See that? Yeah, it’s fuzzy on purpose but THAT is my hubby’s I-Card.
Foreigners in the Philippines are required to have an I-Card. This is the replacement for the ACR (Alien Certificate of Registration) and from what I hear, the Bureau of Immigration is being strict about this now. I don’t know if it’s true but they say that if a foreigner does not have the I-Card and he is staying here on something other than a tourist visa, he will be deported!
J’s got the permanent resident visa, 13-A, so he definitely needs this card. He went to the Intramuros office the other day and to his pleasant surprise, he was able to get the I-card on the same day! It used to be that he had to wait for a month or so for the release. I guess the guys at Immi are stepping it up!
So how much does this cost? The receipt showed about PHP3000 – that includes the “express” fee of PHP500, which in this case, was appropriate. He also had to pay the Annual Fee of PHP300++, which is required for permanent residents. The I-card expires in 2014 – 5 years of not having to go through the process of getting it renewed. Woohoo!
If you’re thinking of NOT getting the I-card, think again. Aside from that unconfirmed piece of info I gave up there, foreigners also need this piece of plastic for credit card applications, for traveling outside of the country, and other legal transactions. Yeah, it is not a useless thing after all.
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Well, this is really interesting to see what kinds of ID cards other countries are issuing to Expats. Ours is really big and not yet biometric, although I hear that will be starting.
Expat 21
“Expat Abroad”
expat21.wordpress.com
This is actually relatively new and is not biometric either. There’s just a chip which stores I don’t know what. Thanks for dropping by!
Hello! It’s Nadia again. I would like to know if you can only apply for an I-Card once you already have the 13-A? We will be applying for the 13-A after we get our NSO Marriage Certificate. Can my husband already apply for an I-Card right away?
Thank you!
Hi Nadia! All “aliens” residing in the Philippines are required to get an I-card, so yes, your husband can get one. They have a “one stop shop” on the first floor of the Immi building in Intramuros, so it’s easy. You may want to check the exact location of the office because they were renovating last time we went there about a year ago I think) so they might have moved.