Dubai: The Philippines has started clamping down on its citizens coming to the UAE on a visit visa.
One measure includes barring Filipino visitors from visiting the UAE if their airline ticket indicates they plan to stay more than 30 days, a senior Manila immigration official said.
Edgardo Mendoza, Chief of the Immigration Regulation Division at the Bureau of Immigration, said, "We're just enforcing the rules. The visit visa states the bearer is allowed to stay for only 30 days after entry. There's no reason why the return ticket should be dated longer than that."
Passage denied
Recently, Elizabeth M., a Filipina visiting Abu Dhabi on a friend's sponsorship, was denied passage through Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport after immigration officials found out her return date was two months after the departure date.
"I was shooed away thrice," said Elisabeth. "After paying date-change fee (Dh183) to the airline, I had to cut my stay from two months to just one month. They [immigration agents] told me I can't fly otherwise."
