PH announces plans to extend validity of e-Visas for foreign nationals

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. plans to amend policies aimed at prolonging the validity of electronic visas, or “e-Visas,” for visitors from other countries, as reported by the Philippine News Agency.

During a diplomatic meeting, the Indian Ambassador to the Philippines formally requested that Indian nationals residing in the nation have their e-Visas renewed.

In response, President Marcos pledged to implement regulations extending e-Visas, which would help immigrants from other countries as well as Indian nationals already in the Philippines.

To address the need for visa reforms to ease travel industry bottlenecks, DOT Secretary Christina Frasco met in March with officials from a number of government departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Immigration.

Secretary Frasco emphasized the possibilities for tourism in China and India, encouraging government agencies to look into the possibility of issuing e-Visas to their citizens.

With 51,542 arrivals, India would rank ninth among the country’s main foreign visitors in 2022, although China had previously welcomed nearly 1.7 million Chinese tourists before the outbreak. These figures are based on DOT data.

With a target of 4.8 million visitors, the Philippines has drawn around 4 million foreign tourists so far this year.

Original story by: Asia Gaming Brief