The whole i-card renewal process is ridiculous IMO. Luckily, we only have to do it every 5 years - assuming you dont lose it, or it gets damaged. They take your current i-card when you apply for a renewal, and they (the Cebu BI personnel anyway) say that we cannot leave the country if we do not have an i-card in our possession. That would be ok, except when asked how long it will take to get the new card, they said *** 2 to 3 MONTHS ***. So they are telling us that we cannot leave the country for 2-3 months? And if there is an emergency? This is beyond ridiculous. Can anyone corroborate this? Say it aint so... :-)
Along with the plastic card, theres a visa stamp that goes in the passport. That's the official, internationally recognized visa. And as long as you have that, and it's up to date I would think you would have the legal right to leave the country anytime you want to. Now, getting back in might be a totally different story.
Yup, got the stamp, and since I am a permanent 13a resident, it doesnt expire. I actually asked that question. The official told me "that stamp allows you to get an i-card only, and cannot be used by itself for exit/entry". I do agree though that exitting the country is doable, even if you have to go to your embassy and have them help, but re-entry could be problematic :-) I remember back when I originally got my first i-card that expired after 1 year I think - they gave you a paper card of some kind that could be used to enter/exit the country. They dont seem to do that anymore. It seems that since the "processing time" is so long (come on, multiple months is ridiculous), there should be some kind of alternative process for enterring/exitting while *both* i-cards are in their possession.
I dont know how accurate this list is, but I am watching almost daily to see if/when my name appears :-) List of updated I-Cards, which I assume is the list of new or renewed i-cards: The Bureau of Immigration, Philippines Official Website - List of New Updated Release I-Card
