More and more foreigners are staying for a longer period of time in the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced Wednesday.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan reported a 13 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists who extended their stay in the country in 2007 compared to the previous year.

He said the bureau approved a total of 223,453 applications for extensions of stay from January to December last year.

“As a result of the sharp rise in visa extension applications, the bureau last year remitted P556.6 million to the national coffers out of the visa extension fees that were paid by the tourist-applicants,” Libanan said in a statement.

Visa extension fees, according to the BI chief, accounted for nearly a third of the P1.7 billion collection from foreigners who availed themselves of the bureau’s services last year.

Libanan also disclosed that the BI’s collections from visa extension fees in 2007 was higher by P88 million, or 19 percent, compared to the P468 million collected in 2006.

“The upsurge in tourist visa extensions was partly due to the continued influx of foreigners into the country, more than five million of whom arrived in the country last year,” Libanan said.

“These figures prove that the government is succeeding in its efforts to attract foreign visitors who come here either for business or pleasure,” Libanan added.

He said tourists, who were previously allowed to stay in the country for a maximum of one year, can now extend their stay to two years or longer depending on the decision of the bureau.