Aliens required to report to BI office for passport re-stamping

All foreign nationals and their dependents who are staying in the Philippines with a permanent resident status by virtue of Republic Acts 7919 and 8247, are required to report to the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros Manila for re-stamping of their passports, or risk being penalised or worse, face deportation and cancellation of their Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-cards. 

BI Spokesperson Elaine Tan encouraged the concerned foreign nationals to participate in the re-stamping scheme to ensure that their passports have the authentic stamps.

Tan said the re-stamping scheme will also simplify the verification of the BI’s updated RA 7919/8247 database and will surely help expedite their future transactions in the Bureau. Such transactions include processing of annual report and the renewal of their ACR I-Card.

Applicants for re-stamp must pay the amount of P1,010 and must also secure a BI Clearance at the same cost. The processing for the re-stamp applications may be completed within three days.

The filing period for the re-stamping started last September and will end on December 15, 2014. Such process may only be applied at the BI Main Office in Intramuros, Manila.

All applicants must submit the following:

Letter request addressed to the Commissioner for re-stamp; Official receipt showing payment of applicable fees;
BI Clearance Certificate of applicant and/or principal RA 7919 holder issued within two months from the date of application;
Photocopy of passport bio-page RA 7919 implementation page and latest arrival stamp / RA 7919 admission; Photocopy of passport page where the new/amended name is indicated, if applicable; and Certified true copy of newspaper publication;

Original and Authenticated Birth Certificate and/or Marriage Certificate (issued by the National Statistics Office) if the civil registry document is issued in the Philippines or by the Philippine Foreign Service Post which has jurisdiction over the place of issuance, or by the Department of Foreign Affairs if said document is issued by the local Embassy in the Philippines, with English translation, if written in other foreign language; and Photocopy of ACR I-Card (front and back portions)

Apart from payment of fines and deactivation of ACR I-Cards, the failure to comply with the RA 7919/8247 re-stamping may result to investigation and institution of deportation proceedings and the denial of arrival and departure clearances.

Republic Act 7919 is a law passed by Philippine Congress granting permanent resident status to qualified aliens who entered the country before June 30, 1992. It also granted legal residence to children of RA 7179 parents by providing that children born after June 30, 1992 of parents who received the benefits of said Act shall, upon proper registration with the BI, become legal residents.

Republic Act 8247 extended the period to file petitions for RA 7919 status until June 30, 1997.  (BI)