Minor ‘Swifties’ traveling solo, sans parents need DSWD clearance’
US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Minors leaving the country to watch Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Singapore are required to secure a travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Sunday.
In a post on Facebook, BI reminded “Swifties” who are under 18 years old that they must secure the clearance from DSWD if they are traveling alone or if traveling with a person other than their parent.
The bureau issued the reminder as hundreds of young adults and minors are expected to travel to Singapore to attend the artist’s concert on March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 at the Singapore’s National Stadium.
“We are expecting an increase in travelers during the first week of March during the Taylor Swift concert period, and of course as the summer season enters,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, as quoted in the post on Facebook.
According to a post on the DSWD’s website, a travel clearance is a document issued by the department’s field offices or its attached agency, National Authority for Child Care, “to a minor traveling abroad unaccompanied by any of the parent or those persons having parental authority and legal custody over the child.”
Those who are required to secure a travel clearance are the following:
- Filipino minor who is traveling alone using the Philippine Passport only for their travel outside the Philippines;
- Filipino minor traveling with prospective adoptive parent/s for 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; and
- Filipino minor who is illegitimate and is traveling with his/her biological father;
A DSWD travel clearance is “valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance and shall be valid for multiple travels within the validity period, provided the conditions under which the travel clearance was issued have not changed,” the social welfare department added.
To know more about how to acquire a travel clearance, Swifties may visit this link: EMBED: https://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/travel-advisories/dswd-travel-clearance-for-filipino-minors-2/
Apart from the clearance, Tansingco also reminded concert-goers to accomplish their e-travel forms 72 hours prior to their departure, and check-in at their respective airports at least three hours prior to their flights.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was recently criticized for allegedly slashing the Philippines from the list of countries that the artist would tour after signing an exclusive deal with Singapore.
