THE Bureau of Immigration will launch a mobile text messaging system for foreigners applying for alien certificate of registration identity cards (ACR I-Card) in line with the agency’s continuing efforts to cut red tape and improve the quality of services to its clientele.
Commissioner Jaime Morente said that starting March 1, applicants for the ACR I-Card need not go to the bureau’s offices to follow up the status of their application.
“Instead, applicants or their representatives will receive text messages on their cellular phone informing them that their I-Cards are ready for pickup at our main office in Intramuros,” Morente said.
“This scheme is being implemented without any cost on the part of I-Card applicants. It will also relieve them of the inconvenience of having to go to our office to follow up their I-Card application,” the BI chief said.
He explained that once an I-Card application is recorded for release, an electronic text message will automatically be sent to the applicant asking him to claim his card at a designated window at the BI main office in Intramuros.
As for applicants who filed their application in any of the bureau’s field or subport offices, the applicants/representatives will be informed by text that their cards will be sent via a courier service to the said offices.
Under the alien registration act, all foreign nationals registered with the BI must obtain their ACR as proof of the legal resident status in the country.
Foreigners who have been issued immigrant and non-immigrant visas are required to register with the BI and secure the said I-Card.
The I-Card replaced the paper-based ACR that BI-registered foreigners used to possess and which were canceled when the I-Card project was launched in 2004 as part of the BI’s thrust to introduce paperless transactions.
Aside from proving an alien’s legal status, the I-Card also serves as the holder’s reentry and exit permit whenever they enter or leave the country.
