Need to renew your Philippine passport? The process is easier now and the validity period is longer; it's 10 years for legally aged passport holders! So here's how to renew your Philippine passport.
DFA Online Appointment
Step 1:
Visit the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sub-website to schedule an appointment.
The official site is different from the appointment sub-site.
Here's a link to the page:
www.passport.gov.ph/appointment
Step 2:
Pay the processing fee.
Instructions on how to make a payment will be included in the email which will be sent to your nominated email address. Note that the appointment is not yet confirmed at this point. Confirmation happens after the payment is made.
If you did not receive the email, try checking the SPAM/Junk folder. If your mailbox is full, delete some of the contents to free up space.
Paying ahead will save you one step during the actual scheduled appointment. Since you already paid beforehand, you can skip the lines for the cashier.
During our appointment, I’ve noticed that there’s only one booth now for the cashier and the queue is empty. I assume that most (if not all) have already paid for the processing fee outside the consular office.
DFA Payment Guidelines:
You must pay the exact amount in cash. Excess payment is forfeited (thank you na lang!). Insufficient payment on the other hand will not be processed.
Use the reference number when making a payment. For multiple bookings, pay the reference number separately. Do not pay for all of them in one transaction.
A reference number can only be used once. Do not attempt to pay again in case your initial payment is incomplete. Better call DFA's hotline instead for assistance.
DFA Appointment Hotline
(02) 8234-3488 is the DFA hotline, specifically for appointment-related issues such as incorrect email, payment, etc.
DFA Fees
The regular fee is Php 950 for all offices. Processing will take 12 days. You can expedite it to 6 or 7 days (Metro Manila and provincial offices respectively) for Php 1200. Foreign Service Posts costs $60 and processing can take as long as 28-60 days. Lost passports will need 15 more days to process.
The processing fee is non-refundable and non-transferrable.
Paid fees will be forfeited if:
- the applicant fails to appear during the scheduled appointment
- applicant canceled their appointment without rescheduling or changing consular office
- the applicant presents fake documents
- applicant's application is denied due to incorrect or inconsistent details on the application form
Authorized Payment Gateways
These are the authorized partners which can process the payment for DFA (*the list may change without prior notice).
Payment Centers include 2GO, Bayad Center, Clothers Asia Corp., DA5, EBIZ, ECPay, LBC, Netopia, PERAHUB, PHILPOST, and True Money.
Participating Malls include Isetann, Landmark, Metro Malls, Robinsons Business Center, Robinsons Department Store, Rustans, SRS (San Roque Supermarket), and Sta. Lucia Mall. Just look for the business or customer services section for details or find the information on the mall's directory.
Convenience Stores: 7-Eleven
Banks include Citystate Savings Bank, Country Builders Bank, Luzon Development Bank, and Own Bank.
Remittance Centers: USSC
Pawnshops including BHF, Capital, CBE, Cebuana Lhuillier, CVM Pawnshop, M. Lhuillier, Raquel, Sinag, and Villarica.
You can also process the payment over the web through Bayad Center Online, Coins.ph, GCASH, J6W / Posible.net, Paymaya, and Touchpay.
We used the option to pay via 7-Eleven and paid an additional 50 pesos convenience fee. Most payment processing centers normally charge a similar fee.
Warning: You only have 24 hours to pay the fee; otherwise, your selected schedule will be released and be made available again on the appointment website.
DFA Appointment Schedule
In connection to the schedule, you can take note of the fact that reserved slots may be released so you can try again. Just refresh the DFA appointment schedule calendar from time to time until you find a date that's closer to your desired day.
You can also choose a different DFA branch (including consular offices located in malls) to see if they have more available dates.
We have experienced this. All dates were fully booked for about two months. A schedule was released the day after refreshing the site almost all day long though 😅.
Important!
Rescheduling must be done no later than 3 days before the original appointment date and the new date should not be longer than 30 days from the original schedule.
There will be a link on the email to reschedule. If the link doesn't work, email the consular office where your original appointment was made.
Rescheduling DFA Appointment
You can also request to change the appointment date and selected consular office after the appointment has been confirmed by using the Reschedule feature found on the DFA website.
Visit www.passport.gov.ph/appointment/view and enter the Appointment Code and email address. Here, you can view, cancel or reschedule the appointment.
Rescheduling is only considered successful if you receive a confirmation email. If you did not receive one within 24 hours, contact the DFA Appointments hotline for assistance.
Step 3:
Prepare the requirements.
The Appointment Code will be sent to the same email address upon confirmation of payment along with further instructions, including what documents to prepare.
Note that the code only confirms the appointment but doesn't guarantee the approval of your application.
Instructions also include what needs to be done before and during the appointment.
In connection to this, it’s best not to book a schedule with DFA until you have completed what needs to be done before the appointment, which is to secure all documents needed.
Passport Renewal Requirements
In our case, we booked for the DFA appointment first but were able to acquire a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) issued birth certificate before the said appointment since it was months ahead.
Married applicants need to request a PSA-issued marriage certificate as well.
See related post:
How to Get Birth Certificate in PSA - Walk In
Accepted IDs for Passport Application
Valid IDs need to be presented as well so if you don’t have any yet, this should be the first order of the day, specially since only a few ID types are accepted. These include Social Security System (SSS) card, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) card, Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) card, and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Driver’s License.
Philhealth ID, TIN card, and Postal ID are not accepted. These seem to be easier to acquire at least and can be used as an ID when acquiring the accepted IDs.
The documents need to be printed or photocopied in A4-size paper too, along with the e-receipts and the accomplished application form. Make copies of each document. This includes the current, expiring passport. Have the data page photocopied.
Missing or Loss Passports
If you don't have the current passport, there's a different process you need to follow. In a nutshell, you need to declare the passport as missing to a consular office first. A Police Report (in English) along with an Affidavit of Loss must be submitted. Your application will be considered the same as a first timer so the simpler renewal process is no longer applicable.
Damaged Passports
Passports with any type of damage can still be presented for renewal but will need you to bring an Affidavit of Mutilation.
Going back to the renewal requirements, in case you miss photocopying, there are printing and photocopy shops (and sometimes even notary services for affidavit of loss) close to the consular office.
In the DFA consular office we went to, the photocopier was even kind enough to arrange our documents to make it easier to present them at the processing booth.
Do bring a pen as well. It will be handy for all documents which need to be filled out or signed, including the health declaration form (COVID-19 protocols in mind). Speaking of health protocols, make sure to wear a face mask and a face shield during your appointment.
Before you go, do check the official DFA Facebook page for important announcements such as when consular offices are closed due to community quarantine. See www.facebook.com/dfaphl.
Step 4:
Be there on your scheduled appointment and complete the process.
While you are encouraged to arrive early, it should not be more than 30 minutes before your schedule. Those who come in too early may be asked to return later during their actual schedule.
We’ve seen this happen during our appointment. We were there past 12:30 P.M. for the 1 PM schedule. A lady who was scheduled for 2 PM was asked to come back later at 1:30.
While it’s not advised to bring company, we’ve seen how the exemption was applied for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWD), and those with infant and/or small children. The security staff assisted such applicants so they skip the lines and go straight to the teller desks. The same applies to those with diplomatic or some type of government pass.
If you’re not part of the priority, expect to wait in line like everyone else. There’s normally a queue outside before you can even enter the actual office, then there are lines for every step to be accomplished once you're inside the office.
Philippine Passport Renewal Steps
The process inside the consular office can be summed up through the following steps:
Step 1. Processing.
The forms filled out and required documents prepared will be processed at the designated cubicle for authenticity, validity, and other reasons. Note that expired and fake documents can be spotted and are automatically declined so make sure to acquire certificates only from authorized offices such as the PSA for Birth Certificate and/or Marriage Certificate.
The officer assigned will also be asking questions to verify or confirm information you've provided so make sure to answer truthfully.
Once the written materials are approved, you can move on to the next step or skip it if you already paid for the fees online.
Step 2. Cashier, if non-online payment.
Step 3. Encoding/Data Capture.
You're almost done at this stage. The assigned officer will now encode all information as it will appear on the passport. They will ask you several times to confirm if the info encoded is correct so inspect carefully. Errors can no longer be corrected after this stage is done so it's best to ensure all data is properly typed in before you go. Correction requests made after the actual passport is printed are both time-consuming and will cost additional fees.
Your passport photo will also be captured at this point. You have the option to request a retake if you're not satisfied with how it turned out. Take that chance because you can no longer do so once you leave the desk.
Step 4. Courier/Delivery (Optional).
Whether the passport is for courier delivery or pick up will be confirmed at the processing stage. You may have already paid for it before the appointment. See the DFA fees section above.
Regular processing is supposed to be 12 business days but you may expect delays due to community quarantine. We checked after 2 weeks (well over 12 days) and picked up the passports. If you need it sooner, chose the expedited option.
For more information, you may refer to the official DFA Passport website, www.passport.gov.ph.
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