BI issues new guidelines for foreign nationals

By Susan G. De Leon

Monday 4th of June 2012

MANILA, JUNE 4 (PIA) -- The Bureau of Immigration has issued new guidelines in the registration and issuance of visas to dependent-children of foreign nationals in the country.

The new rules were issued after the bureau stumbled upon records of hundreds of alien dependents who were mistakenly registered as native-born foreigners just because they were born in the Philippines.

The guidelines contained in a memorandum circular issued by BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. and approved by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima provides for the cancellation of the visas of non-immigrant alien dependents who were improvidently registered as native-born foreigners even if they are not qualified under the immigration law.

The memorandum stressed that dependents of non-immigrants, aged 18 years and below, are entitled only to the visas granted to their parents whose stay in the country is only temporary.

According to a news release, David gave the BI alien registration division to submit within 30 days an inventory or list of the said “native-born” dependents and instruct the concerned aliens to apply for the appropriate visa with the bureau.

It also states that after December 31 this year, the registration of foreign depedents who were erroneously granted native-born status shall be cancelled.

The new guidelines provides uniform rules for registering foreign dependents, thus avoiding confusion in determining the status or visa that should be granted an alien born in the Philippines. (BI/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)