VISA EXTENSION. Chinese nationals Chen Bei (left) and her mother Zou Qin are seeking visa extension from the Bureau of Immigration in Negros Oriental amid public fear of the novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, China. The two arrived in Dumaguete on Jan. 10 and are scheduled to depart February 6. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY -- Chinese tourists here are seeking visa extension from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) provincial office amid the global scare of the novel coronavirus which was first reported in Wuhan, China and has now affected people in other countries as well.
A mother and daughter from Tian Jin, China, in an interview Wednesday afternoon at the BI office here, said they arrived in this city on Jan. 10 and are scheduled to depart on February 6.
Chen Bei, 29, and her mother, Zou Qin, are staying at a hotel here and entered the Philippines with the so-called Visa Upon Arrival (VUA), through the Kingston Holiday and Travel Tours based in Manila.
After learning of the n-CoV scare, they said they want to extend their stay here because their next stop was supposed to be Vietnam but they are fearful that Vietnamese authorities would no longer receive them.
But like other Chinese nationals in the past three days or so trooped to the BI office here, Chen Bei and Zou Qin face a dilemma.
And unless the BI Commissioner will act on their request, both mother and daughter run the risk of “overstaying” and in the process will be facing sanctions by the Philippine government unless they leave for Vietnam and be rejected there.
Chen Bei, who speaks conversational English, and with the help of a Chinese businessman based here who acted as interpreter, expressed hope that the Philippine government will allow them to extend their stay here.
“We have a family back home in China, and they are fine, even though some n-CoV cases were reported in our city,” she said.
Asked how she felt over the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, she admitted having fear.
BI local chief Peter Bueno was not available for an interview at the time but employees there confirmed that several Chinese nationals have already visited their office asking for the same consideration.
Chinese nationals topped the list of tourist arrivals in Negros Oriental in 2019, data from the Provincial Tourism Office showed. (PNA)
