(Eagle News) — Foreigners with valid visas but with expired re-entry permits may now renew them at the airport to re-enter the country, the Bureau of Immigration said.
According to the bureau, the new rules contained in a memorandum issued on Thursday by bureau Commissioner Jaime Morente apply to foreigners who have been issued immigrant and non-immigrant visas and who are returning to the Philippines after being stranded abroad due to the pandemic.
Morente said the new rules were adopted on orders of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
Guevarra had instructed the bureau to allow the re-entry of aliens with expired reentry permits (RPs) and special return certificates (SRCs) instead of sending them back to their port of origin.
An RP is issued to a holder of an immigrant visa, who is a permanent resident in the Philippines, while the SRC is obtained by a non-immigrant such as holders of 9(g) working visa and 9(f) student visa.
These foreign nationals cannot leave the country unless they have secured their RP or SRC as well as their emigration clearance certificate (ECC).
Morente said that the move will facilitate the unhampered entry of foreigners with existing valid visas who were not permitted to enter the Philippines when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Official receipts of these payments are to be presented to the immigration officer upon these foreigners’ return to the country.
Reentry permit fees are valid from six months to one year from the date of a foreigner’s departure.