The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that fully vaccinated clients will be exempted from securing an online appointment schedule at their head office in Intramuros.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that individuals who are able to present their vaccination cards or certifications showing that they are already fully vaccinated may be allowed entry to process their immigration-related documents, without the need of prior booking through their online appointment system.
A fully-vaccinated individual is someone who has more than or equal to 2 weeks after having received the second dose in a 2-dose vaccine, or more than or equal to 2 weeks after having received a single-dose vaccine.
However, unvaccinated clients or those who are unable to show proof of their vaccination, would still be required to book through the BI’s appointment system through the website e-services.immigration.gov.ph.
The move, according to Morente, is in relation to the de-escalation of the National Capital Region to Alert Level 2, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
“This would allow us to provide services to more clients, while still ensuring that strict health protocols remain in place,” Morente stated.
The BI also earlier announced the extension of work hours in NCR offices, reverting to their regular 7 am to 5:30 pm schedule.
BI extends work hours in NCR offices
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that they will be reverting to their pre-pandemic office hours starting Nov. 22.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente stated that the move was in relation to the de-escalation of the National Capital Region to Alert Level 2, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
The work hours, said Morente, will be reverted to their regular 7 am to 5:30 pm schedule.
In the same advisory, Morente also ordered that all BI offices in the NCR and other areas under Alert Level 2 to observe a minimum of 50% up to a maximum 70% skeleton workforce while adopting alternative work arrangements.
The extension of work hours and workforce was further increased since September, when they announced a 9-hour work day, with a 50% maximum workforce.
“The extended work hours and added workforce would allow the public to more easily transact their immigration needs with the Bureau,” said Morente. “Even so, we are still implementing strict health protocols inside our offices to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” he added.
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