Thinking of traveling abroad for work or pleasure? Having your own passport is one of the most basic requirements for you to do that.
So just in case you still don’t have your passport and you are interested to get one, here are the needed steps for first-time passport applicants:
Personal Appearance
First, you need to make a personal appearance. Before doing this, you should have a scheduled passport appointment and then make sure that you show up on the date and time indicated. This is important so you can have your photo and biometric data taken.
Speaking of the appointment, scheduling is free of charge for both new and renewal passport applicants. Once you have a confirmed schedule, be sure to be there at the DFA office at least 30 minutes before the appointed time.
Required Documents
Of course, you should bring a duly accomplished application form which you can download in advance from the DFA website.
You will also need to submit your Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) as issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or a Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and duly authenticated by PSA.
For those who were born abroad, you will need to present a Report of Birth duly authenticated by PSA.
Along with that, you will need to submit at least 1 valid picture IDs and other supporting documents to prove your identity.
The following government-issued IDs are acceptable for passport application:
- Digitized SSS ID
- Driver’s License
- GSIS E-card
- PRC ID
- IBP ID
- OWWA ID
- Digitized BIR ID
- Senior Citizen’s ID
- Unified Multi-Purpose ID
- Voter’s ID
- Premium Postal ID
Other accepted picture IDs are:
- Old college ID
- Alumni ID
- Employment ID
If required, you may also need to submit at least 2 of these supporting documents:
- PSA Marriage Contract
- Land Title
- Seaman’s Book
- School Form 137 (for minor applicants)
- Transcript of Records with Readable Seal
- Government Service Record
- NBI Clearance
- Police Clearance
- Barangay Clearance
- Digitized Postal ID
- Readable SSS-E1 Form or Microfilm Copy of SSS-E1 Form
- Voter’s Certification, List of Voters and Voter’s Registration Record
- School Yearbook
When bringing the documents, make sure that the spelling, dates, and other personal details are consistent so as to avoid any problems in your application.
Suggested post: Allowed IDs And Supporting Documents For SSS And Passport Applications
Passport Fees
Finally, you have two options when it comes to passport processing – the regular processing and the expedited processing (or express processing).
Regular processing costs Php 950.00 and you will have to wait for 10 to 15 working days if you are from Metro Manila or 30 working days if you are from the province before you can receive your passport.
Expedited processing, meanwhile, is at Php 1,200 and you will have to wait for 7 to 10 working days if you are from Metro Manila or 20 working days if you are from the province before you can receive your passport.
For more details regarding passport application, you can visit the DFA Consular website at http://consular.dfa.gov.ph/new-applicant.