More changes may be on the way for a tourist visa.

[Old55]

Our next visit is this December hope this will all go away. If a visa will be required in the future it will not kill tourism but will slow it significantly IMO.

[Jollygoodfellow]

2 hours ago, virginprune said:

Back on topic....if this change is passed then surely it would have repercussions on long stayers here doing their 36 month exit. Having to apply for a visa before re entry. 

Personally I think the hype which is about 2 months old  is just against illegal chinese mainly.  Nothing will change for most countries citizens except for the countries already which do not have the same entry rights as western arrivals. 

So opinion which it is, just more media hype and misunderstanding of the backbone of what is discussed here or in the media. 

No country wants to stuff tourisam but all want to stop those who cheat the system which often falls in the same ethnic background.  

[GeoffH]

I hope they don't do this for everyone, it would be difficult for me because the Philippine embassy is in Sydney and Melbourne only has a consulate.  And even Melbourne is hours away by car from where my house in Australia is.

[Mike J]

This new article seems to indicate that there will be little impact except for people coming in from China.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/236906-philippines-refining-visas-on-arrival-overstaying-issues

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is reviewing the visas upon arrival privilege granted mainly to Chinese nationals due to the reported overstaying of some of the grantees, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday, August 2.

"One of the concerns of BI is some of those who obtained visas upon arrival may possibly be working here already, and they need to get a work permit to be able to work here. That's one area that the BI needs to correct," Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said on Friday.

The BI is under the supervision of the DOJ.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said scrapping the system altogether is also a possibility, especially after Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr said that "we need to put an end to visas upon arrival."

The concern was triggered by National Security Advisor Hermogenes Esperson Jr, who raised the alarm on the influx of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines.

"The BI has already been studying on how to refine the visa upon arrival to prevent abuses in the use of the mechanism," Perete said. But Locsin's statement has created the option of scrapping it altogether, said Perete.

"We will have to see, we will have to balance the differing interests, and differing demands from the sectors," said Perete.

The Philippines grants visas upon arrival mainly to Chinese tourists according to Perete. But the mechanism is open to other nationalities if they are accredited foreign investors, athletes, or conference delegates.

"The review being undertaken by the BI covers the entire mechanism and processes for the VUA. Whether their recommendation will be limited to Chinese tourists or to others is uncertain. We will have to await the conclusion of BI’s review," said Perete.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said in a statement that it is “open to review and reevaluate” the issuance of visa upon arrival (VUA) to foreigners.

“We agree that prime importance should be placed on security and safety of our guests and locals. The grant of visas is to ensure entry of desirable visitors,” the DOT said.

What will happen? Perete said that the major point of review of the BI is the problem of overstaying.

Visas upon arrival to Chinese tourists are effective for only 3 months, but extendible to another 3 months, bringing their maximum stay to 6 months.

Implemented under the term of then-justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II in August 2017 – upon the recommendation of then-tourism secretary Wanda Teo – visas upon arrival cover a broad segment of Chinese nationals, making it effectively available to everyone:

Members of tour groups organized by DOT-accredited tour operators
Businessmen endorsed by local and foreign chambers of commerce and other government agencies
Athletes
Delegates to conventions and exhibitions
Perete said the qualifications of those who might avail of the visa upon arrival will also be reviewed, but that the length of stay aspect will be the principal issue of the immigration reevaluation.

Perete said they cannot provide a timetable for BI's recommendations.

Malacañang earlier said President Rodrigo Duterte was "considering" Locsin's proposal.

What are the considerations? The visas upon arrival was granted to Chinese nationals on the recommendation of the DOT, said Perete.

There were 736,000 Chinese arrivals to the country in 2016. The number hit 1.09 million in 2017, and climbed to 1.37 million last year – credited to the Philippines' warmer ties with China under the Duterte administration.

Thousands of these arrivals are suspected to be illegal workers.

"From the security sector, there is concern on undocumented Chinese nationals coming over, or documented but doing something else, so that is something we should also take into account," said Guevarra.

Guevarra said another point of consideration is if there is enough manpower in consular offices in China to handle visa applications from their end. If visas upon arrival is scrapped, consular offices in China would have to do all the processing.

"If the DFA says we can do it, we have been doing that before, well and good, no problem with us," said Guevarra

 

[Gary D]

So visa on arrival is totally different to the 30 day visa waiver. A million Chinese a year, nothing to be .concerned about

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, Gary D said:

So visa on arrival is totally different to the 30 day visa waiver.

Yes, entirely different program.  The program mentioned was implemented to make it easier for Chinese tourists to get a tourist visa.  It appears that a large number of Chinese are coming in as part of these tour groups.  The VISA is pretty much automatic when they get, then they overstay.  Notice item number 4 on the list and then the final notice/warning for individual are coming in with a tour group.  I think what they plan on doing is eliminating this special program for tour operators because it is being abused.

https://guangzhoupcg.dfa.gov.ph/visa-upon-arrival-for-prc-passport-holders-who-are-members-of-tour-groups-handled-by-accredited-tour-operators

VISA-UPON-ARRIVAL FOR PRC PASSPORT HOLDERS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF TOUR GROUPS HANDLED BY ACCREDITED TOUR OPERATORS

PRC passport holders, who are temporary visitors, may apply for visas upon arrival (9a-VA) for a stay of fourteen (14) days at all international airports in the Philippines provided that:

1.They are members of tour groups organized by a DOT-accredited tour operator.

2.They are holders of a valid passport and roundtrip ticket.

3.They are not in the Philippine Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Blacklist.

4.Chinese temporary visitors who enter the Philippines under this arrangement shall arrive in and depart from the Philippines together with the same tour group they arrived with.

INDIVIDUAL APPLICANTS WHO ARE NOT HANDLED BY ACCREDITED TOUR OPERATORS ARE REQURED TO APPLY FOR A VISA BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE PHILIPPINES.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/2/2019 at 7:59 AM, scott h said:

Personally I do not think the Philippines would be able to set up an effective online visa program like say Australia has. But each country must do what they think is best, for example Australia is one of the few (friendly) countries where an American citizen needs to obtain a visa

Actually, I think the wave of the future will be to have a registration of some sort even for visa waiver countries.  I'm not sure how Australia does it, but I am going through the process now for New Zealand.

New Zealand is starting the NZeTA program October 1, 2019.  If you are from a visa country, you don't do this.  If you are from a visa waiver country like the U.S., you have to go online (or use a phone app) at least 72 hours before your flight to NZ, and do whatever it requires.  I have not done it yet so I don't know what it entails.  The cost is 9 NZD if you use their app, and 12 if you do it online.  In addition you have to pay the new IVL, 35 NZD per head, at the same time as NZeTA.  Those requiring a visa pay the IVL as part of their visa application.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/nzeta

Quote Scott: "Personally I do not think the Philippines would be able to set up an effective online visa program".

Apparently the visa business is a big business now.  Countries hire 3rd parties to handle the programs and the Philippines can do that.  For my wife and step-daughter's NZ visas, VFS does everything, and I think they handle Australia too.

https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/index.html

[Jollygoodfellow]

From Tuesdays  news

Also read my note at bottom of post.

 

Philippine visa to be stamped on passports of Chinese nationals

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine visa will now be stamped on passports of Chinese nationals wishing to enter the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.'s proposal to replace the practice of putting the visa on a piece of paper, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

Related Stories
Amid calls to amend visa policy, Chinese arrivals up
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, vowed that the Department of Justice will monitor the stay of Chinese tourists in the country.

During the Cabinet meeting Monday night, Guevarra assured the president that the DOJ will implement immigration measures should the Chinese nationals exceed their allowable stay in the country.

Last week, Justice Undersecretary Mark Perete bared that the Bureau of Immigration has been reviewing the visa upon arrival privilege of foreigners entering the Philippines.

According to Perete, there have been informal recommendations to review the scheme to address the loopholes in the system.

The Immigration bureau has been reviewing the mechanism as early as about a month before Locsin suggested ending the visas upon arrival scheme.

"We saw a rise in the number of foreign nationals in the previous years due to emerging industries such as the online gaming industry," Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in May, referring to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, where 138,001 foreign nationals are employed based on data from the BI and the Department of Labor and Employment.

"Issues and challenges only appear now. This has never been a problem in the past because of the relatively smaller number of foreign nationals working in the Philippines then," he also said then.

"We need to put an end to visas upon arrival; all visas should be issued by consular offices after vetting. We must take extra care in outsourcing any part of the visa application process, picking only the most reputable worldwide," Locsin tweeted July 31.

This was in response to the remarks of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. that he considers the influx of Chinese nationals in the country as a threat.

Read more at https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/08/06/1941073/philippine-visa-be-stamped-passports-chinese-nationals#EeviPIFPWvYURTvK.99

........................................................................

JGF

Now I realise I will probably throw this off topic but I sure hope this is a fake profile in the comments as this guy should not be allowed to voice anything.

[OnMyWay]

10 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

replace the practice of putting the visa on a piece of paper

And what logical reason did they have for putting it on a piece of paper instead of the passport?  

10 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

this guy should not be allowed to voice anything.

I doubt that he get FB access in jail so it must be fake.  The faker should be hassled about it.  I think I will report it to FB.

[JDDavao II]

On 8/2/2019 at 5:21 PM, Gary D said:

It's China's mo to flood a country with their citizens so they are likely completely aware of even encouraging it. Just look at Tibet as an example.

Because I'm going through the 13A visa process, I'm checking the BI website .PDF lists of new grantees. If anyone is interested, the first of this month's lists on the "VISA APPLICATION STATUS ( Agenda Verification 2019 )" page is at least anecdotal to what Gary D. is saying. Just do a quick in-page search (F3 for Windows) and count the applicants with CHN  origin. So, even legally, the Chinese appear to be flooding in.