Immigration Bureau again extends alien registration

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has taken back its decision not to extend yesterday’s deadline for the filing of I-Card applications, giving foreigners another two months to secure the new alien registration document.

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. has issued a memorandum order extending up to Jan. 15 the deadline "due to insistent demand and to enable the bureau to achieve optimum compliance to the I-Card project."

Fernandez said the bureau allowed the new extension upon request of different foreign chambers of commerce in the country that reported to his office a significant number of aliens failed to meet the Nov.15 deadline for application "due to some circumstances beyond their control."

Fernandez likewise revealed that the extension was granted to give way to foreigners who normally leave the country during this period to spend holidays with their families back home.

Last Monday, the BI said it was not inclined to extend the Nov. 15 deadline after receiving a total of 96,066 applications.

BI technical assistant Manuel Ferdinand Arbas stressed that the bureau is now considering a proposal to extend the validity of I-Cards issued to foreigners with permanent residence status in the country.

The I-Card, a tamper-proof and microchip-based document about the size of an ATM card, serves as proof of legal residency. Holders would no longer have to secure an exit and reentry permit when leaving the country. It is valid for one year.

Arbas further bared the long queues of applicants at the bureau’s I-Card center had already disappeared even before the new extension of deadline was announced: "This is a good sign of success and indicates that we are near to achieving optimum compliance for this project."

With the new extension of deadline for I-Card application, Fernandez stressed that foreigners would no longer have any excuse not secure the new document.

He also reiterated his warning for failing to secure an I-Card or resorting to fraudulent means to acquire the document: "As I said, they will be immediately subjected to deportation proceedings for violating the country’s immigration and alien registration laws." — With Gerard Dave de Castro