I completely forgot that my Philippine Passport will expire in August 2011. I was meaning to renew in back in March after my last travel in Singapore. If not for Nokia’s invitation to fly to SG again, I would have completely forgotten it.
So I went online and tried to schedule for my passport renewal. The closest date I could get was 4 weeks away so that rules it out.
My last option is to apply for extension of the validity of my passport. Here’s what I needed to do that:
1) Photocopy of the front and back pages of your passport.
2) Letter addressed to the Office of the Director, Department of Foreign Affairs stating your urgent case and request for an extension.
3) Photocopy of flight itinerary or plane tickets.
4) Other supporting documents (letter of invitation, work contract if OFW, etc).
In my case, I just printed out the email invitation sent to me by Nokia as well as the booking from their travel agency which shows the dates when I will be flying.
When you go to DFA along Macapagal Avenue, pass thru Gate 3. They will then point you to Door #3 where you will line up at the information booth to show your documents and be given a Form to fill up.
From there, proceed to Door #1 and into the Main Lobby where a guard will check your form and give you a numbered stub. Once your number is called, give back the stub with your name and reason for interview. Your name will then be called out.
The long wait then begins:
Depending on what time you arrive at the DFA and how many people are lining up, expect between half a day to a whole day just to get the interview. I arrived at the DFA just before 8:30AM and was number 22 in line. At 11:30am, they were only serving #18.
The worst part is that they are calling out names and not numbers so it’s hard to track the progress unless you ask the guard once in a while.
I got out just a quarter past 12 noon — my application for extension was granted, given a receipt to pay Php200 at the Cashier on the 2nd floor, and come back 2 days later to pick up my passport.
Was talking to a lot of people who were also getting their extensions (mostly OFWs) and found out sometimes the process is fast (one guy only waited 15 minutes) and sometimes it’s really long (as in whole day long). I guess my 4 hours of wait is just the average.
Note: I am told by the officer that they will grant me the extension but I should not be using it repeatedly and that I am to file for renewal as soon as I get back. So it’s really a case to case basis.
As expected getting important documents from government offices like this will always take a long time. Time for them to get “digital”. The way how these gov’t offices handle documents is considered a “thing of a past”. Not only those who get documents suffer from these slow processes; also, those who manage these documents suffer as well.
I remember when my brother patiently waited his NSO Birth Certificate for 10 months. That’s “awesome”…i mean awful! I can’t believe my brother managed to wait for 10 months just for a single piece of paper containing the information about his birth!
Come on, it’s 2011 and yet they process documents like it was during Jose Rizal’s time?
this is really bad, digital age na pero paurong naman ang system ng pinas haaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyysssssssssss
bakit kaya di nila gayahin ung sistema sa recto? mas time-efficient pa ung sa recto kesa sa DFA eh. sa recto, parehong-parehong quality withing minutes. sa DFA,ang tagal samantalang simpleng print nlng naman ung gagawnin. hayssss. dapat ang gawing empleyado ng DFA ay mga taga-recto, mas may sense of urgency pa… kasi kelangan nila ng pera para makakain samatalang ung nasa taas… tinatamad na gumawa dahil may sweldo na sila.
getting such important documents in a government office is a geek’s nightmare. yeah, look at the way how they process documents…very sssssslllllooooowwwwwwwwwwwww….
at first kala ko ok na talaga system ng DFA since online ka mag papa-sched ng appointment mo, lalagay mo details mo online. worst thing is pag dating mo dun sa “encoding area” itype ulit lahat nung encoder lahat ng information… tsktsk.. kaya pala ang tagal tagal… ginawa mo na nga un sa online system nila di pa nila mapull-out.
one more thing, almost all gov’t employees ang yayabang di nila maiisip na tayo ang nagpapasweldo sa kanila dahil sa tax… tsktsk
Twitter: Teknisyan
says:
yeah… the appointment system still a far cry from being a real online service for a gov agency. But like what the post said… you will either stay there for just 15 minutes or as long as a wholeday. I sure hope they improved on their service.
pinoy nga naman.. tsk3x dapat magbago na tayo para naman umasenso..
Kung mag-aapply ako for extension, gaano katagal un eextend sa passport ko?
PLEASE !!! i need a response!