DFA will not issue visas”from all posts and here”

March 19, 2020

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin on Thursday said the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA) will not issue visas ''from all posts abroad and here'' as the Philippines battles the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease  (COVID-19).


In his Twitter account, Locsin said the DFA will '' temporarily suspend visa issuance to all foreign nationals as well as the visa-free entry privileges of all foreign national.”

“Moreover, all previously issued Philippine visas to foreign nationals are deemed cancelled. Visas already issued to foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals remain valid,” Locsin said.

Locsin said the ban on the entry of all foreign nationals has been cleared with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat “because this concerns her.”

He said  departing tourists "should be given all the help to get out," adding it would be "idiotic to detain them." DMS