Immigration bureau: 1320 foreign nationals denied entry into PHL in 2021 due to improper documentation, prior blacklisting, others

(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration said it denied entry to over 1000 foreign nationals in 2021 after deeming their presence in the country to be inimical to national interest.

Bureau Port Operations Division Chief Carlos Capulong said the 1,320 aliens who were refused entry were less than the over 3,000 foreign nationals who were intercepted in 2020.

Capulong clarified, however, that the decline was expected with the travel bans imposed for the whole year last year, which resulted in the lower number of arriving passengers.

The bureau official said of the 1,320, 450 were Chinese nationals,  261 Vietnamese, 159 Americans, 33 British, and 24 Israelis.

According to Capulong, of the total number, 676 were excluded for not having the means to support their stay in the country, and whose purposes of stay in the country were doubtful, while 501 were deemed as improperly documented.

Meanwhile, 69 were excluded for having been blacklisted.

“Despite the woes of the pandemic, our officers in the frontlines shall continue to ensure that only those eligible foreigners are allowed entry in the country,” he said.