary vaccination card a clinic hands out. Neither replaces the ICVP at a border. For childhood vaccines and school records, see children's vaccinations in the Philippines; for routine and travel shots for adults, see where to get vaccinated in the Philippines.

Do you need a yellow card to enter the Philippines?

For ordinary travellers arriving from China or other places without yellow fever, we found no requirement on current BOQ or DOH public pages to show a yellow card. Under a DOH rule, travellers who were in a yellow fever infected area within the six days before arrival must present a yellow fever vaccination certificate. How that is applied today is for the BOQ to confirm.

The rule is a DOH Memorandum Circular on vaccination certificate requirements for travellers, adopted on 21 January 1980 and effective 1 February 1980, reproduced in the Supreme Court E-Library. On yellow fever it says certificates are required for arriving travellers who, within the preceding six days, have been in a yellow fever infected area, except children below one year of age, who may be subject to isolation or surveillance when indicated. The same circular says no smallpox certificate is required of arriving travellers.

Because the circular is old and we could not find a newer, itemized version on the BOQ's current pages, we quote it as written and do not fill in details on the government's behalf. Whether a transit stop in a risk country counts, or how long a stay triggers the rule, is for the BOQ to say. For which countries carry yellow fever risk, the BOQ FAQ points readers to the WHO country list.

For most visitors, the paperwork that actually matters on arrival is different. The Philippine Consulate General in Shanghai's visa page reminds travellers that everyone entering the Philippines must complete the electronic travel registration at etravel.gov.ph. Registration is free, opens no earlier than 72 hours before arrival, and airlines may ask for the QR code before boarding. See our eTravel guide for how to fill it in and avoid paid look-alike sites.

On the visa side, the conditions for Chinese passport holders are covered in do Chinese passport holders need a visa, and tour groups can compare options in our companion piece on group visas versus individual visas. Terminals, immigration and pickups at NAIA are in arriving at Manila airport.

If your route runs through Africa or South America before Manila, keep the yellow card with your passport and confirm with the BOQ or your airline before you fly rather than explaining at the counter.

Leaving the Philippines: when you will need a yellow card

You need one when you travel to a country with yellow fever risk, or when your destination explicitly requires proof of vaccination. The rules of the destination, and of any transit country, decide.

The BOQ's yellow fever vaccination page says the service is for travellers going to countries with risk of yellow fever transmission, and for seafarers whose companies require it. Its FAQ answers a common question from people heading to Africa: not every African country requires yellow fever vaccination and an ICVP, so check the requirements of your destination.

In practice, these are the travellers who most often need the card:

• People going to parts of Africa or South America. Check both the destination and any transit country; some are stricter with arrivals from, or via, risk countries. The embassy's published rules are what count.
• Seafarers and overseas workers. Shipping lines and employers often make vaccination proof a condition of boarding or deployment.
• People relocating for work or long stays. Visa or residence applications may call for vaccination or medical documents.
• Travellers to places with polio-related rules. Some countries ask arrivals from certain areas for proof of polio vaccination, and the BOQ can issue a polio ICVP; whether you need it depends on the destination.

One more case: a Filipino family member moving abroad with a foreign spouse. Besides vaccination proof, that trip may involve the Commission on Filipinos Overseas' pre-departure counseling; see our companion guide to the CFO certificate.

Leave plenty of time. Yellow fever vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine, and when the certificate takes effect and how long it is recognized are matters for the BOQ's instructions at issuance and the destination's rules. The BOQ FAQ also notes that live vaccines are given either on the same day or 28 days apart, so anyone who recently had MMR, varicella or another live vaccine needs to build that gap into the plan. Book as soon as your trip is fixed.

Where to get a yellow card in the Philippines: the BOQ, by appointment

Go to the Bureau of Quarantine. Book and pay through its online appointment system (icv.boq.ph, the portal named on the BOQ's own pages), then attend the assigned station on your appointment date. Walk-ins without a schedule are not let in.

The BOQ's reissuance and duplicate ICVP page lays out the process:

1. Schedule an appointment in the BOQ online system.
2. Pay through an accredited payment channel within 24 hours of generating the QR code.
3. Check the appointment status and print or screenshot the approved appointment.
4. Go to the BOQ Manila Station on the day and show the approved appointment at the entrance.
5. Present your passport so your records can be checked, confirm the details before printing, then receive and sign the certificate.

The page says the service is open to all international travellers, Filipino and foreign, and lists two NCR satellite offices, SM Mall of Asia and SM North EDSA. The BOQ Main Office is in Port Area, Manila. The BOQ also runs port quarantine stations around the country, and its pandemic-era FAQ listed offices such as Cebu, Davao and Clark; which station currently offers yellow fever vaccine is whatever the booking system shows.

Practical details from the BOQ FAQ:

• Since 20 August 2021, every BOQ-issued ICVP carries a passport number. If an older certificate lacks one, you can ask the BOQ Main Office in Port Area for a certification showing your passport number.
• The standard ICVP format shows only the middle initial.
• If you cannot collect in person, an immediate family member may do so with your signed authorization letter and their own valid ID; anyone else needs a special power of attorney, and the number of transactions per representative is limited under current rules.

Charges are made up of the service fee, documentary stamp tax and an e-payment charge; the BOQ website has the current amounts. Because the BOQ is the government body that issues these certificates, do not buy one from online "fast processing" sellers. If a destination country finds a certificate of unknown origin, the traveller carries the consequences.

On the day: screening, contraindications, exemption certificates and replacements

You fill in forms, pass a nurse's screening, and anyone with a contraindication is referred to the quarantine medical officer. Those who should not be vaccinated can receive a Medical Exemption Certificate stating the reason. The BOQ's yellow fever vaccination page lists these steps:

1. Complete the data form and the yellow fever questionnaire and waiver.
2. Answer health questions while a screening nurse checks for contraindications and refers you to the quarantine medical officer (QMO) on duty if needed.
3. The vaccinating nurse re-checks and administers the vaccine.
4. Pay at the cashier and collect the official receipt.
5. Staff encode your details and print the certificate for the QMO's signature.
6. Collect the certificate while being observed for adverse effects and receiving health advice.

The page flags allergies, age 60 and above, children under one year old, and severe immunodeficiency from HIV/AIDS or other diseases as reasons for closer screening and possible referral. The BOQ FAQ says infants as young as nine months may be given yellow fever vaccine, and that for immunocompromised people and senior citizens the QMO on duty decides. If you are not eligible, you receive a Medical Exemption Certificate giving the reason, along with advice on avoiding infection. Whether a destination accepts the exemption is up to that country.

If you recently had other vaccines, the BOQ FAQ gives a general rule: live attenuated vaccines are given together or 28 days apart, while a live vaccine and an inactivated vaccine can be given at any interval. Its examples of live vaccines include yellow fever, MMR, varicella and oral polio; inactivated examples include IPV, influenza, hepatitis A, rabies and hepatitis B. Your doctor should decide the schedule for your situation.

For a lost, damaged or replacement card, use the reissuance and duplicate service. You need the approved appointment printout or screenshot, your passport (original, photocopy or screenshot), and the original or a copy of the previous ICVP. So photograph the certificate the day you get it and keep it with your passport.

This guide covers the process only and is not medical advice. Whether and when you should be vaccinated is for the QMO and your own doctor to decide.

Pre-trip checklist, and where Yixing can help

Check the destination and transit rules first, then decide. If you need the card, book the BOQ early, keep the certificate with your passport, and keep a photo of it.

1. Check the rules. Read the health entry requirements published by the embassies of your destination and any transit country.
2. Plan the timing. Allow for recent live vaccines, a possible QMO assessment and appointment availability.
3. Book the BOQ. Use the official booking system, pay within the time limit and save the approved-appointment screen.
4. Check the details. Make sure your name, date of birth and passport number match your passport before you leave the counter.
5. Keep copies. Photograph the certificate and carry the original with your passport, not in checked luggage.
6. Before flying back to the Philippines, complete eTravel within 72 hours of arrival, and if you were in a yellow fever area in the six days before arrival, keep the yellow card within reach.

Three common mistakes. Thinking every trip abroad needs a yellow card: the BOQ says it is not mandatory and not every country asks. Treating a child's vaccination booklet as a yellow card: they serve different purposes and one cannot stand in for the other at a border. Believing a ready-made certificate can be bought online: the BOQ issues certificates against its own vaccination records, and anything else is a risk you carry.

Yixing is a Manila-based travel and visa consultancy for Chinese-speaking clients, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and accredited by the Bureau of Immigration, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Retirement Authority. We do not issue health certificates or sell priority vaccination slots. What we can do is handle communication in Chinese: point you to where your destination publishes its rules, accompany you to a BOQ station, arrange transport and interpreting, and help with settling-in matters through Yixing settle-in services.

If you live in the Philippines and need routine shots, see where adults and children get vaccinated; parents can also read children's vaccines and school records.

Flying into Manila via Africa or South America, the worst moment is a document you cannot find and a question you cannot answer. Book a Mandarin-speaking airport pickup with Yixing, from immigration to the car →