NEWSFLASH

Manila, Aug. 24, 2000 - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned colleges and universities not to accept foreigners without student visas.

Immigration Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez issued a memorandum, directing all alien control officers (ACOs) nationwide to identify schools with foreign students in their areas and check if those schools are accredited by the BI to accept foreigners.

Rodriguez also instructed the ACOs to investigate if the foreigners enrolled in those schools have student visas duly issued by the Philippine embassy or consulate in their ports of origin.

Rodriguez said the BI will go after any school caught accepting aliens without student visasby imposing big fines on both the erring school and illegal foreign students.

Called "Operation: Illegal Foreign Students," the campaign aims to bolster the efforts of the BI to monitor the activities of foreign students and ensure that they comply with regulations governing their stay in the country, Rodriguez said.

Initial surveys conducted by the bureau showed that there are about 6,000 aliens enrolled in various schools throughout the country, but only a few of them are accredited by the bureau.