THE BUREAU of Immigration on Thursday said that it is ready for the influx of foreign students returning to the Philippines after the Inter-Agency Task Force for Covid19 response approved the scrapping of travel requirements.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente vowed to ensure that the issuance of student visas will be smooth and seamless.

“I have instructed our personnel to coordinate with our other stakeholders to ensure the smooth processing of returning foreign students,” Morente said in a statement.

“This would be the Bureau’s share in helping the recovery of the education sector that was also badly hit by the pandemic,” he added.

At the onset of the Covid19 pandemic, majority of foreign students were repatriated to their home countries following nationwide closures and lockdowns.

BI student visa section chief Anthony Cabrera said that they expect the return of foreign students to the country by the 3rd quarter of the year when schools open.

Cabrera said that some schools have announced that they will hold limited face-to-face classes.

“We are encouraging these foreign students to come back and continue their courses, which have been disrupted by the pandemic,” he said.

Prior to the pandemic, the BI reported that there were more than 35,000 foreign students in the country.