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. :)