MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has started reviewing the visas upon arrival privilege of foreigners even before the declaration of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Earlier this week, the Philippines' top diplomat said the government should stop issuing visas upon arrival due to the influx of Chinese tourists in the country.
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“We need to put an end to visas upon arrival, all visas should be issued by consular offices after vetting. We must take extra care in outsourcing any part of the visa application process, picking only the most reputable worldwide,” Locsin tweeted July 31.
So we curtail visas on arrival which means: visitor not vetted in our consulates abroad; planes have passengers without visas thereby incurring US Homeland Security wrath. We have to stop stamping visas on slips of paper rather than foreign passports. We need a new visa stamp. https://t.co/3ZmwNaMPOX
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 31, 2019
We need to put an end to visas upon arrival; all visas should be issued by consular offices after vetting. We must take extra care in outsourcing any part of the visa application process, picking only the most reputable worldwide. https://t.co/nsiUfNHiSE
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 31, 2019
In a press briefing Friday, Justice Undersecretary Mark Perete said the Department of Justice is just waiting for the formal recommendation of the Immigration bureau on the visas upon arrival scheme.
"As early as about a month ago, there were already informal recommendations from the Bureau of Immigration so continuous 'yung kanilang study pinpointing exactly what are the loopholes in the system so they can address it," Perete said.
Once the proposal is submitted, it would need the approval of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Perete added that one of the factors the Immigration is looking into is the allowed period of stay for foreign nationals coming to the country.
"Supposedly those who would avail of the visa upon arrival are tourists and limited lang 'yung period within which they should be allowed to stay in the country," Perete said.
Guevarra added that the visas upon arrival mechanism was put in place during the term of former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to encourage tourism, particularly from Chinese nationals.
The Justice secretary noted that the effectivitiy of visas upon arrival for tourists are supposed to be three months, which can be extended for up to another three months.
The visas issued to Chinese nationals have been prone to abuse, the secretary added.
"Ang nagiging problema is kino-convert nila to something else like work visa, special work permit," Guevarra said, adding the the Immigration should intensify its monitoring to prevent such abuses.
Earlier this week, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. admitted that he considers the influx of Chinese nationals in the country as a threat.
"I'm on the cautious side because when foreigners, regardless of nationality, come in and their intent is not clear or when some of them are undocumented or have wrong documentation, forged documentation meaning some of them would come in as tourists and yet end up as workers," Esperon said Wednesday.