BI’s visa-issuing power questioned

The surge in Chinese students in the country has spurred concerns that the authority of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to convert tourist visas to student visas is being abused.

Rep. Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte cited Monday a pressing need to scrap Executive Order 285 which granted the BI the power to issue student visas to foreign nationals.

The concerns were raised amid reports that the BI granted student visas to 16,190 Chinese nationals last year.

“The [nearly] 16,200 student visas that the BI granted to Chinese nationals in 2023 were simply unacceptable. Never mind if other countries grant more, we should never use that as our yardstick given our tense relationship with China,” Barbers said.