BI may investigate student visa holders for national security

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has announced that foreign nationals with student visas may face government intelligence investigations if their activities are deemed inimical to national security.

Under Executive Order No. 285, s. 2000, the BI can collaborate with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for these checks.

Foreign students must be endorsed by legitimate schools and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and their visa compliance is monitored by these agencies.

Concerns have been raised over a reported high number of Chinese students in Cagayan province, with 1,516 granted student visas for 702 attending in-person classes due to distance learning measures.

The BI attributes the rise in foreign students to post-pandemic recovery and aggressive marketing by educational institutions to boost tourism.

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval noted that only more than 400 Chinese nationals are currently attending in-person classes, with many others on distance learning.