An International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV) is a document that contains the record of your vaccination history.
On a positive note, member states of the World Health Organization recognize this certificate.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, seafarers and OFWs were only required to have a yellow fever vaccine.
The Bureau of Quarantine will then give us a yellow card that serves as our Certificate of Vaccination.
Initial Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate has a validity of TEN years but is renewable for a lifetime validity.
How to Get Your ICV
First and foremost, an ICV is not mandatory abroad. It depends on the country you’re going into. You may have to contact your manning agency or country of destination before getting one.
But since seafarers travel to a lot of places, it is best and recommended to have one.
Going back, the first thing to acquire in getting an ICV is to get the necessary requirements. After you gather them all, you can proceed to the second step where the online struggle begins.
1. Requirements
Before diving into BoQ’s ICV website, the very first thing that you should do is gather all the required documents and certificates.
Don’t worry because you will upload these requirements online. They are just very specific with the type of documents they are asking for. Having them at hand will save you a lot of time and energy.
Thus, it’s my wise advice to prepare them before scheduling your ICV appointment.
A. Acceptable Valid IDs
Here are the acceptable valid IDs according to BoQ, ‘s website.
- PRC ID
- Voter’s ID
- GSIS ID
- ACR/ ICR
- SSS/ UMID
- Driver’s License
- Postal ID
- Others
B. COVID-19 Vaccination Card/ Certificate
Note that BoQ shall issue ICV for applicants who were vaccinated in the Philippines only. Here are the lists of accepted brands.
Prepare an image copy of your vaccination certificate including its back.
Single Dose
- Jansenn (Johnson & Johnson)
- Sputnik Light (Gamaleya National Center)
Single Dose with Booster Dose
- Jansenn (Johnson & Johnson)
- Sputnik Light (Gamaleya National Center)
Booster Dose Note: Individuals who had been vaccinated against Covid 19 outside the country and had their booster in the Philippines can avail of this service.
Two Doses
Note: You must fit in ANY of the ff. categories:
- 1st dose must be administered in the PH; 2nd dose Abroad
- 1st dose Abroad; 2nd dose in the PH
- Both doses were administered in the Philippines
Accepted Brands:
- Aztrazeneca (Catalent Anagni S.R.L.)
- Coronavac (Sinovac Bio Tech, LTD.)
- Moderna (Modernatx, Inc.)
- Pfizer (Pfizer-Biontech)
- Sinopharm (Beijing Institute of Biological Products)
- Sputnik V (Gamaleya National Center)
Two Doses with Booster Dose
Note: You must fit in ANY of the ff. categories
- 1st dose must be administered in the PH; 2nd dose Abroad
- 1st dose Abroad; 2nd dose in the PH
- Both doses were administered in the Philippines
Accepted Brands:
- Aztrazeneca (Catalent Anagni S.R.L.)
- Coronavac (Sinovac Bio Tech, LTD.)
- Moderna (Modernatx, Inc.)
- Pfizer (Pfizer-Biontech)
- Sinopharm (Beijing Institute of Biological Products)
- Sputnik V (Gamaleya National Center)
Booster Dose Note: Individuals who had been vaccinated against Covid 19 outside the country and had their booster in the Philippines can avail of this service.
Booster Dose Only
Note: Individuals who have been vaccinated against Covid 19 outside the country and had their booster in the Philippines can avail of this service.
Accepted Brands:
- Aztrazeneca (Catalent Anagni S.R.L.)
- Coronavac (Sinovac Bio Tech, LTD.)
- Moderna (Modernatx, Inc.)
- Pfizer (Pfizer-Biontech)
- Sinopharm (Beijing Institute of Biological Products)
- Sputnik V (Gamaleya National Center)
- Jansenn (Johnson & Johnson)
- Sputnik Light (Gamaleya National Center)
C. Passport
I think this will pop up depending on what type of work you select when completing your personal profile.
Anyway, if you have your passport with you, this shouldn’t be a problem.
D. Seafarers ID
Since I’m a seafarer, it asks for my Seafarer ID. Probably it is talking about SID but since I don’t have one, I used my Seaman’s Record Book instead.
E. Mobile Number
They will send you updates, especially payment reminders and confirmations.
F. Email Address
Same with your mobile number. However, they will also send an OTP here upon creating your account which is the next step.
Now that you have your requirements in hand, let us proceed and create your BoQ ICV account.
2. Create an Account
Visit the Bureau of Quarantine ICV website by logging in to https://icv.boq.ph/. You can do this using your laptop or smartphone.
The registration process is very straightforward. You won’t get lost as long as you follow what’s popping up on your screen.
Even so, I made an image layout of what you will expect along the way.
A “Terms and Privacy Policy” will pop up requiring you to agree to it. Just click Agree.
After that, it will ask for your email address for verification purposes. Just input your functioning email address and press Verify. It will ask for an OTP sent to your email account.
Open your inbox and check for the message that says OTP – Bureau of Quarantine Medical Services from Pisopay. Look for the OTP code and type it on the Sign Up page.
Your Personal Details
Once you successfully submit your OTP, another pop-up will show up asking for your personal information. Fill it up and hit Sign Up.
Done. You have now created an account for the BoQ ICV online system!
3. Choose Certification Services
In the Service Category, click on Certification Services.
Three ICV options will appear each costing Php300.00. Choose Certification of Vaccine for Covid 19.
Click Next.
The website will ask you for an option of courier delivery and on-site appearance. Choose On-site since the former one is not available.
4. Schedule an Appointment
Unlike before, BoQ now has branches and satellite offices in many parts of the country. This is actually a smart move and a huge convenience for us.
You can choose which branch is nearest to you and appoint a schedule there. The dates colored in green are the available ones.
They have a limit as to how many applicants they can cater to. Some of the branches may be fully booked so it’s better to plan ahead of schedule.
5. Filling Up Your Information
Remember the requirements we talked about early on? This is where they come in handy.
Click on Update at the bottom of each category. It will ask you the required details including an image copy. Follow what’s being asked, upload the image and you should be fine.
After filling up your info and uploading the documentary requirements, an image of your ICV will flash onto the screen.
Double-check that every detail is accurate as they will print this in your actual ICV.
Click Next and Confirm if you are sure that all information is true and correct.
Remember:
All fields with * or ◤ marks are required. Kindly fill up all required fields to complete the application.
6. Payment
You will pay a total of Php370.00- Php300.00 for the ICV and an additional Php70.00 convenience fee.
There are 2 main methods of payment: Cash or eMoney/ Mobile Wallet. Whichever method you use, a reference number will be given to you. You will use this to pay for your ICV.
The system will also send you an SMS message with the reference number reminding you to pay to complete your appointment schedule.
For Cash Payment, you have to show your reference number to the payment partner and tell them that you are paying for your BoQ ICV appointment.
Mobile Wallet payments are more convenient. I used GCash to pay for it and took less than 3 minutes to complete the transaction.
There are specific instructions for each payment method so there’s no problem if you only follow them.
7. Appearance
Now that you finished the necessary paperwork online, it’s time to walk the talk.
Head on to the Bureau of Quarantine branch where you booked your appointment.
Note that you have to bring your Vaccination Certificate and a valid ID. In my case, I was only asked for my Vaccination Certificate.
After a few personal questions, I waited outside for the release of my ICV.
It took me almost an hour from my arrival at the BoQ office in Venice Grand Canal to the release of my International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV).
The waiting part took most of the time since there were already people lining up when I arrived.
Transacting with the BoQ staff only took me five minutes. And that was on a fine Monday morning.
In my next post, I will talk about How to re-schedule your BoQ ICV appointment. Hope to see you there!
May the winds be in your favor.
