How to Renew your Passport (Updated links-Important Updates 02.16.2010)
Jun 27th, 2008 by teys
IMPORTANT UPDATES FROM THE DFA AS OF 02.16.2010 (The DFA website has been revamped and the old links have been replaced. I have updated this post (in red) and the links as well as of 2/16/2010. Thanks for reading!)
Note: There are currently two types of passports being issued right now: the Machine-Readable Passport and the newly implemented Biometric Passport a.k.a EPass or Electronic Passport. The requirements and procedures listed below mostly apply to those who are applying for a Machine Readable Passport. For those who prefer the EPass or Biometric passport the requirements are more or less the same but the procedures are different. To find out more about EPass or Biometric Passports check this out : FAQ on the Philippines EPassport (source: dfa.gov.ph)
Here are the Passport Requirements as of 02.16.2010 for:
A. FIRST-TIME APPLICANTS
- Personal Appearance is required.
- Duly accomplished application form.
- Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) or Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar duly authenticated by NSO.
- Three (3) colored photos of the applicant taken against a royal blue background. Applicant should be in decent attire with collar. Photo must be 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: Not less than 3 cm. DFA has the right to reject photos that do not comply with specifications and international standards.
- Proof of identity / Supporting documents indicating full name, date and place of birth and citizenship
- Other Supporting documents.
Additional Requirements:
- For married women, who want to use surname of their spouse
- Marriage Contract (MC) in Security Paper issued by NSO or Certified True Copy issued by the Local Civil Registrar duly authenticated by NSO.
- For married women who would like to revert back to their maiden name
If already widowed: Death Certificate of the deceased husband;
- If marriage is annulled: Certified true copy and photocopy of the first page and the dispositive portion of the judgment on annulment and NSO-issued MC with the annotation on the annulment decree;
- If divorced: Certified true copy and photocopy of the first page and the dispositive portion of the judgment on divorce secured by foreign spouse authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate where the divorce is obtained.
For Minors (below 18 years old)
- Personal appearance of either parent (if minor is of legitimate status).
-
Personal appearance of mother (if minor is of illegitimate status)
If minor is NOT traveling with either parent:
- Original and photocopy of DSWD Clearance
- Affidavit of Support and Consent
If both parents are abroad:
- Affidavit of support and consent (must be authenticated by the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General if not executed before a Consul).
- Special Power of Attorney (must be authenticated by the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General if not executed before a Consul designating the representative by name and authorizing him to apply for a passport on behalf of the minor).
- Passport and photocopy of the passport of the traveling companion of the minor.
- Identification Card and photocopy thereof of the duly authorized person.
For Muslim applicants
- For those whose births were registered:
Please refer to requirements for first time passport applicants.
For those whose births were not registered:
- Late registered Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO)
- Original and photocopy of Voter’s Affidavit or other supporting documents indicating date and place of birth and citizenship, identity and tribal affiliation.
-
Certificate from the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA)
B. PASSPORT RENEWAL (for holders of Philippine Passports)
Brown Passport or issued prior to 01 May 1995
- Old passport and photocopy of passport pages 1,2,3 (amendment). The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.
- Supporting document with complete middle name.
Green Passport or issued after 01 May 1995
- Present passport and photocopy of inside and back cover.
- The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.
- For illegitimate minor, personal appearance of mother is required.
For married women, who want to use surname of their spouse:
- Personal Appearance is required
- Marriage Contract (MC) in Security Paper issued by NSO or CTC issued by the Local Civil Registrar duly authenticated by NSO.
For Minors (below 18 years old): Personal appearance of either parent is required.
- If minor is NOT traveling with either parent:
- Original and photocopy of DSWD Clearance
- Affidavit of Support and Consent
- If both parents are abroad:
- Affidavit of support and consent (must be authenticated by the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate General if not executed before a Philippine Consul).
- Special Power of Attorney (must be authenticated by the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulate if not executed before a Philippine Consul designating the representative by name and authorizing him to apply for a passport on behalf of the minor).
- Passport and photocopy of the passport of person travelling with the minor.
Other supporting documents you might want to bring with you: (courtesy of PinoyMoneyTalk)
- Marriage Contract
- PRC / IBP ID
- Land Title
- Driver’s License
- Government Service Record
- Old SSS-E1 form or digitized SSS-ID
- School Form 137 or Transcript of Records
- Other documents that show full name and birth details of applicant and/or citizenship
- Voter’s Registration Record
- Baptismal Certificate
- Seaman’s Book
- Income Tax Return (Old)
UPDATED PASSPORT FEES as of 02.16.2010:
- MACHINE READABLE PASSPORT (MRP-regular process) 44-pages P 500.00
- ELECTRONIC PASSPORT (EPASS-regular process) 44-pages P 950.00
- EXPEDITED PROCESSING - ADDITIONAL CHARGE OF P 250.00
- REPLACEMENT OF LOST VALID PASSPORT P 700.00
My original post: (links updated as of 02.16.2010)
Did you know that there are online companies that can assist you if you need to apply for or renew your passport? For my own passport, I opted to do it myself which was quite a hassle to do so I’m contemplating if I should do it differently for the passports of my kids. If you plan to do it yourself here are some of the things you need to prepare for to help you out.
- Passport application form (front and back downloadable from here
) - For Green Passports or those issued after 01 May 1995 you need the ff.:
- Present passport together with the application form
- Photocopies of the inside and the back cover.
- Photocopy of the pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps.
- 3 pcs passport size pictures with royal blue background (This one is a bit tricky because if it doesn’t pass their standards, they will ask you to have your picture taken again. There is a mini photo studio “conveniently” located at the entrance of the DFA auditorium just in case you are one of those rejected. You’ll only find out if your rejected right at the very last step of the process when all you have to do is submit your documents. It is quite irritating.)
- NSO Certified Marriage contract (for married women)
Here’s a little tip that most people don’t know. Instead of waiting in line at the DFA just to schedule an appointment you can actually request for an appointment online. I found this out by accident and when I got to the DFA with my printed out appointment, the guard even asked me if I was an official or something. He actually made my day because I was already so frustrated at how they shuttled us back and forth from one line to another. So if you want to do that and save yourself a few steps go here : Passport Application Appointment System.
But if you want somebody else to do all that for you and all you have to do is show your face at the DFA you can also try Pilipinas Teleserv. They can do your passport, NSO birth, marriage, death and other certificates as well. They also deliver it right to your doorstep. If you are an American seeking to renew your passport and want someone to assist you, you can try American Passport dot com. Both of these agencies are non-government agencies that process your documents for you and they can come in very useful for folks that are too busy to do all the legwork.
ETA: I’ve updated this post and added a few more info in response to the queries below. I’m glad that this post has helped you and hope that this additional information like Regional Consulate Offices etc. will be even more helpful as you go through processing your passports.
Question from Billy:
just want to ask if i can renew my passport without my presence?and how long will it take to get it?
Answer:
If you are residing in the Philippines, then you are most likely to renew your passport at the DFA Main office, Roxas Blvd in Pasay City. However, if you are in the province and coming to Manila is not doable for you there are actually Regional Consular Offices located around the country where you can apply at. As for non-appearance options, even if some agencies offer to do all the initial legwork for you like processing and compiling the required documents for submission and scheduling an appointment for you , the DFA still requires you to “appear” unless you are under “8 years old” or “65 years old and above” because they take a picture of you at the very end of the process for their file purposes. Therefore, you still have to be present.
As to how long it will take to get your passport, it depends on how much you want to pay. Usually, the regular wait is 14 days which costs P500, for expedited processing or 7-days wait it’s P750 and for replacement of lost valid passports it’s P700. (see update above)
DFA REGIONAL CONSULAR OFFICES
But before you head out to Manila, you might like to check this out and see if there is a DFA office near you to save you all that travel.
|
DFA REGIONAL CONSULAR OFFICES |
|
|
|
Btw, there are also scheduled Mobile Passport Services in various Local Governments where DFA officials go to different public venues and process passport services right then and there. I know one was recently held at Festival Mall Alabang. For schedules on that you can check this link (updated):
http://dfa.gov.ph/main/index.php/schedule-of-sobile-services
Now here’s a visual of the actual procedure at the DFA Manila Office (pics courtesy of the DFA website)
These pictures are no longer available as the DFA has since updated its website.
Hope this helps!
tonis last blog post..Mga Aral Dulot ng Kabuteng Mesa
[Reply]
caryns last blog post..
[Reply]
hi jec,
thanks for reading my post - as far as I know, any Filipino living abroad who holds a Philippine Passport can renew his/her passport outside the Philippines at any of our Philippine Embassies or Consulate Offices located all over the world. One of the many services our embassies and consulates provide Filipinos abroad is the renewal of passports. Aside from that they can also provide you with assistance on legal or notarial services or address questions about citizenship etc etc. Do not hesitate to go to our embassies for help because that is why they are there. I don’t know where you are in California but we have a Consulate in San Francisco (you can check out this link - http://www.philippineconsulate-sf.org/passport.htm) and another one in Los Angeles ( check out their site here: - http://www.philippineconsulatela.org/consularservices.htm)
Hope this helps!
[Reply]
thanks for the question, Billy… I updated the post and sent you a reply via email as well…
Hope this helps!
[Reply]
[Reply]
well, thanks a lot for sharing I really appreciate it.
chona
[Reply]
[Reply]
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
[Reply]
[Reply]
-ng work po kase s riyadh saudi arabia ang husband ko..ngpaplano po sya n mgbakasyon dito pinas.
-kaso un pasport nya ay maexpire n s dec 11 this year.
tanung ko lng po kung valid prin po ba un passport n iuwi sa pinas khit malapit n ma expire?o need nya na i renew?
-kc po dito nya nlng balak i renew dhil busy po xa dun dhil s work nya..
-please need info asap..
[Reply]
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
[Reply]
[Reply]
[Reply]
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
[Reply]
[Reply]
teys Reply:
December 5th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Salamat sa pagbisita sa aking blog. Pakibasa na lang po ang unang bahagi ng aking post. Doon po nakalagay ang mga requirements na kakailanganin mo para mag-renew. Maari ka rin tumingin sa DFA website mismo kung may iba ka pang katanungan na walang sagot dito.
Magandang araw sa iyo!
[Reply]
Sincerely
“globe travel club”
Ashima
[Reply]
[Reply]
GOD BLESS!!!
L.TOD SCHLOSSER
http://www.fiance-visa.net
[Reply]
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
First, let’s break down your question. With regards to the red colored passport - this is issued to government employees and can only be used on official government business upon proper validation by authorities. It cannot be used for non-official trips. I am assuming you also have a green passport in conjunction with the red passport. In general, passports must be valid for at least 6 months before your date of travel. Here’s the official DFA statement regarding the validity of your green passport:
I have a previously issued passport. Can I use it for travel as long as it is still valid?
“Yes. Previously issued passports (MRP and non-MRP) are valid until their expiry. It is a good practice to make sure your passport is valid at least six months before intended date of travel to avoid any inconvenience.”
(source: dfa.gov.ph)
So to answer your last question - if your green passport is still valid according to the DFA requirements then you may travel to the Philippines without any problem.
Hope this helps!
If you want to learn more, you can also check out this DFA link : http://dfa.gov.ph/main/index.php/press-releases/516
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
[Reply]
carla Reply:
February 20th, 2010 at 12:06 am
[Reply]
teys Reply:
February 21st, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Thanks!
[Reply]
teys Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 3:31 am
I think renewing your passport 1 yr. ahead of expiration is not a problem. If you think about it, technically, it’s only 6 months ahead.
Here’s what the DFA has to say about passport renewal:
“It is a good practice to make sure your passport is valid at least six months before intended date of travel to avoid any inconvenience.”
(source: dfa.gov.ph)
[Reply]
teys Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 3:33 am
Hope this helps!
[Reply]
I tried to call all the numbers listed on the DFA’s website but most of them are not working - I got busy tones and “not yet in service” answers.
What department in the DFA handles problems such as this? Can anyone tell me the proper procedure to correct it? Or would it be faster if she just declares it to be a lost passport?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
[Reply]