The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office VII advises those who will secure a travel clearance for minors, ages 17 years old and below, to submit the complete supporting documents.

“The travel clearance is approved and issued within 24 hours as long as the supporting documents including the social worker’s assessment are complete and in order,” said Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre.

“We encourage people to process their application ahead of time and not a day before the actual date of their travel to avoid inconveniences,” added Macapobre.

A travel clearance is a document issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to a Filipino minor traveling to a foreign country unaccompanied by his/her parents and to an illegitimate child traveling with his/her father.

“The issuance of travel clearance is also a measure to prevent any form of abuse against minors,” Macapobre added.

The issuance of a travel clearance is specified under the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act and the Philippine Passport Act of 1996.

The following are the requirements to obtain a travel clearance for minors traveling abroad:

• Duly accomplished application form;
• Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) issued birth certificate of minor with photocopy;
• Notarized affidavit of consent of both parents, solo parent or legal guardian permitting the minor to travel to a foreign country alone or with a specific companion with a copy of the valid identification card and specimen signature; and,
• Two (2) original colored passport size photos (white, red or blue background) of the minor taken within the last six (6) months from the time of application. No scanned picture is allowed.

* For a minor traveling alone for the first time, are required to submit the following assessment report from the Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO) or Social Welfare Officer (SWO II) of the Social Welfare and Development (SWAD) Team Offices, a DSWD office in every province, when necessary; a photocopy of the marriage certificate on security paper (SECPA) of the minor’s parents or the Court Decision on Legal Guardianship of the minor, or Tallaq or Fasakh certification from the Shariah Court or any Muslim barangay or religious leader; affidavit of support and certified copy of any evidence to show financial capability of sponsor (parents/legal guardian or other person/agency shouldering the expenses) such as: certificate of employment, latest income tax return, bank statement, etc.; unaccompanied minor certificate from the airline and waiver from the parents releasing DSWD from any liability/responsibility in case of untoward incident during the travel of the child.

* For his/her succeeding travels, the requirements are original copy of the previous travel clearance issued; unaccompanied minor certificate from the airline and waiver from the parents releasing DSWD from any liability/responsibility in case of untoward incident during the travel of the child.

* For a minor traveling with a specific companion for the first time, the additional requirements are the photocopy of the marriage certificate of the minor’s parents or a certificate of legal guardianship, in the case of solo parent, a solo parent identification card from the LSWDO or a certification of being a solo parent (assessment report of the LSWDO as attachment), a court decree of separation, annulment or divorce, in case of illegitimate minor, a certificate of no marriage from the PSA, if applicable, in case of deceased parent and a photocopy of the death certificate and a photocopy of the passport of the traveling companion.

* For his/her succeeding travels, the requirements are original copy of the previous travel clearance issued and a photocopy of the passport of the traveling companion.

* Under special circumstances, additional requirements are also asked like the following;

For a Filipino minor migrating to another country – visa petition approval.

For a minor who will study abroad – acceptance or certificate of enrollment or registration from the school where minor is to be enrolled.

For a minor who will attend conference, study tours, competition, student exchange program, summer camp, pilgrimage, world youth day and other related activities – certification from sponsoring organization, affidavit of undertaking of companion indicating the safety measures undertaken by the sports agency (for sports competition) and signed invitation from the sponsoring agency/organization abroad with itinerary of travel and list of participants and duration of the activity/travel.

For minor going abroad for medical purposes – medical abstract of the minor and recommendation from the attending physician that such medical procedure is not available in the country and certification from a sponsor or sponsoring organization.

For a minor going abroad for inter-country adoption – placement authority issued by the ICAB and authority to escort issued by the ICAB.

For a minor under foster care – notarized affidavit of undertaking by the foster parents indicating purpose of travel, destination, duration of travel and a provision stating the commitment of the foster parent on the personal appearance of child and foster parents to the Regional Director or his/her duly authorized representative, within 5 days upon return to the country, notarized affidavit of consent from the Regional Director or authorized representative, photocopy of foster placement authority (original copy to be attached for verification), photocopy of Foster Care License of the family; (original copy to be attached for verification), DSWD Certification of Child legally available for adoption (CDCLAA), except those under Kinship Care wherein their parents did not relinquish the minor for adoption and return tickets.

For a minor under legal guardianship – certified true copy of court order on legal guardianship.

For minor/s whose parent/s are seafarers – a certification from the manning agency attesting to the parent’s employment and photocopy of the seaman’s book.

For abandoned minor with alleged missing parent, if parents are married, the following shall be the requirements – social case study report executed by a licensed social worker of the local government unit, blotter report from either the local police or barangay certification from the locality or the last known address of the alleged missing and one (1) returned registered mail to the last known address of the alleged missing parent(s) or known relative(s).

Personal appearance of the minor in the DSWD regional office is not necessary.

The application for travel clearance together with the required supporting documents and a payment of Php 300.00 per minor for one-year validity and Php 600.00 for two-year validity and shall be submitted by the parent/s, legal guardian or a duly authorized representative to the DSWD Field Office VII located at MJ Cuenco Avenue corner Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Brgy. Carreta, Cebu City.

For Negros Oriental and Siquijor application, they can visit SWAD Negros Oriental in Dumaguete City for the processing of the documents.

From January to March 2018, DSWD Field Office VII has issued 525 travel clearances to minors traveling abroad. ###

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