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Philippine Immigration Information

The Bureau of Immigration (BI), which is under the auspices of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is principally responsible for the following tasks:

> Administer and enforce the immigration and citizenship laws as well as the admission of foreign nationals in the Philippines. This includes the enforcement of Alien Registration Laws, the exclusion, deportation and repatriation of aliens;

> Act as the primary enforcement arm of the DOJ and the President of the Republic of the Philippines by ensuring that all foreigners within its territorial jurisdiction comply with the existing laws;

> Assist local and international law enforcement agencies in securing the tranquility of the state against foreign nationals whose presence or stay in the country is deemed as threat to national security, public safety, public morals and public health;

> Act as the chief repository of all immigration records pertaining to entry, temporary sojourn, admission, residence and departure of all foreigners in the country.

In the discharge of its functions, the BI, through its Board of Commissioners, exercises administrative and quasi-judicial powers to:

- head and decide deportation cases;
- investigate entry applications and admissibility of aliens upon arrival;
- administratively determine the citizenship status;
- cancel immigration documents;
- execute exclusion or deportation orders;
- issue identification and certification of immigration documents;
- extend the stay of temporary visitors; and,
- arrest and detain erring foreign nationals after due process of law.

The Commissioner of Immigration is empowered to issue warrants of arrests against alien violators of the Philippine Immigration Laws.

The BI also has supervision and control of their 11 District Offices and 31 Field Offices nationwide, in addition to the Main Office at Intramuros, with extension offices at the Board of Investment (BOI) Bldg., DTI, 385 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave., Makati City, and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Bldg., Roxas Blvd. Cor. San Luis St., Pasay City, and sub-offices at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 2, Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

ADMISSION OF ALIENS

The Philippine Consular Officers conduct investigation and grant visas to qualified applicants for entry into the Philippines. These visas may be for single entry or multiple entries. If the visa is marked "single entry", the Immigration Officer marks "used" upon admission of the holder at the port of entry. Single entry visa usually expires six (6) months upon issuance. However, visas issued by the Philippine Consular Office do not guarantee admission, should the holder be found inadmissible at the port of entry.

The Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 (PIA 1940) as amended requires arriving aliens to undergo primary inspection of valid travel documents by the Immigration Officer at the port of entry. At this stage, incoming aliens must present a valid passport and visa. The passport must be valid for at least six (6) months counted from the date of issuance of entry visa or an official document with the nature of travel document issued by the country to which he owes allegiance. The alien shall be admitted for an authorized period, which should not exceed two (2) months before the expiration of the travel document.

CLASSIFICATION OF ENTRANT ALIENS

The PIA 1940, as amended, classifies entrant aliens as:

> Immigrant or those who come for permanent stay; and,
> Non-immigrant or those who come for temporary sojourn or aliens departing from any place outside the Philippines who are otherwise admissible into the country.

Under Section 13 of the PIA, immigrants may be categorized as "quota immigrants" and "non-quota immigrants". There may be admitted quota immigrants not more than 50 in number of any one nationality for any calendar year. The non-quota immigrant, however, may be admitted without regard to said numerical limitation such as:

- The wife or husband or the unmarried child under 21 years old of a Philippine citizen, if accompanying or following to join such citizen;

- A child of alien parent born during the temporary visit abroad of the mother, the mother having been previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence, if the child is accompanying or coming to join a parent and applies for admission within five (5) years from the date of birth;

- A child born subsequent to the issuance of the immigration visa of the accompanying parent, the visa not having expired;

- A woman who was a citizen of the Philippines for permanent residence because of her marriage to an alien or by reason of the loss of Philippine citizenship by her husband, and her unmarried child under twenty one years of age, if accompanying or following to join her;

- A person previously lawfully admitted into the Philippines for permanent residence. Who is returning from a temporary visit abroad to an unrelinquished residence in the Philippines; and,

- A natural born citizen of the Philippines, who has been naturalized in a foreign country, and is returning to the Philippines for permanent residence, including the spouse and minor children, shall be considered a non-quota immigrant for purposes of entering the Philippines.

Section 9 of the PIA, as amended, enumerates non-immigrant entrant aliens:
Temporary visitor coming for business, or for pleasure, or for reason of health;

- A person in transit to destination outside the Philippines;

- Seaman;

- Treaty Trader/ Treaty Investor;

- Officials of foreign governments;

- Student; and,

- Pre-arranged employee.

TOURISTS/TEMPORARY VISITORS

Tourists/temporary visitors fall under two (2) categories under the PIA 1940, namely, restricted and non-restricted aliens.

Non-restricted Aliens as classified by the DFA may enter the country with or without entry visa. If they arrive with visa, they may be allowed an initial authorized stay of 14, 21, 59 or up to 90 days which may be extended for another two (2) months at a time until they complete a maximum period of one (1) calendar year from the date of arrival. Nationalities of ASEAN countries are generally categorized as non-restricted aliens.

If they enter without a visa they are usually granted by Immigration officers an initial authorized stay of 21 days, Before the expiration of said period, however, these aliens may apply for a visa waiver at the BI which can extend their stay for another 38 days for them to complete an extended stay of 59 days. This 59 days period may further be extended for another two (2) months at a time until they complete a maximum period of one (1) calendar year from the date of arrival.

Restricted Aliens are treated differently as provided for by existing BI and DFA interdepartmental protocols. Restricted aliens, include, but may not be necessarily limited to the following: a) People's Republic of China (PROC); b) Republic of China (ROC); and c) India.

These aliens must present entry visa granted by the Philippine Consular's Office in their country. At present, the practice is for the Philippine Consular's Office to indicate the validity of visa while the Immigration Officers at the port of entry indicate the authorized stay which may be 14, 21, 59 days. The authorized stay may also be extended to a maximum of one (1) year period with two (2) months' extension at a time.

Note: Temporary visitors are required to register for Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) at the BI pursuant to the Alien Registration Act after the 59th day of stay. After the stay of six (6) months they are required to apply for Certificate of Residence for Temporary stay (CRTV).

TRANSIENTS

The PIA 1940 allows admission of aliens who pass through the Philippines en route to foreign destinations. This brief stopover is permitted for not more than 72 hours, provided they leave on the first available flights to their destinations. They are required to have: (1) round trip ticket; (2) sufficient funds to complete their journey; and (3) permission to enter their foreign country destinations.

TREATY TRADER / TREATY INVESTOR

International traders/investors, who are nationals of the United States, Japan, or the Federal Republic of Germany principally engaged in trade and business between their country and the Philippines may be admitted as non-immigrants. Their duly authorized representatives or employees who must be nationals also of the aforesaid countries may be admitted in the traders'/investors' behalf. They can bring with them their wives and unmarried minor children below 21 years of age.

To qualify for this kind of visa, the investment must be at least US$30,000.00 or a volume of trade in the amount of not less than US$120,000.00 per annum. This authorizes the traders/investors or their duly authorized representatives or employees to stay for two (2) years which may be extended for another two (2) years at a time so long as the investment subsists or the minimum amount of trade volume per annum is met.

Under Executive Order 226 and Executive Order 63, aliens may also apply for and be admitted under Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV) except those classified as restricted nationals from North Korea and Cambodia. They may take with them their wives and/or unmarried children below 21 years of age. They are entitled to remain as long as their investment subsists.

> Investment - at least US$ 75,000.00 in any corporate or partnership venture or US$ 50,000.00 in any tourist oriented/related venture. The former shall be filed with the BOI while the latter shall be filed with the Department of Tourism (DOT). The applicants may also apply at the Philippine Consular's Office in their country that shall endorse the same, through the DFA, to the respective government agencies.

> Length of Stay - Initially, six (6) months probationary period for Special Investor's Resident Visa which may be converted to indefinite status upon submission of proof of investment on or before the expiry of the probationary period.

STUDENT

An alien who desires to study in the Philippines may be admitted under student visa. He must meet the following requirements:

- At least 15 years of age;
- Qualified to enter and has definitely arranged to enter a school approved by the BI;
- Pursuing a definite course of study; and,
- Valid passport and visa duly issued by the Consular Office.

Note: An alien who was initially admitted as Temporary Visitor is now allowed to upgrade or convert his admission status to student. This visa is categorized to missionary or commercial.

PRE-ARRANGED EMPLOYMENT

An alien may be admitted for pre-arranged employment together with his wife and/or unmarried children below 21 years of age. They can have an authorized stay of two (2) years extendible for another two (2) years at any given time.

ACCREDITED OFFICIALS OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENT

The following shall be admitted as Accredited Officials of Foreign Governments:

- Foreign diplomatic officers recognized by the DFA;
- Foreign Consular Officers;
- Employees of foreign diplomatic missions;
- Employees of foreign Consular Offices;
- Others coming in on official capacity, including commissioned officers and enlisted men on active duty of the military, naval and air force of foreign countries, including official delegate staff, attendant and employees; and,
- Foreign government officials who are coming to the Philippines as Temporary Visitor or in transient.

For more information visit the Philippine Immigration website at
http://www.immigration.gov.ph