The Department of Justice in the Philippines, led by Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, is proposing stricter visa processing for Chinese nationals due to security concerns. Reports of Chinese citizens obtaining visas illegally without valid reasons have prompted an investigation, with suspicions of involvement by travel agencies.
To address this, Secretary Remulla suggests shifting visa processing responsibilities from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to Visa Facilitation Services Global (VFS Global), following examples from other countries. Highlighting VFS Global’s expertise, he proposes a similar outsourcing arrangement as used for passport renewal services in some countries. This is seen as necessary because the DFA currently lacks the capacity to thoroughly scrutinize documents submitted by Chinese visa applicants.
Earlier this year, the Philippines introduced a visa facilitation agreement for Chinese nationals, allowing them to use an e-visa to travel to Asian countries, aiming to boost tourism.
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