The Bureau of Immigration is seeking regular security assessments of foreign students in the Philippines amid an influx of foreign nationals studying in the country.

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the security assessments will cover not just Chinese students but all foreign students in Philippine schools and universities.

The bureau is set to present in an inter-agency committee data on foreign students including patterns and areas where they are concentrated and their nationalities, which can be used by the National Bureau of Investigation or the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency for ongoing investigations.

This, amid recent concerns on the rising number of Chinese nationals studying in Tuguegarao, resulting to a probe being called for by Congress.

Based on Immigration records, a total of 1,516 Chinese nationals  have been granted student visas in Cagayan, all endorsed by a major Philippine university. As of April, only 485 are currently enrolled with only 96 onsite with student visas.

Immigration calls for 'urgent' inter-agency action on alleged influx of Chinese students

In 2023, the BI issued a total of 24,189 student visas to various nationalities.  A total of 16,190 were issued to Chinese nationals all over the Philippines, majority of them are in the National Capital Region.

Aside from China, other top foreign nationals who choose to study in the Philippines are from India and Iran. 

Most Chinese students take up business courses, Indian students usually take medical courses while most Iranian students in the Philippines take dentistry.

The rise in number of foreign students in the country could also be due to the government’s aggressive push to promote the Philippines as an education hub in Asia, Sandoval said.

Chinese nationals remain the top source for foreign students in most countries.  In the US, a total of 289,526 Chinese nationals were given student visas, while in Malaysia, around 130,000 were issued in 2022.  In Thailand, more than 20,000 Chinese students were enrolled on the same year. 

Student visas in the Philippines are valid for 1 year. As part of BI’s assessment, students who are habitual absentees and continue to fail their classes will not have their visas renewed. "It means they are not studying and that is a condition of their stay," the spokesperson said.