Filipino passengers who use E-gates will no longer get arrival stickers
Arriving Filipino passengers who pass through the E-gates of the country’s international ports will no longer have their passports stamped with arrival stickers starting April 1, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced.
The BI said, in a statement, that the move was made “to streamline e-gates processing to maximize its efficiency and transition to label-free border clearance.”
Instead of stickers, the BI said “inbound Filipino travelers will receive an email confirmation of their arrival via the address they provided in the eTravel system.”
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the removal of the sticker has been consistent with the bureau ‘s “effective and efficient immigration service” to the traveling public.
Once the new immigration law has been passed, Tansingco said the BI would become more aggressive in adding new technologies that would increase its efficiency.
E-gates which were launched in 2019 are unmanned gates that process traveling passengers and replaces the immigration booths manned by BI officers.
The BI noted that there are currently 21 E-gates installed in major airports but assured that more will be added this year.