The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reminded again the different schools nationwide that foreigners must have study permit or visa before the latter can enroll in their school.

 

            BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. issued the reminder as school representatives started trooping to the bureau’s main office in Intramuros, Manila to file applications for special study permit (SSP) and student visa on behalf of their foreign enrollees.

 

David reiterated that the BI will impose sanctions and cancel the accreditation of any school that accepts a foreign student without the required SSP or visa from the BI.

The SSP is issued to a foreigner below 18 years old who will study in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels or those taking up special courses of less than a year.

The long queues of student visa applicants at BI have disappeared since last year when the bureau directed the schools to designate representatives who will assist their foreign enrollees in applying for a visa or SSP with the bureau.

Under Executive Order No. 285 which amended the guidelines for the entry and stay of foreign students in the Philippines, a school that admits an alien without a visa will be meted a fine of P50,000 and lose its authority to accept foreign students.

 

            Atty. Cris Villalobos, BI student desk head, said there are more than 1,300 schools and learning institutions accredited by the BI to accept foreign students.

 

Villalobos also disclosed that roughly 40,000 foreigners, two-thirds of whom are in elementary and high school, who are presently studying in the country.

 

 He added that only schools accredited by the BI, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Federation of Accrediting Agencies can accept foreign students.###