Announces conduct of inventory of foreign nationals
(Eagle News) — All departing foreign nationals who were issued visas by select government agencies will be required to present a travel pass upon departure from the Philippines starting March 1, the Bureau of Immigration said.
According to the bureau, covered by the policy are foreigners issued visas by the Department of Justice, the Board of Investments, the Philippine Retirement Authority, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, and economic zones.
“Exempted are those holding an Emigration Exit Clearance (ECC) because they are leaving for good,” Bureau chief Jaime Morente said.
Meanwhile, “those with valid and existing 9(g), 9(f), (Special Visa for Employment Generation) and (Special Investors Resident Visa) under (Executive Order) 63 visas shall be allowed entry, without the need to present an entry exemption document,” Morente shared.
Morente, however, clarified that requirements set during the pandemic are added to regular immigration requirements as a safeguard against the further spread of Covid-19.
The bureau chief said foreigners with valid and existing visas who are now allowed to enter the country should possess and present unexpired reentry permits upon their arrival or they will be turned back at the airport.
He said this was based on the Philippine immigration act, which requires all foreigners registered with the bureau and who were issued alien certificate of registration (ACR I-Card) to present valid reentry permits (RPs) or special return certificates (SRC) when returning to the Philippines.
He explained that the RP and SRC, which are each valid for one year, are issued to aliens who are holders of immigrant and non-immigrant visas, respectively.
These are secured and paid prior to their departure from the Philippines.
“Failure to present these RP/SRCs shall constitute a ground for exclusion and the alien passenger shall be denied entry and boarded on the first available flight to his or her port of origin,” Morente said.
Morente said aliens with expired RP and SRC who intend to return to the Philippines may still regain their privilege to reenter the country by asking their authorized representative to renew their permits at the bureau main office and its satellite and extension offices in Manila.
In a related development, the bureau announced it would be conducting an inventory of foreign nationals, as instructed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The bureau said under the IATF resolution, all visa-issuing agencies are mandated to provide the bureau a list of foreign nationals to whom they issued visas.
According to Morente, apart from the bureau, “there are a lot of other government agencies that issue visas, without the need for registration with the bureau.”
“Hence in the past, it was difficult for the agency to come up with a full report on the number of foreign nationals in the Philippines,” he said.
He said that the move would allow the bureau to be the central repository of data on foreign nationals issued visas in the country.
“This is a major step for the bureau, as it has always been a challenge in monitoring aliens. While for the meantime, the data is being transmitted to us manually, we hope that in the future we will be able to automate data sharing,” he said.
