My passport was expiring June 2008. I had it renewed as early as January so that I wouldn't have any problems at all when I travel. One of the questions I asked myself was whether to go for the new Machine Readable Passports or to still go for the old green ones.
After evaluating the pros & cons, I went ahead and applied for the new Machine Readable Passports. As always, I never go directly to DFA for my passport renewal. I do not want to queue all day in DFA. As with my previous renewals, I used the service of Pilipinas Teleserv Inc (http://www.passport.com.ph). Of course, it is much more expensive than going direct, but the shorter queue allotted to Pilipinas Teleserv customers makes it really worth it!
If you go to the Pilipinas Teleserv website, you need to fill-up the following :
Once you have defined the date for pick-up, a representative from 2Go will pick-up the requirements for renewal. You have to pay Php 1300.
Requirements for the Renewal (for Green Passport bearers) :
- 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.
On the date you specified for personal appearance, you have to go to DFA and look for the 2Go booth. There will a special lane - a much shorter queue - for your thumbprint. After only a few minutes, you're done and can already go home. I did my appearance on a Saturday (DFA is open half day during Saturday). I believe I was only inside the DFA campus maximum of 30 minutes. It was definitely worth the PhP 1300 I paid!
Delivery of the new Passport is normally 14 days after the personal appearance.
In case you need to follow-up, you may use their online "Check Status"
... Or Alternatively, you can call their hotline 737-1000. They can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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