I Now Have My 13A Permanent Resident Card

I've asked recently about the status of my 13A application, I finally have the card.

This post is going to be long with trial and tribulations starting with my PAL flight landing in Manila on August 1, 2018 and concluding with my 13A card.
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Now first play this game, time wise what can you accomplish in the least amount of time and money: Getting a divorce in the Philippines? or getting your 13 A card?

The prize is getting waterboarded with San Miguel and before drowning.
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Prior to PAL landing, the cabin crew past out a form to be filled in and presented to immigration. My eye sight was so poor, that I just crumbled it up and place it in the magazine slot in the seat in front of me.

I had no idea about Balikbayan admittance to the Philippines. I was under the impression after 30 days I would have to renew and at some point leave the country and return.

Upon arriving I went through the "Nothing to Declare Line" no problem. Not knowing the rules and regulations, after getting settled I realized that I had a lot to declare.
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At the end of this post, I have two URL's that will answer most of your questions, but their application form is not complete, it since has been revised for additional personal information. The age and birth dates of my US children, names, addresses and telephone numbers of references in the Philippines.
After getting the latest application, make many blank copies for corrections before submitting the application.

After the application is complete, make copies of it because you will be submitting it again for your 13A card in the future. Yes, you read that right, you have to submit all the same paperwork over again plus a new NBI check. So you can submit the copies of that original ACR-1 for your 13A, instead of starting from scratch. For example do you remember the airline flight number and date you arrived in the Philippines, the birth dates of your kids, addresses and phone numbers of your references?
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Several days later checking my passport, it was good for one year (Balkikbayan), not knowing what Balkikbayan was and meant, I thought immigration had screwed up. By Golly a whole year not 30 days.

In the 10th month upon arriving I decided to apply for my ACR-1 card. Acquiring all the forms, learning the requirements, endless paper work and researching information. This took approximately five trips to the BI to apply for the ACR-1 card. I submitted all the paperwork that finally was in order before my Balkikbayan expired.

Waiting and waiting and never finding out anything about my application, I went to BI. This is going to be hard to believe, In the process of BI acting on my paperwork, my Balkikbayan visa had expired, so they stopped working on my paperwork. I had to get a two month extension on my visa at the cost of $100 dollars and they presumed work and after one more trip I picked up my ACR-1.
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Back to BI in the middle of December to submit my 13A application, they said check back in two months, two months past, nothing. After three months my name appeared on a list but BI was closed due to Covid. Then the restrictions, only two people including myself, an appointment was needed.

I was delayed getting back to BI because I needed my stepson to do all the dirty work in communicating with them. I was waiting for him to have a day off during the week. He schedule a day off to go with my wife for a Doctors appointment concerning her resent surgery. The Doctor cancelled so my stepson, wife & I went to BI. I was worried about the two person limit and appointment, but we had no trouble entering BI.
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After the usual red tape and jumping through hoops, we had to go to four different windows, finally arriving at the last barrier, thinking we would get the card. This was 11 am, the clerk accepted the paperwork and said come back at 4 o'clock. Another 4 1/2 hour wait.

So we sat around for an hour and decided to get something to eat. We left and caught a cab and told the driver to take us to the nearest restaurant. About two minutes later we stopped at Max's, I didn't know it was that close, but a tad to far for me to walk. My stepson ordered for us, now he is a latest I-Phone user, Starbucks drinking person. He order a great family meal for the three of us, I should have know better, the bill was just under 2,000 php. Then we took a tricycle, (it looked like a big golf cart) back to BI.

Once back at BI, I suggested he go back to that window and show our "appreciation", be explained to me 60 people were recently arrested for doing the same thing, not a good idea. At 3:30 we went back to the window a little early and the agent scribbled on a note on a scrap of paper. The note said to go to room 204. At room 204 my son gave them some paperwork, they brought out two chairs for us to sit on. There was one main room I could observe from the hallway and a second room with the partially door open. I could see the wall completely covered with US license plates from many states.

About 20 minutes later they gave him some official paperwork that have been rubber stamped and instructions to go to window four on the main floor. Have you ever seen the boxes that business cards come in? A long box that could hold a thousand or 1500 business cards. Well the clerk had three or four these boxes all holding ACR and 13A cards and he starts looking through them (cards issued but not picked up yet for applicants over a period of time.)

They stapled an official receipt to my passport with a breakdown of fees paid, the total was 6,613.50 PHP. The passport was rubber stamped: Immigration status amended from probationary to permanent dated Jan. 21, 2021. The 13A card resembles the ACR-1 card but is Gold and states 13A on the back. The Card was issued on Feb 19, 2021 and expires in 2026.
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Now some observations I had at BI, it was not crowded and plenty of seating observing that Covid rules. I only saw one white man and one black man throughout all this time. I saw in infant being held by his Mother. The infant was wearing a face shield almost as big as his whole body. I was thinking suppose it would take years getting Covid under control, kids born during this present time period could be wearing face masks and shields as away of life. Then they see old movies, TV shows and history books of the old days, pre Covid, no masks or shields.
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Then I saw a group of Chinese, they were wearing something resembling hazmat suits, white nylon, one piece, something like you might expect to see in a white room. They had a vertical and horizontal blue stripe resembling a Swedish Flag. They also had booties covering their shoes.

I'm thinking can they be serious about catching Covid at BI or protecting the rest of us.
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My advice if you can fulfill the paperwork at any BI office other than Manila, do it. You will get better and faster service. From starting the process of ACR-1 through 13A, I have spend over $200 USD for "Grab Fares". You do not want to drive there, you nearest parking space could require a tricycle ride to get to the front door.
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URLS for further checking:

https://www.philippineplus.com/2013/06/ … anent-visahttps://immigration.gov.ph/index.php/se … d-issuance
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