Tourist Visa Immigration law "modernization" visa changes

Some vlogger has just posted a video on the new law changes coming up this summer and one of them is a change in how long you can extend your visa before leaving the country... now it is 3 years and the new law (he says) would change that to every 90 days
anyone have any info on this ?

 

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The new law (still to be approved by the Senate, but approval in the House went unanimous, so it'll probably be a hammer piece in the Senate also) does redraw the visa schedule for the Philippines.
A lot of it is still unclear, because many things will be decided in an IRR separate from the law at a later stage.

This much is clear:
1. tourists from most countries will get a 59 day initial visa upon entry, rather than the 29 day now.
2. all foreigners in the country who stay beyond 59 days will have to register (ACRI-card) and if tourist, get emigration clearance before exit.

The future IRR (rules and regulations) will decide:
1. whether the 3 year max stay for tourists stays unchanged,
2. whether the balikbayan stamp will survive (current "visa-exempt 1 year stamp")
3. what the future procedure to get a spousal "non-quota immigrant status" will be (the current 13a visa isn't mentioned in the law).

We better be prepared for a period of uncertainty.
Link to the Law text (it's a long read, I only skimmed through it)

 

Above all, that tourists can extend their visas up to 3 years has already been discussed several times in Parliament. Actually rightly so. Because a tourist visa is not meant for staying in a country for several years. I don't think there are many countries in the world where this is possible

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In the past, tourists could only stay for 2 years. The only difference was more frequent Visa Runs. No big deal. 3 years was just acknowledging what people were doing and realizing that was money lost every time the tourists went for a Visa Run. But each new set of politicians have to bring it up and justify their existence.

Take Canada for instance, (as I know my own country) "There is no statutory limit on the number of times a person can extend visitor status. Instead, the officer will consider the history of the applicant, the purpose of the visit, and whether there is a valid reason to continue visiting."

 

arrrgghh ...

 

Why not fix all the broken stuff before fvcking with things that work ok and are a huge source of influx of foreign currency

 

As far as I can find, the new law is not on the Senate agenda for the next few days, which means the law won't be approved until after the recess, so not until late July at the earliest. After that (and approval by the president and subsequent publication of the law in the official gazette) the BI commissioner will have 60 days to publish the IRR. Uncertainty and rumours will hence keep going until at least early October of this year.

 

Smart comment. arrrgh

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