Special visa, permits processing unit for foreigners activated

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has created a new office that will process all applications for visa and special permits filed by foreigners staying in the country, it was learned yesterday.

BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison issued a memorandum creating the Visa and Special Permits Task Force which he directed to start accepting and processing the said applications last June 1.

It was aimed at cutting red tape in the processing and releasing of such applications.

Mison said that aside from the various types of immigrant and non-immigrant visa, the task force will also process applications for special work permits and special study permits.

The BI chief directed the turnover to the task force of all visa applications pending with the bureau’s legal division and other concerned offices.

“The task force shall act as the central processing body of all visa and special permit applications, to evaluate and recommend the required action in each application,” Mison’s directive states.

The office shall be headed by lawyer Arnulfo Maminta as the chairperson, with visa reviewing and hearing officers as members, and supported by an administrative and technical staff, all under the direct operational control of the commissioner.

Presently, the BI receives a monthly average of 2,100 applications for visas and special permits.

Source: mb.com.ph