Foreigners registered with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will soon be able to enter and exit the country easier with the upcoming integration of the agency's automated travel control system at the ports with its database of issued alien certification of registration identity cards (ACR I-Cards).
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the project will soon be pilot-tested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 before its implementation in all international airports and seaports of the country.
Morente said that under the new system, details of aliens’ ACR I-Cards will be integrated into the bureau’s border control information system (BCIS), which is the software used by immigration officers at the airports in processing all arriving and departing international passengers.
ACR I-Cards are issued to BI-registered foreigners who are holders of immigrant and non-immigrant visas that were given by the bureau.
“With this project, the time our officers at the airports consume in processing foreign passengers will be shortened and these passengers will be assured of a hassle-free experience when traveling in and out of the country,” Morente said.
The BI chief said the bureau is eyeing the project’s full implementation at NAIA and the other international airports starting next month.
BI alien registration chief Jose Carlitos Licas said the project will enable immigration officers in the ports to immediately and electronically gain access to information about the ACR I-Card of a foreign passenger who is being processed for immigration clearance.
“The immigration officer will be able to immediately ascertain the immigration status of the passengers and if the latter’s ACR I-Card is still valid, and if he has a valid emigration clearance certificate (ECC) and re-entry permit (RP) or special return certificate (SRC),” Licas said.
He added that the corresponding official receipt numbers of the fees paid for these travel documents can also be viewed in the said system.