Policy and purpose
- The government must continuously promote the Philippines as a center for education in the Asia Pacific Region by encouraging foreign students to study in the country.
- The government must develop awareness of the Philippine educational system among neighboring countries.
- The government must allow duly accepted foreign students to avail themselves of facilities of the Philippine educational system.
- Entry and stay procedures must be liberalized without compromising national security by using a systematic method in processing and approval of documents.
Coverage: who is covered
- Coverage applies only to aliens who seek temporary stay in the Philippines solely to take a course higher than high school in an authorized university, seminary, college, academy, or school.
- Covered students must be at least 18 years of age at the time of enrollment.
- Covered students must have sufficient means for education and support of study.
- Coverage operates through authorized admitting schools and the established processing and government clearances.
School accreditation, authority to admit
- Only schools with programs accredited by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) or with equivalent accreditation by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) may admit foreign students.
- The CHED must prepare, at regular intervals, an updated list of such schools in consultation with the BI, based on their mandates under existing laws and regulations.
- CHED must furnish copies of the updated list to the BI, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the schools authorized to admit foreign students.
- Authorized schools must establish a foreign student unit within their organization.
Foreign student unit reporting duties
- Authorized schools must submit reports through their foreign student unit to the BI, with copies furnished to CHED and NICA.
- Schools must submit:
- an enrollment report on foreign students 45 days after commencement of classes every semester, including names of those accepted but failed to enroll for the first time or subsequent terms;
- a monthly status report, as may be deemed necessary, emphasizing whoever is missing, has transferred, dropped from the rolls, or has derogatory records;
- a report on promotions including those who failed final examinations and those with deficiencies.
- Failure to comply with the required reports is a ground for cancellation by CHED of the school’s authority to admit foreign students.
- The Certificate of Eligibility for Admission (CEA) addressed to the accepting school is cleared by CHED only when restrictions exist on enrollment of foreign students due to shortage of facilities (including enrollment in medicine and dentistry).
Enrollment limits, credit accreditation, and prerequisites
- Comparative equivalences between foreign educational systems and those of the Philippines must be assisted by CHED and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).
- Accreditation of advanced credits earned in college abroad, or earned credits in Science, English and Mathematics in the 11th and 12th year levels of secondary education abroad is limited to the authorized number fixed by CHED.
- Credits in excess of the authorized number for a degree course must be subject to validating examinations administered by the accepting educational institutions, subject to information of CHED.
- Enrollment in any level requires completion of the lower particular level; for example, a tertiary or collegiate applicant must be a graduate of high school or its equivalent.
Direct processing among school and government
- Information campaigns to solicit and receive applications directly from prospective foreign students are allowed for individual schools.
- Schools may seek assistance of the DFA and the Department of Tourism for information campaigns.
- Document processing must be between the school and the concerned government agency.
- Foreign students must communicate directly with the school and comply with institutional requirements, including submission of required documents:
- Five (5) copies of the Student’s Personal History Statement (PHS), duly signed by the student, both in English and in his national alphabet with personal seal (if any), including left and right thumbprints and a 2 x 2 inch photograph on plain white background taken not more than six months prior to submission;
- a notarized affidavit of support including bank statements or notarized notice of grant for institutional scholars to cover accommodation and subsistence, school dues, and other incidental expenses;
- scholastic records authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post in the student’s country of origin or legal residence;
- a photocopy of the passport data page showing date and place of birth, and a birth certificate or equivalent duly authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post.
Notice of Acceptance and visa document transmittal
- After verifying compliance with institutional requirements, the school must issue a Notice of Acceptance (NOA) to the student.
- The school must submit a duplicate NOA to the DFA, together with a certified true copy of CHED’s CEA when necessary, and the Section 1-B required documents.
- Documents must be handcarried to the DFA by the school’s designated liaison officer under cover letter on the school’s official stationery signed by the school registrar and stamped with the school’s dry seal, requesting that a student visa be issued to the person named therein.
- The DFA must indorse the documents to the appropriate Philippine Foreign Service Post for student visa issuance after ascertaining identity and admissibility under existing DFA regulations.
Student visa issuance requirements
- Foreign students with approved student visa applications must secure the visa from the Philippine Foreign Service Post in their country of origin or legal residence, regardless of where they are at the time of application.
- The Philippine Foreign Service Post must notify the student in writing of receipt of documents and require personal appearance before a consular officer for interview and consular requirements.
- In addition to DFA-transmitted documents, the student must submit to the consular office:
- the original NOA containing a clear impression of the school’s dry seal;
- a police clearance issued by national police authorities in the student’s country of origin or legal residence, authenticated by the Philippine Foreign Service Post with consular jurisdiction;
- a medical health certificate issued by an authorized physician, including but not limited to standard-size chest x-ray, HIV, and Hepatitis B clearance.
- The consular office must issue the student visa once all requirements are accomplished; it must not assume the task of determining scholastic fitness for the program applied for.
- The DFA must furnish a notice of visa issuance to the school, CHED, BI, NBI, and NICA as soon as it receives a report from the issuing post.
Arrival, registration, stay period rules
- Upon arrival, the student must immediately report to the BI Students Desk for registration and to the accepting school and must enroll in the school that issued the NOA.
- The school must reassess the student’s competency level and establish scholastic comparative equivalence when necessary.
- Through the foreign student unit, the school must assist in obtaining the required Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) and Certificate of Residence for Temporary Students (CRTS) from the BI.
- The student’s authorized period of stay must be consistent with the length of the accepted course; the initial period is one year.
- The BI Students Desk must renew the authorized stay every semester and, for cause, may approve for one year.
- If pursuing another degree program higher than the original course completed, the student must submit to the BI all appropriate clearances/indorsements, including:
- a PHS duly accomplished,
- notarized affidavit of support,
- official transcript of record,
- NBI clearance,
- NOA from the admitting school,
- other concerned agencies’ clearances,
for BI approval and subsequent processing of student visa extensions.
- Course shifting or change of school requires prior CHED/DECS clearances.
Conversions, special study permit, and Foreign Student Desk
- Authorization for conversion from tourist visa category to student visa category or issuance of a Special Study Permit is restored.
- The concerned school and the inter-agency members must assist foreigners already in the country under any valid visa arrangement who apply/petition for conversion of their status to student visa or for issuance of a Special Study Permit, provided prerequisites are complied with and national security safeguards are adequately and appropriately undertaken by all concerned agencies.
- The BI must establish a Foreign Student Desk with the following functions:
- handle and screen applications/petitions for conversion from any valid category to student visa or issuance of Special Study Permit and recommend action to the BI Commissioner;
- process and act on student visa extension applications and approve per semester or per year for cause;
- accredit Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to accept foreign students in coordination with CHED;
- implement approved conversions and downgrading from student visa (9f) to tourist visa (9a);
- issue BI clearance to student visa applicants;
- monitor the activities of foreign students.
Monitoring, school noncompliance, and enforcement
- Within one and a half months after start of classes, the school through its foreign student unit must submit to the BI, with copy furnished to CHED, NICA, and NBI, an enrollment report on all foreign students including names of those accepted but failed to enroll.
- The school must submit a monthly status report to the BI, as may be deemed necessary, on missing persons, transfers, drops from rolls, and derogatory records.
- At the end of each term, the school must report to the BI those who failed final examinations for the term and those who completed their courses.
- The promotion report must be submitted to the BI for appropriate action on requests for student visa extension.
- Non-compliance by schools to submit the required reports is a ground for cancellation by CHED of the school’s authority to accept foreign students.
- The NICA and NBI must check foreign students’ activities whenever necessary, when such activities are brought to their attention and appear inimical to the security of the State.
- Criminal complaints filed against foreign students must be referred to the NBI for investigation and appropriate action.
- NICA and NBI must undertake steps necessary to safeguard due process in valid application, visa issuance, and entry authorization of foreign students.
- The BI must investigate, apprehend, and prosecute, if necessary, foreign students not complying with Philippine immigration laws and regulations.
- Violation of immigration laws and regulations is a ground for cancellation of a student visa and deportation of the student concerned.
Exemptions from student visa and special study permit
- Certain foreign students are exempt from coverage and therefore are not required to secure a student visa and the BI special study permit when they are:
- spouses and unmarried dependent children below 21 years old of specified alien categories;
- categories include a permanent foreign resident; aliens with valid working permits under Section 9(d), 9(g) and 47(a)(2) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended; personnel of foreign diplomatic and consular missions residing in the Philippines; personnel of duly accredited international organizations residing in the Philippines; holders of Special Investor’s Resident Visa (SIRV) and Special Retirees Resident Visa (SRRV); and foreign students entering with 47(a)(2) visas issued pursuant to existing laws, e.g. P.D. 2021.
- The exemption privilege is also extended to principals who wish to take advantage of educational facilities.
- Children in the above categories already enrolled before marriage and/or before reaching 21 years old must be allowed to finish studies and convert their admission category to that of student visa under Section 9(f) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, as amended, as long as their principals remain in the country.
- Spouses and children of personnel of foreign diplomatic and consular missions and duly accredited international organizations who desire to remain in the Philippines to enroll for the first time or finish studies higher than high school and qualify under prescribed regulations must be allowed to convert their admission category to that of a student visa under Section 9(f), in accordance with applicable procedure, when their principals lose their admission category as foreign government officials under Section 9(e), as amended.
- The privilege in the immediately preceding rule is also extended to the principals who wish to take advantage of educational facilities.
Inter-agency Committee creation and duties
- An Inter-Agency Committee of Foreign Students (the Committee) is created under Section 2.
- The Committee membership consists of:
- Commission on Higher Education as Chairman,
- Department of Foreign Affairs as Co-Chairman,
- Department of Education Culture and Sports as Member,
- Bureau of Immigration as Member,
- National Bureau of Investigation as Member,
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency as Member.
- The Committee must:
- promulgate simplified procedures and implementing guidelines for entry and stay of foreign students and rules limiting school transfer and course shifting, within sixty (60) days from effectivity;
- monitor and coordinate implementation with concerned departments and agencies;
- meet regularly to assess program progress to ensure effective promotion of the Philippines as an education center in the region;
- request representatives from other agencies and/or the private sector when necessary and proper;
- submit a semi-annual report to the Office of the President through the Office of the Executive Secretary on status of foreign students, submitted before end of September and February of each school year’s first and second semester, respectively.
- The CHED must provide the secretariat to support the Committee.
Penalties and enforcement against schools
- Any school found, after due investigation, by CHED and/or BI to have violated any provision on compliance must suffer cancellation of its authority to admit foreign students.
- This penalty clause operates as the legal consequence for school non-compliance identified after investigation by CHED and/or BI.
Repeal, separability, and effectivity
- All executive issuances and regulations, or portions thereof, inconsistent with Executive Order No. 285 must be repealed or modified accordingly under Section 5.
- If any part or provision of the Executive Order is held unconstitutional or contrary to law, other parts or provisions unaffected must continue in full force and effect under Section 6.
- The Executive Order takes effect immediately under Section 7.