Tuesday, August 18, 2009

three ways to renew your philippine passport

my passport will be expiring in may 2010, and while i know that i can renew my passport through passport direct, i still thought i'd check the DFA website in case they had updates on new passport renewal procedures.

and i found out that they actually do! aside from passport direct, which partners up with 2go for the courier service, now, we pinoys can also renew our passports by telephone and using the DFA appointment system.

let me go through the different ways one can renew passports in good ol' philippines:

#1: passport direct
passport direct accepts new applications and renewals. you first have to fill up their passport application form, where you fill in important personal information as well as the pick-up and delivery address of your passport. you can also input your desired pick-up schedule and personal appearance schedule at the DFA.

the passport direct website also has a list of requirements for passport renewals. for the benefit of those who, like me, are still holding their green passports, our renewal requirements are as follows:
  • Personal Appearance is required.
  • Present passport and photocopy of pages 1,2,3 (amendment) inside and back cover.
  • The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.
  • For illegitimate minor, personal appearance of mother is required.
  • Three (3) colored photos of the applicant taken against a royal blue background & no shadow. Applicant should be in decent attire with collar & sleeves and in dark-colored shirt. Photo must be studio taken & of good quality, and must have been taken within the last six (6) months. Photo size: 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm. Facial image size: About 3cm-tip of head to chin. Ears should be visible. Wearing of accessories, colored contact lenses or eyeglasses, with name/name board are not allowed. DFA has the right to reject photos that do not comply with specifications and international standards.
renewing passports through passport direct costs Php 1,300.00, and takes about 3 weeks.

#2: telephone passport express
the website says "fast, efficient, and convenient way of processing passport while making use of quality time." because you don't need to go to the DFA, but you do need to personally appear at the DFA Telephone Passport Express Center on your scheduled date.

telephone passport express is a service provided by LBC. you just have to call up their hotline, (02) 567-1111 to get the list of requirements. afterwards, download the passport application form which has a logo of telephone passport express and lbc (these details are important!), print it on long bond paper, and fill it up.

when all that is done, you then have to go to the nearest LBC branch or telephone passport express center to submit your documents for screening and evaluation. this is also where you pay the fee of P1,300.00, which includes shipping of your passport to the address you provided. oh, and you have to wait for them to give you your schedule for fingerprinting and signing.

just go to any telephone passport express center on the day of your schedule, do the fingerprinting and signing. your passport will just be delivered to you via LBC.

#3: dfa online appointment system
starting august 26 of this year, the dfa will be implementing an online appointment procedure for passport renewals, for issuance of the new epassport (as opposed to the machine readable ones, or new passport version 1.0). but since the system is new, they can only accommodate 100 epassport applicants per day.

to renew your passport through this system, go to the dfa passport application appointment system, click on the epassport photo, fill up the form, then click submit. check your inbox for their email indicating your appointment date, and confirm your availability. make sure to note down the date, time, and reference number given in the email.

on the date of your appointment, proceed to the special area for online appointment applicants with your requirements. according to the dfa, these are the requirements:
  • old passport with one photocopy of old passport data page
  • a valid ID
  • duly accomplished passport application form
  • Php 950 passport fee
after reading about all those three ways to renew my passport, i think i'm going to try the last option. i've heard some not-so-good feedback about passport direct from friends who've renewed this year, and the telephone passport express actually sounds too tedious. the last option is pretty interesting--everything is done online, which is a great leap for a government office, and i want to see how they would do it. plus, the dfa online appointment system is much cheaper than the first two options, which is always a plus for me!

on another note, the new epassport, i've been told, actually emits RFID signals, which makes your information vulnerable to hacking or being stolen. i'm still trying to find the right RFID blocking passport cover, and i'm not happy with the ones i've seen online. it helps to safeguard your information, so make sure that once you renew your passport, you secure it right away.

hope this blog helps those who are confused about renewing our philippine passports. :)

26 comments:

wysgal said...

I just used Passport Direct and have been generally very satisfied! They're on the expensive side, but the entire process was hassle-free for me!

i gotta go! said...

hey, thanks for letting me know! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi! Would you know how long the last option would take? Which is the fastest renewal way?

i gotta go! said...

hey, sorry for the late reply. the last option took about 2 hours when i went there, but in terms of processing days, it also has expedited processing, which takes 5 business days (or 7 calendar days), for P1,200.

Anonymous said...

very informative post, thanks.

just a question, for option number 3, i assume you went to the DFA office twice, once to submit the requirements and another to pick up your new passport? thanks.

i gotta go! said...

hi there, anonymous! :)

sorry for not replying right away.

as for your question, i only went there once. i decided to have my passport delivered to me, so i won't have to go back again. you can find various couriers in the basketball court (if they're not there, just ask for passport delivery) who will claim your passport at the DFA and will deliver it right to your doorstep. :)

Anonymous said...

thanks so much for your reply...would the total for option number 3 be less or just equal to your options 1 & 2?

dencio914 said...

i have a very bad experience w/ tele passport express. lbc lost the birth certificate i got from the local civil registrar which i was also required to submit. i asked for a refund coz dfa refused to process my passport application in the absence of the document and lbc can't seem to retrieve it anymore -- at first, they said they can only return 1k out of the 1,300 i initially paid when i submitted my documents. when i got them to agree to a complete refund, they won't return my calls to check when i will get that. it's utterly stressful dealing w/ these guys.

i gotta go! said...

dencio194: thanks for letting us know about your experience. sorry that had to happen to you. :( i hope you get your refund soon.

Anonymous said...

Hi, can you please help me? My hubby and I will be going to HK this jUne 30. But my hubby's passport need to be renewed since it will expire on Aug. 2010. We tried to set an appointment online but according to them the earliest date they can set is on Sept. first week! Is there any other way so he can renew his passport and travel on the scheduled date?

i gotta go! said...

hi there! a lot of people i know are really having a hard time securing an earlier date for their passports.

you can try calling the DFA at (632) 834-4424 or 834-4855, and explain your situation.

you can also try going through telephone passport express, they might have earlier appointments.

hope this helps, and hope your husband gets to renew his passport in time.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for the info.
Just an inquiry. What is the passport validity required by Hongkong / Macau? Can we still go there since my hubby's passport will expires on Aug. 11, 2010? Will stay there for 4 days from June 30 - July 3.

Or the six months validy applies?

Thanks!

i gotta go! said...

hi there!

i googled this, and found this page: http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&HEALTH=&page=both&NA=PH&AR=00&DE=HK&VT=PH&EM=PH&PASSTYPES=PASS&user=SKYWEB&subuser=SKYWEB1

it says the 6-month validity period does not apply for pinoys traveling to HK: "Passport and/or passport replacing travel documents must be valid for at least one month after the period of the intended stay." :)

you can call the DFA as well to make sure.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot!:)
Will also check with DFA to confirm. thanks!

Anonymous said...

is old system in renewing passport still applicable?

i gotta go! said...

hi there!

i think they have scrapped that old procedure and are now following this new one. :)

Chef Adventures said...

can anyone help me with a passport problem?

chefadventure@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

hi there, I am planning my vacation on the last week of march. Can i avail to #1 Passport direct instead of #3 because the earliest reservation is april 6th.

Anonymous said...

I have a problem almost same as her. We are leaving for Macao and Hongkong this coming APril 17, and my passport will expire on April 2011 as well. Would just like to know if they were able to renew in time for their travel, how did they do it? I tried setting an appointment online, but schedule offered to me was for May 2011. Help me please, I need to know other effective and fast ways to renew a passport.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, can you please help me? My hubby and I will be going to HK this jUne 30. But my hubby's passport need to be renewed since it will expire on Aug. 2010. We tried to set an appointment online but according to them the earliest date they can set is on Sept. first week! Is there any other way so he can renew his passport and travel on the scheduled date?

07 June, 2010 17:34

i gotta go! said...

hi there!

you can try calling the DFA at (632) 834-4424 or 834-4855, and explain your situation.

they might be able to give you a slot.

you can also try walking in at the DFA. i know they accept walk-in renewals. best to call the DFA for sure.

Anonymous said...

Hi. I have the same situation now. I'd like to know what you did and were you able to go to Hongkong?

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

What did the DFA told you?

Help! :(

Anonymous said...

Which of the three is the fastest? I need to renew it in a week or the earliest.
Which one should I go for?

Anonymous said...

See below po for easy steps para mabilis ang renewal
http://www.frustratedbillionaire.com/2015/10/28/renewing-your-philippine-passport-in-laymans-term/

Grace said...

Hi,
Sigurado bang mapaprocess passport in 7days with telephone passport express? Alis kc ako feb 22 papunta SG di aware sa 6month rule, at mag iexpire na passport ko july 22. Can anyone suggests the best thing to do para makapagrenew ako before flight.

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