machine readable passport...

[mayana]

[SIZE=2]E-passports ready for first-time applicants by September 17[/SIZE]

The Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday that starting September 17, the new machine-readable passports are available for first-time applicants.
The department will maintain the P500 passport fee for regular processing and P750 for expedited processing of the electronic passport.
Applicants who apply for regular processing can get their passports after 14 working days, and those who opt for expedited processing can get their passports after seven working days.
The department assured the public of reduced processing period when the flow of applicants normalizes.
Because of the shift to the new system, the department expects a surge in the number of applicants.
Hence, applicants are advised to apply for or renew their passports way ahead of their expected date of travel.
Under the new system, a machine-generated application form is printed with the personal details of the applicant.
Passport applicants have to appear in person, sign and thumbprints on the application form before a consular officer at the department’s offices.
All applicants are required to submit three copies of passport-sized photographs taken with a royal-blue background, instead of the customary white background.
The photograph, signature and thumbprints of the applicant are stored in the passport database.
First-time applicants have to submit their birth certificates from the National Statistics Office and other documents of identity.
Applicants for renewal have to bring the old passport for cancellation.
Last month the department began issuing the new e-passports to renewal applicants, senior citizens and overseas Filipino workers.

[userfriendly]

Just renewed mine last month still old green handwritten passport.

Can someone pls confirm if the green passport is valid until it expires or do we need to get the new one by 2010 as previously posted.

[wranglerboy]

tamang-tama,,,april2008 expiry ng passport nmin ni esmi...we'll be able to avail of the new format

[shadow]

Just renewed mine last month still old green handwritten passport.

Can someone pls confirm if the green passport is valid until it expires or do we need to get the new one by 2010 as previously posted.

yes, It's valid until the expiration....

[hungryalien]

"expedited processing".. dont we just love that here in pinas.. everything must have special, VIP route for those feeling important? hehe

even if all your passports are machine readable now, di rin ata kaya ng immigration stations natin sa airport. unlike sa other countries na lahat ng station may bar code reader/computer.. sa NAIA natin, iisa or dalawa lang station meron (OFW, Diplomatic).

[shadow]

^^^siyempre pag implemented na ang majortiy meron ng e-passport bibili na sila ng additional machine readers....sus naman....

[hungryalien]

err i did said "now" didnt i?

nag line up ako only to find out walang reader yun counter. had to line up again by the ofw/diplomatic counter since thats the only one with reader.

btw, thats in naia 1.. i think the PAL/naia 2 have more counters with reader.

[VtEC]

so pag pala full implementation nayan at nasa ibang bansa ka at inabutan ka na ng expiration then hawak mo yong luma dina pwede magrenew abroad??sa case kasi dito ala namang phil embassy.kaya papadala pa sa washington para magrenew.

[explorer]

DFA starts processing machine-readable passports Monday

September 16, 2007
Updated 20:25:29 (Mla time)
Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines--The Department of Foreign Affairs expects a surge in new passport applications and renewals as it starts accepting from the public applications for the new machine-readable passports (MRPs).

“Starting tomorrow [Monday], all applications, both first-timers and renewals, will be for MRPs,” said Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Domingo Lucenario Jr. on Sunday.

The MRPs were initially made available in July only to public officials, senior citizens, migrant workers and their dependents.

MRPs, tamper-proof because of its embedded biometrics security images, will be available at the DFA head office and at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Lucenario said.

By next month, he said, the DFA would bring the MRP technology to its 11 regional consular service offices across the country and eventually to its foreign service posts around the world.

“This is a passport that complies with international standards. This is the way to go. The MRPs are better secured and more globally at par,” Lucenario said.

MRPs, a requirement under the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, have been widely used in countries around the world as the technology enables faster processing at immigration counters, neater record-keeping and immediate retrieval and checking.

The new maroon passports will cost the same as the manually read green passports at P500 for regular processing and P750 for express processing.

Lucenario, however, said the public would have to bear with the slower processing time for the MRPs as the DFA’s systems and personnel were still adjusting to the new process.

“There will be no change in terms of cost but the process will take a little longer. If before it took three days for express and six days for regular processing, now it will take seven days for express and 14 for regular processing,” Lucenario said.

He assured the public the number of processing days would eventually be reduced.

The DFA decided to open MRP applications to the public after it acquired enough booklets from Philippine central bank, which supplies the upgraded passports.

It earlier issued around 10,000 MRPs to senior citizens, migrant workers and government employees who were given first crack at the new passports.

The MRP project is an interim measure. The country will eventually shift to fully electronic passports, which use embedded chips to store the passport bearer’s data.

[_Qwerty_]

received this email:

FOR INQUIRIES RE NEW PASSPORT PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS, CALL (02) 737-1000

Pilipinas Teleserv Inc. Gives Passport Applicants Much Sought After Convenience

Last September 17, 2007, the Department of Foreign Affairs had started issuing machine-readable passports to all passport applicants. Under the new system, applicants have to personally appear at the DFA, sign and affix their thumbprints on their application form before a consular officer.

Due to the shift to the new system and the expected surge in the number of passport applicants, people are advised to apply or renew their passports way ahead of their expected travel time. However, with that expectation, the DFA in coordination with Pilipinas Teleserv Inc., the foremost Citizen Services provider in the country, initiated the 24-hour Passport Assistance Hotline 737-1000.

With the 24-hour Passport Assistance hotline, renewal applicants can now call and have their passports picked-up and pre-processed for them. After pre-processing, the applicant will be scheduled to appear before the DFA consular officer where they will affix their thumbmarks and signature. Teleserv's personnel will be ready to escort and assist the client the moment they arrive at the DFA. With this faster passport processing procedure dubbed “Green Lane Passport Assistance”, on the average, the process will only take about 10 minutes of the applicant's time, doing away with long and tedious steps encountered by ordinary passport applicants. The service also comes with a door-to-door delivery that covers the whole country from Batanes to Jolo.

Unlike the old passport version, where the name and other personal information is written down, the new passport is similar to foreign visas, where a sticker containing all these data is stuck on the first page. Under ultraviolet light, the information page reveals the security features that include the seal of the Republic of the Philippines. The picture itself contains the name of the holder and a ghost-picture. On the inner pages, images like the sampaguita flower, Rizal monument, Mayon volcano and others can also be seen under UV light.

FOR INQUIRIES RE NEW PASSPORT PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS, CALL (02) 737-1000

Please check www.passport.com.ph for more info