A Chinese national attempting to leave the country with a fraudulent working visa was apprehended by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Li Xuanjun, was intercepted on January 22 while preparing to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Quanzhou, China, BI said in its latest news release.
According to Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, Li’s arrest was the result of a routine check by an immigration officer, who noticed that the passenger’s name triggered a warning in the bureau’s automated derogatory check system.
This alert indicated that Li was wanted by the BI due to his possession of a working visa obtained through fraudulent means. Upon further verification, BI supervisors confirmed that Li was indeed the individual associated with the derogatory hit.
“We will be deporting him for being an undesirable alien which stemmed from his acquisition of a visa through dishonest means. His inclusion in our blacklist effectively banned him from re-entering the Philippines,” Viado said.
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Following his arrest, Li was transferred to the BI’s border control and intelligence unit and subsequently taken to the BI warden facility in Taguig City, where he will remain during the deportation process.
Investigations revealed that Li’s working visa had been canceled by the BI in 2023 after it was discovered that he had acquired it through a fictitious employer.
BI noted that a check with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry confirmed that the company supposedly sponsoring Li’s visa did not exist.
