Resident aliens may have visas stamped anew

THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) on Sunday said the over 3,000 foreigners who became permanent Philippine residents under the 1995 amnesty law may now have their visas re-stamped, which would allow them to travel in and out of the country freely.

Immigration Commissioner Ronaldo Geron said the restamping of the resident visas would enable their holders to comply with the annual reporting requirement and was upon the recommendation of the BI alien registration chief Danilo Almeda.

The visa restamping had been deferred by his predecessor, Siegfred Mison, pending issuance by the Department of Justice of new rules in the enforcement of the Alien Social Integration Act, Geron said in a statement.

Almeda had pointed out the deferment prevented resident foreigners from renewing their alien certificate of registration identity card (ACR I-Card), which they needed to present when traveling in and out of the country.

“As a result, aliens who wished to leave the country for personal, business and other reasons could not do so without losing their legal resident status,” Almeda had said.

He said the foreigners also were unable to take part in the recent annual reporting of BI-registered aliens as they did not have valid ACR I-Cards.

The BI is giving foreign residents until June 15 to process their visas upon payment of P3,010 in fees and penalty. Jocelyn R. Uy