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| Our 2016 e-Passports - well-loved, and frequently used before the pandemic. |
Anyway, if you're planning to renew your passport or applying for a passport for the first time, here's what you need to do:
1. Schedule an appointment.
You can book a slot online using the Department of Foreign Affairs' Passport Appointment System. Passport applications and renewals are strictly by appointment basis only. Walk-ins are no longer entertained at the DFA Aseana office unless it's an emergency case.
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| DFA's official booking website. |
When you schedule your appointment, you will first be asked whether it's an individual appointment or a group appointment. I chose group appointment, of course, since there will be two of us renewing our passports.
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| Select group appointment for 2-5 applicants. |
You may then select your preferred venue. Thankfully, we now have a consular office here at SM City San Pablo. No need to drive all the way to Alabang like when we renewed our passports six years ago.
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| Choose your preferred venue. |
The next part is usually the toughest - choosing the date and time for your appointment. Keep in mind that slots run out of fast, and your preferred date and time might not be available. As of this writing, the earliest available appointment date for SM City San Pablo is August 01, 2022. If you don't want to wait that long or if you're in a rush to get or renew your passport, you need to go back to the menu, choose a different venue, and see if they have slots available for an earlier date.
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| Choose your preferred date and time. |
2. Input your personal information.
After securing your appointment schedule, you will then be asked to fill-out a form which includes your personal information, family information, and contact details. For passport renewal, you need to key in details of your old/expired passport such as the passport number, date of issue, and issuing office.
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| Personal information page. |
Make sure that all the information you provided are correct - no typos, especially in the names and birthdays. Errors or discrepancies in your personal information can cause delay or rejection in your passport renewal or application.
3. Review your personal details and proceed to payment.
After keying in your personal information, you will be given a chance to review the form and check if there are any errors. The next step will be paying for your passport, which can be done online with your credit or debit card, or through authorized payment centers such as Bayad Center, Villarica, LBC, Western Union, and 7Eleven.
I paid with my credit card because that's the most convenient for me. I had to pay an extra Php 100 as convenience fee, but that's okay since I don't want to go through all that hassle of leaving the house and waiting in line at a payment center.
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| Online payment via credit card. |
For regular processing (14 working days), passport fee is Php 950 each while expedited processing (7 working days) costs Php 1200 each. I chose the regular processing since we don't have international travel plans just yet.
4. Wait for the confirmation email.
After your payment has been confirmed, you will then receive an email confirming your DFA appointment. This usually takes up to 24 hours, so please be patient.
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| Confirmation email from DFA. Yay! |
Once you have received the email, print it, and the PDF attachments that come with it. You need to bring this on the date of your appointment, as well as the following documents:
Adults (Passport Renewal)
- Current e-passport
- Photocopy of passport's data page
- Valid ID
- Photocopy of valid ID
Minors (Passport Renewal)
- Current e-passport
- Photocopy of passport's data page
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate (if only one parent is accompanying the child)
- School ID (if applicable)
For new passports, you may refer to the complete list of requirements here.
5. Go to the DFA Consular Office as scheduled.
According to DFA guidelines, you need to be at the DFA office 10 minutes ahead of your schedule. Proper attire is required - collared shirts are a must, and shorts and slippers are not allowed. Minors, seniors, pregnant women, and persons with disability are allowed to have one companion only. Face masks are required, and bring your vaccination cards just to be sure. Observing proper health protocols is also a must.
Although our appointment was at 2pm, Yue and I were already at the DFA SM San Pablo Consular Office by 1:30 pm. Despite being 30 minutes too early, the guard at the front door was kind enough to let us in since there were not too many people waiting in line anyway. Another guard ushered us in after checking our appointment schedule and the documents and requirements that we brought.
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| Waiting in line at the Processing Section. |
After sitting in line for about ten minutes, our names were called at the Processing Section. The lady at Window 3 checked verified our application, checked our documents, and asked me to sign the application form. She also gave me a claim stub for our new passports, which will be released on June 8.
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| At the Encoding Section. |
We then proceeded to the Encoding Section where our biometrics were taken. Here, the encoder will take your photo, then your thumbprints, and then encode your data. He/she will then ask you to double check the data encoded, so watch out for typos and the like. If there are no errors in your data and you're satisfied with your passport photo, you will then be asked to sign a validation form.
If you choose to have your passports delivered, you will need to sign up and pay at the Courier section. Yue and I skipped this step since we'll be picking-up our passports at the DFA SM San Pablo Consular Office come June 8.
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| Yes, Yue is this tall already! |
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| He's even taller than me! |
And with that, we are done with our appointment! Now we just have to wait for our passports, and claim them on the scheduled date. Will update this post once our new passports are available! :)
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