The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Tuesday that it blacklisted 11 Chinese nationals for overstaying.
Below is the press release of BI posted on their official Facebook account:
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday has ordered the blacklisting of 11 Chinese for overstaying.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente issued orders placing the 11 aliens in the Immigration blacklist after they were ordered to leave the country and meted fines and penalties for exceeding their allotted stay.
“These aliens are now barred from re-entering the Philippines for violating the conditions of their stay,” Morente said. “They were allowed to come here by availing a visa upon arrival (VUA), yet they abused that privilege by overstaying without valid reason and justification at all.”
It was learned that the 11 blacklisted Chinese nationals arrived here on separate dates in November and December 2019 and January 2020, making them overstaying for nine to 10 months.
The said Chinese nationals earlier appeared at the BI main office in Manila to apply for updating of their stay and presented plane tickets manifesting their intention to leave the country, when visa officers noted the violation.
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BI blacklists 11 Chinese nationals for overstaying
Under the rules, VUA grantees are not allowed to extend their stay beyond 30 days.
The VUA program, which the government launched three years ago to attract Chinese tourists and tour groups, allows them to travel to the Philippines and stay here for not more than 30 days without the need to apply for visas at Phillippine consulates in their places of origin.
VUA grantees apply for the scheme through tour operators accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The BI, however, suspended the implementation of the VUA in January, with the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan and other places in China.
The scheme remains suspended as the government continues to restrict the entry of foreign tourists due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2019, the Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration temporarily suspended the issuance of visa upon arrival or VUA to Chinese nationals to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country.