How to apply for a new passport or renew your existing one

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Most of us may already know that since President Duterte assumed office last year, the Department of Foreign Office (DFA) has made the passport application online. This was upon the orders of the President himself, who, before he was elected into office, had said he would not want to see people queuing outside the DFA offices at the wee hours in the night just so they could get the priority numbers. So since then, all we have to do is go online and set an appointment with DFA.

And I have listed here the steps from getting the appointment to completing the entire process at the DFA.

First, here are the requirements:

For the new application, below are the requirements you need to bring to the DFA office on your appointment schedule:

General Requirements
  • Personal appearance
  • Confirmed appointment
  • Duly accomplished application form - may be downloaded from DFA Website
  • Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and duly authenticated by PSA. Transcribed Birth Certificate from the LCR is required when entries in PSA Birth Certificate are blurred or unreadable. (REPORT OF BIRTH DULY AUTHENTICATED BY PSA IF BORN ABROAD)
  • Valid picture IDs and supporting documents to prove identity. (Please refer to List of Acceptable IDs and List of Supporting Documents)

For passport renewal:
General Requirements
  • Personal appearance
  • Confirmed appointment
  • Duly accomplished application form - may be downloaded from DFA Website
  • Most recent expiring or expired passport
  • Valid picture IDs and supporting documents to prove identity.
For the full list of requirements, visit https://www.passport.gov.ph/requirements/new-application.

It is either you set an appointment online first, and then you prepare all the necessary requirements, as usually – especially in Cebu where I had my renewal – the schedule is fully booked by at least one month. Like, as of today (July 14), the whole July and August are already full.

To set an appointment online:

Go here: https://www.passport.gov.ph/appointment. You will see this in your computer:


> Click the Terms and Conditions box (encircled) and start an individual or group appointment. Under INDIVIDUAL appointment, you can only book for one person while in Group, you can reserve for two or more persons.

Once you've clicked the button for individual application, this will show:



Link: https://www.passport.gov.ph/appointment/individual/schedule

> All you have to do is fill all the required fields.

And, when you're done with that part, you will be led to the dates where you can pick your preferred schedule. If a certain day/time you want is already full, click on the following day/s until you get a vacant spot. Once you get a free schedule, you click it to book.



Makes sure to provide ONLY the right information including your passport details (if it's for renewal), as these will reflect on your application form, which you will be bringing to the DFA office.



Click HERE to view your application form, print that

You have to print your application form (the link will be emailed to you shortly after you're done with your online appointment) as it is among the requirements you need to present to the DFA office. The form already has the printed details of your information, which will be checked by the DFA personnel when you get to their office on your scheduled appointment. So again, provide only the right information to avoid hassles later on.

On the day of your appointment, if you are renewing your passport, you need to bring the following:

1. Your passport
2. Photocopies of your passport pages (there are photocopy services in most DFA offices)
3. A valid ID 
4. A photocopy of your ID
5. Your application form
6. Money (P900 for the regular: 15 working days, P1,200 for the express: 7 working days)

At the DFA office, it is advised that you go there at least 30 minutes before your schedule. In DFA Cebu, I was allowed by the guard to go inside at 12:25pm (my schedule was at 1pm). At the information desk, they will check if your name is at the masterlist, and when it is, they will let you inside to start the processing.

It only takes about 30 minutes to have everything done.

The easy steps:

1. Go to the processing section, where your papers will be checked. Make sure you bring the requirements mentioned above.
2. Once all your papers are checked, if you are renewing your passport, your old passport will be punched with holes, which means you have already surrendered it for a new one. You still can bring it though.
3. Then you will pay at the cashier. Keep the receipt as you will use it to claim the passport later on. (Passports can be claimed at the RELEASING area of DFA)
4. For the final step, go to the area where you will sign, give your digital fingerprints and photo. This takes for about 2 minutes.

The DFA Cebu guards will assist the applicants throughout the way. You can also go to them if you have questions.

The appointment schedule may take a while, but the processing is quick. I was done with mine in about 30 minutes, including the waiting time. 

Note: Senior citizens, PWDs, pregnant women and minors need not to make an online appointment. They can go straight to the nearest DFA office.




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