Thursday, November 22, 2007 DFA to issue machine-readable passports
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) 7 will start processing “machine-readable passports” to comply with the International Regulations on Passports by next month, depending on the availability of the required equipment.
The process is expected to eradicate fixing and tampering with the documents.
DFA 7 Director Angel Espiritu said that under the new system, applicants need to appear, sign and fix their thumbprints on their application form before a consular officer at the regional consular office.
Espiritu said applicants are now required to submit three passport-size photographs taken against a royal blue background instead of white as required in the old system.
The photograph, signature and thumbprints of the applicant are stored in the passport database.
A machine generated application form is printed with the personal details of the applicant. The applicant has the responsibility to verify the correctness of the data printed on the form.
Signature
The signature of the applicant on the form indicates that the applicant has read and verified the data.
“The passport fee remains at P500 for regular processing and P750 for expedited processing,” Espiritu said.
Due to this shift to a new system and the expected surge in the number of applicants, the public is advised to apply or renew their passports long before their trip, Espiritu added.
Applicants who opt for the regular processing can have their passports after 25 working days, while those who choose expedited processing can have it within the 15-day working period.
Normalizes
Espiritu said that once the flow normalizes, the processing time will be shortened.
“The processing of the new machine readable passport application will be done in the regional consular office in Cebu City while the printing of the passport will be done at the Department of Foreign Affairs building on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City,” Espiritu said.
The other requirements remain. But for first-time passport applicants, they will have to submit a National Statistics Office-authenticated birth certificate and other documents of identity.
For those renewing their passports, they have to bring the old passport for cancellation. (EOB)
