A foreign tourist – of any nationality – may now visit the Philippines for a period of 24 months or two years. What he has to do is declare an extension of visit every two months, up to 16 months, with the visa extension office, paying the due fees that depend on his proposed length of stay in this country. Such extension does not need prior approval by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
     After 16 months the foreigner may still extend his stay up to eight months provided he files an application for such extension and his application is duly approved by the BI. Again, the fees correspond to the length of his stay.

                           And After Two Years?
     After 24 months another application for extension would already require the approval of no less than the immigration commissioner.
Marcelino Libanan, the immigration commissioner, disclosed in a press statement last week that the ruling was to take effect immediately. He had ordered the visa extension office to expedite the processing of applications.

                            Mind you, no hassles!
     BI officials are assuring foreigners that there will be no hassles in the process. It is of course understood that the applicant has never been tagged as an undesirable alien, or is a suspected terrorist.The procedure for requesting an extension beyond 16 months for another maximum of eight months (making a total of 24 months) is smooth sailing under the aegis of the aforesaid visa extension office.
The new immigration policy has been prompted by official statistics that show a 21 percent rise in the number of tourists who extended their stay in the Philippines during the first six months of this year. A total of 196,172 applications for extensions of stay were approved for the aforesaid period compared to 161,984 for the same period last year.

                     What About Those Without Visas?
      The Philippines has an agreement with more than 100 other countries to allow their nationals to enter this country without a visa for a stay not exceeding 21 days (with the corresponding conditions present). How does the new BI ruling affect these nationals who are visiting the country without a visa?
These foreigners without visas have to apply for one. They may go to their respective countries’ embassy or consulate, if they wish to extend their stay in the Philippines, and get a visa so they can avail of the privilege attached to the new BI ruling.
     Many countries have embassies in the Philippines and therefore, their respective nationals would have no problem obtaining a visa. To those nationals whose countries are represented not by an embassy but by a consulate, it is advisable for them to apply for a visa far earlier because the consular process generally takes a comparatively longer time.

                         Reactions from Foreigners
     An expat from Latin America who teaches Spanish at a

Page 6