153K foreigners report to BI

MORE than 153,000 foreigners complied this year with the Bureau of Immigration requirement to report annually to the BI, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Sunday.

Under the Alien Registration Act of 1950, foreign nationals must report to the BI within the first 60 days of every year.

The reporting period ended on March 1.

Required to report are immigrants or permanent residents in the Philippines and non-immigrants or temporary residents such as foreign workers or expatriates and students.

Records from the BI Alien Registration Division showed that

Chinese topped this year’s list with 49,556, followed by Indians (26,123), Vietnamese (11,671), Americans (10,912) and Taiwanese (7,800).

Also in the top 10 list are South Koreans (6,448), Indonesians (6,019), Japanese (5,214), Britons (3,392) and Malaysians (2,804).

All foreigners holding immigrant and nonimmigrant visas who were issued an alien certificate of registration identity card (ACR I-Card) must report yearly.

Tansingco said this year’s number of reporting aliens was higher by 13 percent than the 136,065 in 2023.

He described the increase as significant, saying it is a positive sign that more aliens are applying for residency in the Philippines.

Jose Carlitos Licas, BI alien registration chief, said 80 percent of the aliens were walk-ins or reported in-person at the BI field, extension and satellite office, and selected shopping malls in Metro Manila designated as reporting venues.

It is the first time that the BI allowed nearly 8,000 aliens to report virtually and pay their fees online, Licas said.

The government earned almost P16 million this year from reporting fees, compared to last year’s collection of P11 million.