How to Renew Philippine Passports: DFA Schedule, Rush Renewal/Application Tips

Tutubi has an expired green passport since May this year and has yet to renew it to get an ePassport. He only browsed DFA website to see the requirements and the online form. Though even if he still has to experience the passport renewal process, he's been updated by the actual experiences of his sister, friends and office mates who asked him how to renew Philippine passports, even for rush applications without an appointment at the DFA and gave him updates on the actual process. He'll apply for his own passport next year, no need to rush :P

For now, herewith are the steps and tips on how to renew Philippine passport: rush and without appointment/schedule for your reference :P

DFA Passport Renewal Procedure:

1. Call DFA Hotline (+63.2.737.1000, 24/7 service) or visit DFA Passport official website (http://www.passport.com.ph/) and set an appointment. You need to provide information and then a list of requirements to be submitted on your appointment date.

2. You'll be offered choices of appointment dates but sometimes you want to book earlier slots, not those dates two months after. Trick is, as done by one of Tutubi's friends, is to check in again at a later date and be on the lookout for vacant slots, usually vacated by those who requested a change in scheduled appointment.

3. A reference number shall be provided to you and an email confirmation of your application to your email address. You need to bring this to DFA on your appointment date.

4. On your date of appointment, be early as you always should be, queue in and show the clerk at the Appointment Counter your printed application form (online application) or just your reference number (for those who booked via the DFA Hotline).

5. You will need to sign some fields on your form, some in the presence of the DFA officer

6. Next is at the Information Counter, the tip given by Tutubi's friend was that the queues of people applying for express renewals were longer than those for regular renewal (and cheaper at that). People with children and babies are also prioritized for the DFA already knows children can be bothersome and impatient (note that babies, children and companions NOT applying for a passport are NOT allowed inside DFA-OCA premises)

7. Pay the corresponding passport renewal fees at the Cashier on the second floor: Regular Processing: PhP950.00 (20 business days); Express Processing: PhP1,200.00 (10 business days).

8. After paying fees at the cashier, proceed to the Data Capturing section where you'll have your picture taken, fingerprints and affix your signature on the the application forms. Remider for the DFA passport dress code: wear plain, colored collared shirts/tops and no slippers (as if they're taking a picture of your feet). No such this as passport renewal without appearance these days due to conversion from green passports to epassports where you need to personally appear to have your picture taken (loss of business for those photo booths that used to prosper outside the DFA office)

9. Optional: If you want your passport delivered to your home, office or anywhere you want it, you can pay accredited courier companies with counters near the Encoding Section. The courier companies will take your receipt and claim stub to replace them with another one just to authorize them to claim your new passport on your behalf.

How long does it take to renew your passport? depends. Tutubi's officemate did it in about hour on a Tuesday afternoon. The family of Tutubi's office mate took longer on a Friday (too many people reported that day). (What's the best day really to book an appointment, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday? Worst are Monday and Friday? hmmm...no data actually to support that. The actual tip supplied by Tutubi's office mate was that the queue of regular processing was significantly shorter than express passport processing that saves time of about 30 minutes (seems everybody is in a rush these days)

Express/Rush Passport Renewal Tips:

1. If you're in need of really rush passport renewal and provided you're well connected particularly to an ambassador, consul or foreign service employees, you can request your friend a letter of recommendation to process your passport application renewal in just three days. You will need to go to DFA VIP room (2nd floor of DFA-OCA Macapagal). This happened to a friend of Tutubi also a friend of a consul plus another two of his office mates, who recently renewed their passports to attend a conference in Malaysia. They only needed to queue at the Data Encoding/picture taking part. All of them later received letters informing them that the special VIP treatment should not be always availed of and instead follow the existing process, but the letters were generic in nature and not an admonishment. (who says life is fair anyway?)

2. If you're not connected to the powers-that-be, like Tutubi's sister who kept on asking him how to renew passports rush, she called up DFA Lucena office in Quezon and got an appointment a week later (unlike for DFA in Manila where available slots are more than 20 days away) and the actual passport renewal process took less than two hours. She got her passport 12 working days later. Note Lucena is about 2.5 hours away from Paete, Laguna while DFA-OCA on Macapagal is about 3.5 hours.

3. For people in the provinces, you need not go to Metro Manila but proceed to any DFA consular office nearest you, like what Tutubi's sister did. The DFA Regional Offices are located in Butuan, Bacolod, Batangas, Baguio (Benguet, Cordilleras), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), General Santos, Cotabato San Fernando (La Union), Tuguegarao (Cagayan Valley), San Fernando (Pampanga, Central Luzon), Lucena (Quezon), Legaspi (Albay, Bicol Region), Iloilo, Cebu (Central Visayas), Tacloban (Leyte, Eastern Visayas), Zamboanga, Cagayan De Oro, and Davao. Passport application appointment schedules are not too far away for regional offices.

4. For OFWs and those that are due for overseas deployment, they can have their passports processed immediately upon presenting documents that show there are jobs waiting for them in their countries of destination. Also, DFA satellite office at the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) in Ortigas is open cater solely to the passport needs of OFWs.

5. Don't waste your time and money booking an appointment via travel agencies, much more deal with fixers at the DFA selling appointments. You can do the passport renewals on your own and not be an accessory to a crime of fixing which is illegal and promotes graft and corruption just to stay ahead by a few days.

6. If you're really in need of a new passport urgently, there are certain events (e.g. death of a loved one abroad) that may qualify you for major major urgent rush passport applications, new or renewal. Contact DFA Hotline (telephone number: +63.2.737.1000) for more information on how to process rush passport needs. Stay on the legal side and don't abet corrupt people in the government!