Here's another effect of the COVID-19 pandemic: the dwindling of foreigners seeking education in the Philippines.
According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the number of foreign students in the country went down to an all-time low in 2020 as they did not apply or renew their student visas and permits.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said only 1,254 foreigners applied for student visas last year, compared to the 4,785 in 2019. That represents a slippage of 75 percent.
Morente also said that foreign students who renewed their visas also dropped to 7,170, which is 31 percent less than the 10,433 who extended their visas in 2019.
A student visa is issued by the BI to a foreigner enrolled in school authorized by the Bureau to admit aliens.
“Restrictions on the entry of foreigners and suspension of face-to-face classes due to the pandemic naturally caused a decline in the number of alien enrollees in Philippine schools,” noted Morente.
The BI student visa section also reported a 74-percent drop in the number of foreign pupils in the elementary and high school levels who applied for special study permits (SSP). It said there were only 1,962 aliens who applied for SSPs last year, compared to the 7,428 in 2019.
Aside from aliens enrolled in elementary and high school, the SSP is also issued to aliens taking up short-term courses in the country.
BI student visa section chief Anthony Cabrera said that as a result of the decline in foreign student statistics, the Bureau’s collections from student visa fees also dropped.
Cabrera said revenues generated from foreign students in 2020 amounted to only P151 million, which is 28 percent lower than the P209 million collected in 2020.
He said that many of the foreign students were repatriated to their home countries amid concerns by their parents on the spread of COVID-19.
The country has been a top destination for international students desiring to take English language courses, as well as study in the field of medicine.