ACR I-Card Renewal and Cancellation
Bureau of Immigration · immigration
Quick answer
Renewing an ACR I-Card without amendment costs US $50.00 at the BSP rate plus a ₱500.00 express lane fee, and takes 6 days, 5 hours and 40 minutes. Cancelling one costs ₱1,010.00 and takes 4 days. Both require surrendering the original card.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from Bureau of Immigration's official published sources: Bureau of Immigration | Citizen's Charter 2025, 1st Edition (https://immigration.gov.ph/citizens-charter/, retrieved 2026-09-01). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with Bureau of Immigration before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-09-01.
Two services, two very different bills
| Renewal without amendment | Cancellation | |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | Complex Transaction | Complex Transaction |
| Card fee | US $50.00 at the BSP rate | Not charged |
| Application fee | Not charged | ₱500.00 |
| Legal research fee | Not charged | ₱10.00 |
| Express lane fee | ₱500.00 | ₱500.00 |
| Total processing time | 6 days, 5 hours, 40 minutes | 4 days, 30 minutes |
Renewal is priced in dollars because the card itself is, as covered in our ACR I-Card guide. Cancellation has no card to issue, so it is billed entirely in pesos at ₱1,010.00.
Both require you to surrender the original card.
Renewal: three of the six days are printing
The charter is unusually transparent about where a renewal actually sits.
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Receive application, check derogatory record, issue the Order of Payment Slip | 15 minutes |
| Payment at the cashier | 10 minutes |
| Biometrics: identity verified by digitised cross-matching, photo re-captured | 5 minutes |
| Claim stub issued, application blocked and recommended in the ACR I-Card System | 10 minutes |
| Internal verification and further evaluation | 1 day |
| Review and recommendation by the ARD-OSAU Chief | 1 hour |
| Transmit approved applications to the Property Management Section, which issues blank cards | 3 hours |
| Print the cards, at Data Trail, Inc. | 3 days |
| Transmit the printed cards back to the Releasing Unit | 1 hour |
| Release the card | 3 minutes |
Half the elapsed time is a print job at an outside contractor. Data Trail, Inc. holds the blank stock and does the printing; the Bureau issues the blanks and receives the finished cards back. No amount of express lane fee compresses those three days, because they are not happening inside BI.
What renewal needs
| Document | Detail |
|---|---|
| BI Form 2015-08-002 Rev 0 | 1 copy |
| Original ACR I-Card | Surrendered |
| Passport bio page, visa implementation page, latest admission with valid authorized stay | 1 photocopy each |
Two categories bring one more document:
- Immigrant visa holders: a photocopy of the Board of Commissioners approval.
- Special non-immigrant holders: an endorsement from the Department of Justice, or the Visa Approval Order.
Note the service name: renewal without amendment. It assumes nothing about your details has changed. A renewal that also corrects a name, date of birth or nationality runs through a different service with its own extra requirements.
Cancellation: six reasons, four documents
Cancellation covers holders who fall into any of these:
| Situation |
|---|
| Visa downgraded |
| Left the country for good |
| Deceased |
| Visa forfeited or cancelled |
| Arrived with a tourist visa |
| Arrived with other visas |
The standard set is a letter request in 2 copies, the original card surrendered or an Affidavit of Loss if it is gone, 2 photocopies of the card front and back, 2 photocopies of the passport bio page, and 1 photocopy of the official receipt.
Then one document keyed to the reason:
| Reason | Extra document |
|---|---|
| Visa downgraded | Downgrading Order |
| Visa forfeited or cancelled | Order of Visa Forfeiture or Visa Cancellation |
| Left for good and the card has expired | Photocopy of the latest departure or arrival stamp |
| Holder deceased | Death Certificate |
Where the four days go
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Payment at the cashier | 10 minutes |
| Central Receiving Unit accepts the request | 5 minutes |
| CRU endorses the application to ARD-OSAU | 1 day |
| Registration Officer recommends cancellation in the ARD database | 1 day |
| Chief, ARD approves the cancellation | 2 days |
Half of it is the Chief’s approval. The counter work is 15 minutes.
When each one applies
Renewal keeps you inside the alien registration system. Cancellation takes you out of it, and it is the step that follows several other processes rather than a decision made on its own:
- Leaving permanently, which also means an Emigration Clearance Certificate.
- Re-acquiring Philippine citizenship under RA 9225, where the card is surrendered as part of the petition.
- A visa downgrade, forfeiture or cancellation.
Holding a valid card also carries the yearly obligation covered in the BI annual report, so a card that should have been cancelled and was not can accumulate ₱200.00 a month in annual report fines against a person who has already left.
Where this goes wrong
Expecting renewal in a day. It is 6 days, and 3 of them are at the card printer.
Paying the express lane fee to beat the printing. The 3 days sit with an outside contractor.
Using this route after a name change. Renewal without amendment assumes unchanged details.
Leaving the country without cancelling. The registration stays live, and so does the annual report obligation attached to it.
Bringing one photocopy. Cancellation wants the letter request in 2 copies, and 2 photocopies each of the card and the passport bio page.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is an ACR I-Card renewal?
- US $50.00 for the card, converted at the Bangko Sentral rate on the day of assessment, plus a ₱500.00 express lane fee and any other applicable fees. The card charge is in dollars, so the peso amount is not fixed in advance.
- How long does renewal take?
- 6 days, 5 hours and 40 minutes in total. Three of those days are the physical printing of the card, which is done by Data Trail, Inc. rather than by the Bureau.
- Do I have to give up my old card?
- Yes, on both routes. The original ACR I-Card is surrendered for renewal and for cancellation. If it has been lost, an Affidavit of Loss substitutes for it on the cancellation route.
- Who needs to cancel a card?
- Holders whose visa was downgraded, who have left the country for good, whose visa was forfeited or cancelled, who arrived on a tourist visa or other visas, and the representatives of deceased holders.
- What does cancellation cost?
- ₱1,010.00, made up of a ₱500.00 application fee, a ₱10.00 legal research fee and a ₱500.00 express lane fee, plus any other applicable fees. The charter gives the total processing time as 4 days and 30 minutes.
- What extra documents does cancellation need?
- It depends on the reason. A downgrading order if the visa was downgraded, an order of visa forfeiture or cancellation where that applies, a photocopy of the latest departure or arrival stamp if the holder left for good and the card has expired, and a death certificate where the holder has died.
- What if my card details have changed?
- This service is renewal without amendment, for holders whose details have not changed. A renewal that also corrects a name, date of birth or nationality is a different service with additional requirements.
- Which form do I file for renewal?
- BI Form 2015-08-002 Rev 0, one copy, together with the original card and photocopies of the passport bio page, the visa implementation page and the latest admission with valid authorized stay.