BI: 3,044 foreigners barred from entering Philippines in 2020

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said its officers barred 3,044 foreigners from entering the country last year.

The number is much lower compared to over 7,000 denied entry in 2019, in step with an overall drop in travel due to COVID-19 mobility restrictions.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said many of the excluded foreigners were turned away between January and March 2020, before the government closed Philippine borders to international passengers.

Koreans topped the list of excluded foreigners, with 1,350 refused entry last year, followed by 532 Chinese nationals, 333 Vietnamese, 247 Americans, 181 Indonesians, and 180 Malaysians, said BI port operations chief Candy Tan.

She said 53% of them were turned back for "being likely to become public charge" and 16% for being "improperly documented" in relation to travel restrictions.

Tan said that 112 foreigners were in the immigration blacklist, 29 had previously been deported from the Philippines for violating immigration laws, and 18 were rude, unruly and discourteous towards immigration officers.

Morente said the BI has continued to screen arriving foreigners with vigilance even despite the pandemic. — BM, GMA News