The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has given a grace period to foreign nationals who were affected by flight cancellations on Jan. 1 due to issues with the Air Traffic Management Center (AMTC) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
The grace period covers the validity of their authorized stay and their Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC).
“Considering what happened to many foreign nationals who were unable to leave during their scheduled flights, we issued this advisory to assist them in rescheduling, without having to worry about overstaying,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
The BI said those with expired ECCs during the period will have until Jan. 12 to rebook their flight without additional immigration penalties.
Affected aliens will only show a confirmed ticket showing their canceled flight from Jan. 1 or onwards and/or their boarding pass.
“This extension is given in the spirit of the hospitality of Filipino people,” he said.
“Those who were affected did not mean to overstay their visas, hence appropriate considerations are given to them,” he added. AG–gb
