Question & AnswerQ&A (BI MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. MCL-08-029)
Commonwealth Act No. 613, as amended, also known as the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, vests the Bureau of Immigration with the responsibility of administering and enforcing immigration laws in the Philippines.
The Bureau of Immigration is responsible for administering and enforcing immigration laws and admission of foreigners, including enforcement of alien registration laws, exclusion, deportation, repatriation of aliens, and supervision of their immigration into and emigration from the Philippines.
Temporary foreign visitors who overstay their visas without valid reasons are deemed undesirable and should be ordered to leave the country and be placed on the Bureau of Immigration's blacklist.
Overstaying temporary foreign visitors must update their stay by paying all necessary fees, fines, and penalties, and then they shall be ordered to leave within ten (10) calendar days from the update.
Their names shall be included in the blacklist of the Bureau of Immigration.
No, the Circular does not preclude the Bureau of Immigration from exercising other legal actions and remedies pursuant to law, rules, and regulations against overstaying foreigners.
This Circular took effect on July 1, 2008.
All temporary foreign visitors who are overstaying in the Philippines on or after July 1, 2008, are covered by this Circular.
The Circular must be published in a newspaper of general circulation, filed with the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR) at the U.P. Law Center, and furnished to all concerned parties.