On Saturday, 2 September the Bureau of Immigration welcomed the first holder of the Philippine Electronic Visa, who arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

It can be recalled that the Department of Foreign Affairs launched last month an e-visa system that allows foreign tourists to apply for their temporary visitors' visa 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 was 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  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.