Applying for passport renewal at the Department of Foreign Affairs will be done by appointment through the Internet beginning January 14 to lessen the inconvenience of having to queue in waiting for one’s turn at the counters.
Claro Cristobal, DFA spokesman, said the appointment system will do away with the first step of verification of pertinent documents, thereby shortening the process.
Normally, applicants have to go through verification, then pre-processing, encoding and payment of fees.
Apart from passport renewal or those with expired or expiring passports within a year, first-time applicants who are senior citizens (60 years old and above) may also set an appointment for passport processing through the Internet.
The DFA said it will expand the appointment system to cover all passport applications in due time.
The DFA will designate a call center (556-0000) dedicated to entertain the increasing number of passport applicants, Cristobal said.
The DFA Consular Office has also strengthened the mobile passport services in coordination with the local governments.
“This means that passport applicants can apply in their respective localities where the mobile services will be set up. Usually, the mobile services are set up in major populated centers like malls," Cristobal said.
DFA Regional Offices have started accepting passport applications to further decongest the Consular Office in Pasay City.
At least 7,000 people apply for passports daily at the DFA.
According to Cristobal, the surge in passport application was brought about by the peak season, which began in November and is expected to last until April.
The increase is the number of applicants is also because of the new policy requiring applicants, whether new or those for renewal, to personally appear for the needed signature and fingerprint specimen for the machine-readable or electronic passports.
Because of the long queue of applicants, Cristobal appealed to those who are not leaving the country soon to defer their plans to apply for passports, especially during these peak months.
Processing of rush passports take seven working days and two to three weeks for regular processing time.
Here's the procedure in seeking an appointment for passport processing:
1. Send a request for appointment via the Internet through email address: appointment@dfa.gov.ph
2. Passport applicants applying for appointment must provide the following information:
a. Full name of applicant (first name, middle name and surname);
b. Date of birth;
c. Place of birth;
d. Latest passport number and date of issuance
3 Application for appointment must be made one week before the proposed date of appointment.
4. Applicant must wait for the confirmation of the proposed appointment and take note of the reference number that will be provided by DFA-Passport Office before proceeding to the DFA for the filing of the passport application.
5. Applicant must be at the DFA Passport Office (Special Area for those with appointments) at the confirmed designated date and time for the filing of the passport application. - GMANews.TV
