AMID pressure from the Department of Tourism to generate more receipts from foreign tourists and the strong reservation from the intelligence community, the Philippine government will now start issuing e-visas to Chinese travelers starting August 24.
The Department of Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday the soft launch of the e-Visa system in seven Philippine foreign service posts in China.
The seven Philippine embassies and consulates are Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, Xiamen, Chongqing, and Guangzhou.
The soft launch will allow China-passport holders to apply online, through their personal computer, laptop or mobile devices. In certain cases as the visa officer or the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) may deem necessary, applicants will be required to do face-to-face interviews with the consulate.
The system also allows Chinese visa applicants to pay online through mobile banking and e-wallets.
However, the operating systems of the e-Visa are Apple, Android mobile applications, and Windows-based browsers only. Chinese visa applicants would need to use a VPN to be able to download the app or apply through the Windows-based browser.
There is also no mode of payment yet available for Alipay or WeChat pay, the most popular payment system in China.
DFA Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto said the e-Visa system is still a “work in progress” and they will refine the technical glitches and other issues during the pilot.
The DFA coordinated with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in designing the app, to help promote the country’s tourism.
China is the top source of tourism for the Philippines with 1.743 million arrivals in 2019, according to the Department of Tourism.
The DOT estimated that an average Chinese tourist spent about US$400-500 and stayed in the country for an average of five days. So, tourism receipts from China could have fetched the economy some US$3 billion (P191 billion).
However, sources said the intelligence community questioned the data of the DOT arrivals, saying that many ended up being workers of Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGO) or have stayed longer illegally.
DFA Undersecretary Jesus Domingo said they have coordinated with all the government agencies concerned including the DOT, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the Bureau of Immigration with regard to the implementation of the e-Visa.