On 18 August 2014, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred B.

Mison signed the Immigrations Operations Order NO. SBM-2014-038. The said Order
contains the Guidelines in the Conduct of the Alien Registration Program (ARP). The
Alien Certificate of Registration Program is an initiative initiated by the Department
of Justice (DOJ) of the Philippines thru the Bureau of Immigration designed to
register, map, and enroll fingerprints of aliens. It aims to register 1.5% of the total
alien population index.
Pursuant to the Rules and Regulations Implementing the Alien Registration
Program, these guidelines shall determine the conduct of the Alien Registration
Program (ARP). (citing relevant sections)
Section 1. Aliens Who Shall Register under the Program. Unless otherwise
provided by law, all aliens whether documented or undocumented, shall register
under the ARP.
Section 4. Supporting Documents. An application form shall be
accompanied by any document evidencing identity of the applicant, e.g. Passport,
ACR I-Card.
Section 5. The Period of Filing Application. The application period shall be
01 September 2014 to 31 August 2015, unless otherwise provided by regulation.
Section 6. Personal Appearance. Aliens availing themselves under this Rules
shall personally-appear before any designated BI office, for interview and biometricdata capturing.
Section 7. Primary Interview of Applicant. All applicants shall be interviewed
by the Registration Officer/ ACO to verify entries in the application form. In case of
visa-related problems, section 15 applies.
Section 9. Special Security Registration Number (SSRN). Aliens registered
under the program shall be designated an encoded alpha-numeric, non-transferable
registration number in the issued ACR I-Card.
Section 11. Renewal/Reissuance of ACR I-Cards. Registered applicants for
renewal/reissuance of ACR I-Cards shall undergo the standard ACR I-Card processing
by the Alien Registration Division (ARD), before issuance of new ACR I-Card with
SSRN.
Section 12. Issuance of ACR I- Card with SSRN. An ACR I-Card bearing an
SSRN subject to varying restrictions (e.g. this card shall not be used for any private

or government transaction) shall be printed after three (3) working days from the
date of filing of application.
Section 13. Secondary Interview of Applicant. In case of visa-related
problems, the ACO/BI Head shall conduct a secondary interview to provide
assistance, recommend visa options and suggest remedy mechanism.

On 26 September 2014, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred B.

Mison signed the Immigrations Operations Order No. SBM-2014-043. The said Order
contains the General Guidelines on the Implementation of the Alien Certificate of
Registration Program (ARP). The Alien Certificate of Registration Program is an
initiative initiated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Philippines thru the
Bureau of Immigration to set-up a Biometric data capturing devices and to
implement the use of servers and data analyzing devices.

I. GENERAL PURPOSE
ARP shall map all aliens within the country, the program identifies them, and
determines the legality of their entry and status and establishes a tax source.

IV. SCOPE
It shall be mandatory to all non-registered aliens to comply with registration
under ARP in order to avail of the benefits offered by the program.

A. REGISTERED ALIENS
1. All RA 562 registered aliens due to a visa conversion shall be exempt from
personal appearance and shall be automatically issued a system-generated
SSRN via the ARP system, which shall appear in the new ACR I-Card design.
2. Registered aliens with expired ACR I-Cards shall pay the ACR I-Card fee and
shall be issued an ACR I-Card with SSRN.
3. Registered aliens with valid ACR I-Cards shall not be required to pay the
ACR I-Card fee but may voluntary request for the issuance of an ACR I-Card
with SSRN subject to re-issuance fee of $20.00 and P500.00 express lane.
4. All applications for ACR I-Card issuance, re-issuance and renewal shall be
subject to existing BI rules and regulations.

B. TOURISTS
1. Tourists with expired ACR I-Cards and whose stay exceed 59 days upon
implementation of the ARP, shall be required to pay for the ACR I-Card with
SSRN and register under ARP, unless an ECC was issued prior to ARP
implementation.
2. Tourists with valid ACR I-Cards and whose stay exceed 59 days upon
implementation of the ARP, shall not be required to pay for the ACR I-Card
with SSRN but shall register under ARP.
3. Tourists without ACR I-Card and whose stay does not exceed 59 days upon
implementation of the ARP are not required to register under ARP. However,
in case of voluntary registration ARP may apply.
4. Tourists whose stay exceed 59 days upon implementation of the ARP and
with an ACR I-Card validity date falling within the ARP implementation period
shall register under ARP.

V. SPECIAL SECURITY REGISTRATION NUMBER (SSRN).

The Special Security Registration Number (SSRN) shall be the permanent
security number for: (i) Alien whose lawful stay exceeds 59 days in the country and
(ii) All other registered aliens. It shall appear in the ACR I-Card new design or the
SSRN Certification to record all BI-related transactions.
The SSRN shall be issued by the ARD from existing RA562-registered aliens
database via the ARP system. ICTS shall ensure the availability of RA562-registered
aliens SSRNs in the ARP system not later than 03 November 2014.

VI. MANDATORY PERSONAL APPEARANCE

The aliens personal appearance shall capture biometrics information,
validate entries in the ARP form or facilitate secondary interview.
ACR I-Card Registered aliens (except Tourists) are exempt from personal
appearance and considered automatically-registered under ARP.
Aliens below 14 years old shall personally appear but fingerprint biometric
capturing shall not be required.
The alien shall personally appear and register in any of the participating BI
offices (Annex B) allowed under the rules.

VII. VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION

The ARP encourages voluntary registration. In this case, the BI personnel-incharge shall perform registration and biometric capturing.

VIII. EXEMPTIONS
a. Those with valid ACR I-Cards (except Tourist ACR I-Cards);
b. Those whose stay has not exceeded 59 days; and
c. Those who are exempt from registration pursuant to law (Annex A).

IX. DEFERRED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION PERIOD

Aliens who personally appeared and registered in good faith under ARP and
who may be in violation of immigration laws, rules and regulations shall be free
from any arrest or prosecution for a ninety(90)-day period from registration to be
able to comply with any directive relating to their immigration status. Provided,
compliance with BI requirements are satisfied, no subsequent immigration-related
violations are incurred after registration and they are not a fugitive or person of
national interest.
The 90-day deferred administrative action period may be extended for
another 30 days upon request of the alien, upon recommendation of Legal Division
and approval of the Commissioner.

X. REGISTRATION IN GOOD FAITH

Registration in good faith shall be considered in future BI-program initiatives.

ARP announcement2.pdf