Once you become a permanent resident in the Philippines, you have to renew your ACR I card every 5 years. You are not renewing the 13a, just the card thankfully. After doing some research online, I decided that most information was just copied from the BI website and more than likely inaccurate.

Today I did my 5 year renewal at the Bureau of Immigration in Manila again. The last time I was there it was over 5 years ago and I must say things have improved for the better since then. Some of you may remember how things were in the 80's, 90's and even the first few years of the noughties

Arrived at 8am and asked the guard where to renew my card and he directed me to window 37. The polite lady (she was) at the window gave me an application form and list of requirements.

Requirements for renewal :

1. Duly accomplished application form.
2.The original ACR I card
3. Passport
4. One photocopy of the following ACR I card front and back, passport bio data page, last exit and arrival stamp.

Took 10 mins to fill in and photocopy the forms, which I then handed back in at window 37. After 5 mins she gave me the payment details and told me to proceed to the cashier at window 22.

Renewal fees ;

1. ACR I card fee - 2,157 Php
2. Express fee - 500 Php

After paying the fees I gave the receipt to the lady at window 37 and was told to call them in a week and the card will be ready. What about my picture for the new I card? We will use the old picture Sir. Great, I will be 40 forever on my ACR I card

The whole procedure took under 30 mins

When dealing with government officials in the Philippines always be polite. Over the years I have seen many foreigners with bad attitudes in immigration. In the end, their documents will take twice as long to process as for someone who shows the staff some respect