The ACR I-Card is a new, automated, accurate, fraud-proof and tamper-proof and state-of-the-art registration identification document supposed to replace the paper-based Alien Certificate of Registration for foreigners residing in the Philippines. The Bureau of Immigration has set a deadline of January 15, 2007 for foreign residents to secure the card as proof of their registration, or face arrest and deportation for lack of proper documentation.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) launched the new I-Card project to comply with the President’s imperative to improve services and make government transactions more convenient for both Filipinos and foreigners.
Special courtesy lanes for the expedited immigration processing of ACR I-Card holders have been set up by the BI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and other gateways, including seven international airports and one international seaport in the country, and in the BI’s district offices in La Union, Aparri, Subic and Angeles, Batangas, Legaspi, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Surigao and Davao. Exit and re-entry permits are already incorporated into the I-card, doing away with the need for separate applications and unwieldy documents for registered foreign nationals arriving or departing from the country. The project aims to provide an accurate identification of alien residents upon arrival and departure, in the light of increasing traffic at the country’s numerous ports of entry and exit, while reducing overall administrative costs and increasing capabilities against terrorists, transnational criminals and aliens with criminal records. The project is also expected to raise Php1.5 billion in revenue for the government over the next 10 years.
I-Card applicants’ documentary requirements are evaluated and recommended for approval on the spot by assigned registration officers. The new system streamlines the number of steps required to process the documentation, reducing them from 15 to 3. This greatly lessens the opportunities for bribery and extortion of illicit “facilitation fees”, of which complaints have long plagued the BI. Some travel outfits and other groups that used to benefit from the extra income they derived from the old red-tape-riddled system had previously attempted to block the implementation of the I-Card system.
However, the project has been backed by the significant clout of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), whose members include the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, French Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The deadline for securing an I-Card had already been extended several times the previous year, from March 31 to Aug. 13, then to Nov. 15, at the request of the foreign chambers of commerce and other concerned parties. The Nov. 15 deadline was then ultimately extended to Jan. 15, of this year to take into consideration the year-end holidays.
The Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry had reportedly requested for a further extension of the deadline to February, but as of press time the BI is sticking to their Jan. 15 deadline. The BI has stated that around 100,000 foreigners have already applied, significantly larger than their targeted number of 87,000. However, based on anecdotal reports, many foreigners residing in the Philippines still remain unaware of the new ACR I-Card. Ever since the implementation of the project, all foreigners who have been applying for visas or visa extensions are supposed to also be automatically informed by the BI about applying for the I-Card.
Implementing Guidelines For The ACR I-Card Project
For the information and guidance of all concerned, the following are the guidelines for the implementation of the ACR I-Card Project of the Bureau of immigration under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Agreement dated Dec. 18, 2003: Coverage - All registered aliens, including their dependents, who have been duly issued paper based Alien Certificates of Registration (ACRs) and all other aliens who are required to register under the Alien Registration Act.
Place of Application – Applications for insurance of ACR I-Card shall be made at the Main Office, Bureau of Immigration, Intramuros, Manila. Registered Aliens residing outside Metro Manila shall have the option of applying for ACR I-Card at the district port nearest to them when the system has already been set up in such district port. In the meantime, all application shall be made in Manila.
Procedure for the issuance of ACR-I Card
a. Applicant shall submit ACR I-Card application form at window 1 of the ACR I-Card Area. To be attached in the application form are the following:
1. Original copies of the ACR and ICR/CRTV/CRTT/CRTS/CRPE and 2. Order granting his/her visa if he/she still has a copy
b. Applicant shall then proceed to the designated counter of the Alien Registration Division (ARD) and secure an Order of Payment Slip (OPS)
c. The Applicant shall proceed to the designated Cashier and pay the card fee of USD50.00 or its Peso equivalent as posted in the major daily broadsheets at the time of payment. In paying, the applicant shall present to the said Cashier a duly issued Order of Payment Slip (OPS).
d. Upon payment, the applicant shall proceed to Windows 1.2 and 1.6 for data capturing (picture, fingerprint and signature).
e. The application and the submitted documents shall be forwarded to the ACR I-Card Committee, through the ARD for verification.
f. If the application is verified appropriate by the committee, it shall endorse the issuance of an ACR I-Card, otherwise, the Committee shall make the appropriate action against the applicant.
g. On a date specified in the claim stub, applicant shall be issued his ACR I-Card at the ARD.
Fee- The ACR I-Card cost USD50.00 or its Philippine Peso equivalent as posted in the major daily broadsheets at the time of payment.
Renewal of ACR I-Card – Renewal of the ACR I-Card shall be done yearly simultaneous with the payment of the annual report fee.
Benefits derived from the ACR I-Card – Renewal of the ACR I-Card holders shall have the following benefits:
1. They are provided special immigration booths at the ports of entry without going through the regular immigration control lines with an estimated time of 10 seconds only for their entry and exit.
2. They are assured that they are holding a genuinely issued ACR.
3. They receive faster and more efficient service.
4. More convenient with the tamper and fraud-proof/ resistant credit card sized ACR I-Card. No more paper-based ACR and ICR/CRTV/CRTT/CRTS/CRPE, ECC, SRC and Re-entry permit.
Special Arrangement – The ACR I-Card Committee may, if circumstances warrant, authorize that the data capturing (picture taking, fingerprinting and signing) be done at the residence of the applicant in view of his/ her physical incapacity.
Mandatory compliance – All registered aliens are enjoined to apply for and change their paper-based ACR to a tamper and fraud-proof ACR I-Card with biometric security features.
Penalty for non-compliance – Any registered alien who fails to comply with the provisions of Section 5 hereof within the period of time specified therein shall be subject to an administrative fine of five hundred pesos (Php500.00) for every month or fraction thereof of delay, the total sum of which in no case exceed two thousand pesos (Php2,000.00). Any registered alien found in possession of a paper-based ACR shall be deemed not properly documented and maybe proceeded against under pertinent provisions of the Immigration Act of 1940 or Alien Registration Act of 1950, both as amended.
Source: http://www.immigration.gov.ph/acr-icard.php
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