BI loosens visa rules for Chinese tourists

MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to loosen its policy on jet-setting Chinese tourists and allow them to enter the country without visas and remain for seven days.

Currently, the only foreign nationals allowed into the Philippines without visas for three weeks are citizens of the nine other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan Sunday said President Arroyo gave him the order to let in Chinese tourists without visas last week before she left for Washington for her meeting with US President Barack Obama.

The new policy, he said, was “in accordance with the government’s program to promote and encourage tourism development in the country.”

Libanan said he had issued a memorandum circular on the new policy to all BI outposts and satellite offices.

“With this new policy, we expect more Chinese businessmen and tourists to visit the Philippines and explore investment opportunities, thus opening up more job opportunities for our countrymen,” he said in a statement.

He said those exempted from the visa requirement are Chinese nationals with valid visas issued by the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada or the European Union.

Floro Balato Jr., BI spokesperson, noted that Chinese who frequently traveled to developed countries like the US and Japan were mostly businessmen who could bring investments into the Philippines.

Balato said the new visa rule was part of the immigration bureau’s efforts “to liberalize its policies on the entry of nationals from fast developing countries like China.”

“(U)nder Libanan’s stewardship, the BI has embarked on various innovative programs aimed at boosting tourism and attracting foreign investments,” he said.

Among the new programs the BI has implemented is the special visa for employment generation, which allows foreign businessmen to stay in the country indefinitely, provided their companies employ at least 10 Filipino regular workers. –Marlon Ramos, Philippine Daily Inquirer