At some point, passports of Filipino workers based in the United Arab Emirates will expire, thereby curtailing their freedom to travel overseas. Needless to say, the such a passport needs to be renewed. The introduction of passports with 10-year validity has encouraged more Filipinos to renew their passports.
For UAE residents, here is a guideline on how to apply for a new passport or have their old ones renewed.
1. Set a passport appointment.
An appointment for a passport application at Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai can be made online.
- Set an appointment for passport application at Philippine Consulate in Dubai
- Set an appointment for passport application at Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi
This can be made around 10 months from passport’s expiration date. Make sure to only make one appointment per applicant. Multiple bookings may prevent you from receiving your booking confirmation and may lead to cancellation of your appointment
There are certain exemptions for an appointment such as:
a. OFW (overseas Filipino workers) who need to provide proof such as employment contract or working visa;
b. Senior Citizen with Senior Citizen ID;
c. Person with Disability (PWDs) with PWD ID or visible disability;
d. Solo Parent with Valid Solo Parent ID;
e. Pregnant women with a medical certificate; and
f. Seafarers
g. Minors; seven years old and below.
Such eligible persons for exemption may avail of the OFW or Priority LANE at the regional Consular Office for passport application.
2. Prepare required documents
Applicants must prepare complete and authenticated (if applicable) documents as listed below.
a. For adults, download and complete form for renewal (download here)
b. Your current passport
c. A copy of the data page (where your name and photo is shown) and visa page (where the valid visa is stamped on) in your passport.
d. In case you are also looking to amend your name details such as last name change during renewal, you need more documents on a case-to-case basis. For example, to change your maiden last name to married last name, you must carry an original copy and photocopy of your marriage certificate certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (formerly NSO) or ‘Report of Marriage’.
Documents above must be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
3. On your day of appointment
a. Get a queue number form at the Information Counter in the Philippine Embassy or Consulate.
b. Soon as your number is called, the staff at the embassy or consulate will verify the authenticity of all the documents submitted.
c. Upon receiving clearance that documents are valid and complete, pay a passport fee of AED240.
d. After payment, your biometric and other data will get encoded. Make sure your name, address and other details (spelling and accuracy) are correct at this stage. Corrections made later will incur an additional fee.
4. Collecting your passport
Typically new passports are released between six to 12 weeks after appointment. However, this is not guaranteed and delays can happen. This is the consulate and embassy advise getting started at least 10 months prior to your passport’s expiry date.
a. Applicant must be present in person and bring the old passport (if not submitted earlier), fee receipt or claim stub if provided.
b. Those who won’t be able to collect the passport in person can authorize immediate family members. This requires an authorization letter, a copy of valid ID or passport and the applicant’s documents (passport, receipt, claim stub).
Additional questions and answers:
Q. I want to revert to my maiden name (marriage annulled, widowed, etc), what documents are required?
1. Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)
• If BC is unavailable: Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and duly authenticated by PSA
• If entries are blurred or unreadable: Transcribed Birth Certificate from the LCR is required when entries in PSA Birth Certificate
• If born abroad: Report of Birth duly authenticated by PSA
2. If widowed: Death Certificate in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) of the deceased husband
3. If marriage is annulled: Annotated PSA Marriage Contract and Certified True Copy (CTC) of Court Order effecting the annulment.
4. If divorced: Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Divorce Decree duly authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate where the divorce was obtained or by the concerned foreign diplomatic or consular mission in the Philippines. Certified True Copy (CTC) of Philippine Court recognition of foreign divorce decree must also be present and the PSA Marriage Contract with the annotation of the Divorce Decree.
NOTE: All documents must be duly authenticated by the DFA
Note: If the Filipino spouse acted as plaintiff, and has since remarried and assumed her second or succeeding spouse’s surname, the Embassy/Consulate General may issue a Certificate of One and the Same Person, indicating both of the names used by the applicant and an explanation of why the new passport cannot reflect her current married name.
Q. What are acceptable proofs of identification / ID cards?
• 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
• Improved/Premium Postal ID
Other acceptable picture IDs such as the following:
• Old College ID
• Alumni ID
• Old Employment IDs
Q. What are other valid supporting documents accepted?
• PSA Marriage Contract (duly Authenticated by the DFA)
• PSA Birth Certificate of childbearing parent’s (the concerned passport applicant’s) signature (duly Authenticated by the DFA)
• Land Title
• Seaman’s Book
• Elementary or High School Form 137 or Transcript of Records with readable dry seal (duly Authenticated by the DFA)
• Government Service Record (duly Authenticated by the DFA)
• NBI Clearance (duly Authenticated by the DFA)
• Readable SSS-E1 Form or Microfilmed Copy of SSS-E1 Form
• Voter’s Certification, List of Voters and Voter’s Registration Record
• School Yearbook
