By Junex Doronio
MANILA — With the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has acknowledged the increasing number of foreigners in the country as the government earned almost P16 million from this year’s annual report, compared to last year’s collection of only P11 million.
In a statement, the BI on Sunday (10 March 2024) said some 153,651 foreigners participated in the 2024 Annual Report from January 1 to March 1, 2024.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Norman Tansingco noted that the number of foreigners was 13% higher than the 136,065 registrants in 2023.
He added that it was a “positive sign that more and more aliens are applying for residency in the Philippines,” unlike when only a few aliens visited the country.
“It was learned that the government earned almost P16 million from this year’s annual report, compared to last year’s collection of P11 million,” the BI noted.
The BI said 80% of the aliens were walk-ins or reported in person at BI field, extension, and satellite offices, as well as selected shopping malls in Metro Manila and elsewhere which were venues for this year’s annual report.
It clarified that only those aliens registered with the agency as immigrants and non-immigrants are required to make the annual report, not foreign tourists or temporary visitors.
(el Amigo/MNM)
