Philippines stops stamping new Chinese passports

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on December 5 that it would stop stamping Chinese passports with the nine-dash map, Philippine Star quoted BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. as saying.

Accordingly, in a document, BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. directed all staff under his command at airports and ports of entry to the country to stamp the back page of visa applications for Chinese citizens.

Philippines will not stamp visas on new Chinese passports
- Photo: china.org

The visa application form is required to be attached to the passport of the passport holder when entering the Philippines and will be the legal document certifying the person’s entry into the Philippines. Mr. David said the BI’s action was based on a circular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protesting China’s printing of the nine-dash line on its passports.

Mr. David affirmed that BI officers at the border will not affix any stamps on Chinese passports, including those for arrival, departure, transit, and visa extensions. However, this order does not apply to diplomatic and official passports of Chinese officials.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the new visa policy was necessary to clearly express the Philippines’ opposition to China’s “extreme claims” over its maritime claims. However, Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs Raul Hernandez said the new visa policy was not intended to deter Chinese nationals from traveling to the Philippines as Manila would continue to “encourage people-to-people exchanges.”

“Chinese nationals who want to visit the Philippines are still welcome,” Hernandez told reporters. “We want to emphasize that other aspects of the bilateral relationship still need to be promoted. That is why we believe that this does not affect tourism.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs has sent a circular to its embassies and consulates, as well as the Bureau of Immigration, advising them of the new visa issuance process for Chinese nationals. The process will apply to both new and old Chinese passports to avoid confusion, the department said.

Last year, an estimated more than 240,000 Chinese citizens visited the Philippines.

According to Tuoi Tre - DT