The Bureau of Immigration (BI) welcomed the first holder of the Philippine Electronic Visa (E-visa), who arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), on Saturday, 2 September.

BI said that it can be recalled that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) launched last month an e-visa system that allows foreign tourists to apply for their temporary visitor visas online.

According to the Bureau, the E-visa system is an initiative of the national government to attract more foreign visitors to the country post-pandemic.

Earlier, the DFA announced that the soft launch of the system was conducted in Shanghai, China.

The first E-visa holder was a mother-daughter tandem who arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 on board a China Eastern MU211 flight from Shanghai, China.

The BI shared that the DFA had a series of meetings with the bureau to ensure that the e-visa would be integrated into the BI's e-travel system as part of the BI's efforts to streamline its procedures and expedite the process through fewer paper-based documents.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco and DFA Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto Jr. personally welcomed the arrival of the first e-visa holder.

The BI also said that they are expecting an increase in the number of passengers during the 'ber' months, following the re-opening of the country's borders and the massive promotional campaigns of the Department of Tourism.-