It has been weeks since we celebrated Christmas and New Year, but for many, the festivities are not yet over with the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day fast approaching.

Indeed, the holiday rush continues until the end of this quarter, and similar to the previous years, this season should be a reminder to all registered aliens in the Philippines of the required Annual Report to the Bureau of Immigration.

Pursuant to the Alien Registration Act, as amended, all registered aliens shall report in person to the Bureau of Immigration within the first 60 days of every calendar year. Failure to comply with the Annual Report shall subject the concerned foreign national to an administrative fine or to prosecution and upon conviction to be punished by a fine or imprisonment.

Accordingly, for this year, the Bureau of Immigration issued Operations Order No. 2024-003, or the 2025 Annual Report Guidelines which reiterates the requirement for all registered foreign nationals to report to the Bureau of Immigration on or before 1 March, 2025. While the law mentions personal appearance only, the Bureau of Immigration allows a Virtual Annual Report in its effort to develop electronic versions of its business and non-business transactions pursuant to The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

With Virtual Annual Reporting, foreign nationals have the option to skip the lines for in-person Annual Reports.

1. Conveniently, unlike in-person reporting which is held only from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays to Fridays except holidays, Virtual Annual Reporting operates 24/7, Monday to Sunday including holidays.

 The requirements for the Annual Report are as follows:

Completely filled-out registration which can be accessed through https://e-services.immigration.gov.ph for issuance of reference number for Annual Report purposes,

2. Original Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-Card for cardholders or original paper-based ACR, and

3. Original valid passport 

Annual Reporting made through representatives shall be allowed for the following foreign nationals who are exempted from personal appearance:

1. Those below 14 years old;

2. Those 60 years old and above;

3. Those mentally or physically incapacitated, provided, a Person With Disability ID is presented; and

4. Pregnant women and foreigners with medical conditions, provided, a medical certificate is issued by the attending physician or hospital where such alien is confined is presented.

The authorized representative shall present the proof of exemption and a special power of attorney. The fees for the Annual Report are the (a) Annual Report fee of P300, and (b) Legal Research Fee of P10. There shall be an additional fee of P500 for aliens who will avail of the Virtual Annual Report. For an additional service fee, an authorized on-site or Mobile Annual Report may also be requested in writing, provided a minimum of 15 foreign nationals shall avail of such service.

All departing registered foreign nationals must pay their Annual Report prior to departure through the Virtual Annual Report.

For more of Dean Nilo Divina’s legal tidbits, please visit www.divinalaw.com. For comments and questions, please send an email to cad@divinalaw.com.