Philippines e-visa to be launched next month

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will soft-launch the Philippine e-visa system in Philippine foreign service posts in China on Aug. 24.

The e-visa will allow foreign nationals entering the country for tourism or business to apply for temporary visitors’ visas remotely through their personal computers or mobile devices.

The e-visa system is being developed in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology since December 2022 and is one of the deliverables of the DFA and DICT in their memorandum of understanding, signed on April 17, to collaborate on a synchronized ICT system for consular services.

This project is also affirmed by President Marcos’ policy directive on Jan. 26 to reinvigorate the tourism industry.

The DFA conducted a pilot testing of the prototype e-visa system on July 11 with DICT representatives and consuls general, visa officers and visa assistants of the Philippine foreign service posts in China.

The features of the e-visa system are currently being refined and enhanced based on the results of the pilot testing.