BI mulls medical tourist visa

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration is mulling the issuance of medical tourist visas in a bid to make the country’s medical tourism competitive with other Asian countries.

In a statement, acting Immigration Commissioner Ronaldo Ledesma said they are currently studying the possibility of introducing the medical tourist visa and other health enhancement procedures as a way of promoting medical tourism. 

The Philippines is competing with other countries in the Asia-Pacific such as Taiwan and Singapore to lure medical tourists.

“Our country has a rich pool of doctors and nurses who can provide quality health care not only to our citizens but also to our foreign visitors... We have plenty of world-class surgeons and modern medical technology and facilities in our hospitals that we can be proud of,” Ledesma said.

The move would also directly add to the government’s income from visa fees and charges.

Ledesma said the bureau’s legal division is preparing the proposed guidelines for the medical visa which will be submitted to the Department of Justice and the Office of the President for approval.

Under the proposed guidelines, the medical visa would allow the holder to stay in the Philippines for six months without the need to secure an Alien Certificate of Registration or identity card (I-Card) and be exempted from paying the annual report fee levied on foreign residents.

In return, the visa holders are required to post a bond based on the amount of their airline tickets to ensure that they would not violate the conditions of their stay in the country.

At present, the Immigration Act provides for the extension of tourist or temporary visitor’s visas only to foreigners who come to the Philippines for business or pleasure.

They are initially granted a stay of either 21 days or two months that may be extended every month up to a maximum of two years.