The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday announced that a total of 3,359 foreigners were barred from entering the Philippines in 2023.

In a statement, the immigration bureau said some of the foreigners were blacklisted and banned from entering due to being classified as undesirable aliens, registered sex offenders or are wanted fugitives.

Meanwhile, BI said others were prevented from entering the country due to minor infractions such as failure to secure entry visas or procure return tickets.

“The bulk of the excluded aliens were refused admission after they were deemed as likely to become public charges if they are allowed to stay here,” the BI explained.

The agency defines public charge as a foreigner whose presence “poses a menace to society or a burden to the government.”