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BI welcomes first e-visa holders

Philippines | National

BI welcomes first e-visa holders

By Czarina Nicole Ong Ki

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) welcomed the first holders of the Philippines' electronic visa (e-visa) -- a mother and her daughter who arrived on board a China Eastern flight from Shanghai, China on Saturday, Sept 2.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Office of the Consular Affairs (OCA) Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto Jr. personally welcomed their arrival together with DFA Deputy Assistant Secretary Christian de Jesus, Director Leilani Feliciano, Assistant Director Antonio Emmanuel Miranda, and other BI officials.

The DFA launched the e-visa system last August. The e-visa is a new initiative that aims to attract more foreign visitors by allowing them to apply for their temporary visitors’ visa online.

The soft launch of the system was conducted in Shanghai, China, and the BI shared that the DFA held a series of meetings to ensure that the e-visa is integrated in the BI’s e-travel system. This is all part of the BI’s efforts to streamline its procedures and expedite the process through paperless procedures.

With the successful arrival of the country's first e-visa holders, the BI said it is confident that there will be an increase in the number of passengers during the "ber" months especially after the re-opening of the country’s borders and the intensive promotional campaigns of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Related Tags

Chinese national Norman Tansingco e-visa Department of Foreign Affairs bureau of immigration Henry Bensurto Jr.

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