Manila – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has temporarily suspended its e-visa operations in China. An advisory issued on November 30 announced the indefinite halt of the Philippine e-Visa System in China, advising visa applicants to contact the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate for application procedures and inquiries.
According to Philippines News Agency, the e-visa beta testing, which began in August for Chinese tourists in Shanghai, was expanded across all seven foreign service posts in China on November 13, with plans to include India by the year’s end. From August 24 to November 6, DFA issued 1,739 e-Visas in China. The DFA noted that applicants found the e-Visa system generally easy to navigate and received support for minor technical issues, with ongoing system refinements supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
The reason behind the suspension of the e-visa system has not been disclosed, and the DFA has yet to respond to inquiries regarding this decision.