My Passport Application Day
Setting an appointment online is a big help! Especially when many people who stand by the DFA entrance can mislead you, saying “Dito ho ang pagkuha ng number!,” will look at you as if you should believe them or else… while proudly displaying their IDs which I dare not read.
With a printout of the e-mail that indicates your reference number, you just have to proceed to Gate 2, fall in a line that progresses in a short while, and submit your requirements:
1. Accomplished Passport Application form, downloaded from the DFA website
2. 3 passport size photos, taken against a royal blue background, applicant in collared top (I spotted a photo stall inside the DFA compound. They will provide your Americana!)
3. Original copy of Birth Certificate issued by the NSO
4. Photocopy of one valid ID
That’s all! And upon verification of documents, you will just proceed to the auditorium for the payment. It’s that easy. I just had a problem with number three because my birth certificate is just a copy certified by the city civil registrar. They don’t honor that. So I had to make a quick trip to the NSO along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue and had my BC released before 12 noon. Mahaba ang pila, pero mabilis naman ang pag-usad. Paid Php 140 and later on discovered that DFA gets the original. Considering the delay, the process still didn’t take me that long. I arrived at 9:00 am and finished at 1:30. Without the appointment they say, I should be there before six in the morning to avoid long queues.
Madali lang din ang pagko-commute. Just rode the MRT up to Taft Ave and boarded a jeep to DFA. Walking distance lang din hanggang NSO but I just rode the trike. O ‘di ba, ‘di naman talaga ganoon kahirap mag-apply ng passport.
Siguro iniisip na ng iba, mag-o-OFW (Overseas Filipino Writer) ba si MJ? Hindi naman. Gusto ko lang talaga ng pasaporte para sa mga ‘di inaasahang pangyayari. =) Nung nakita ng encoder ‘yung occupation ko, tanong niya, “Anong sinusulat mo?” Napangiti lang ako at napasagot ng: Scripts. Kaya wala munang scripts ang mga hosts ko ngayon kasi nandito ako.
With a printout of the e-mail that indicates your reference number, you just have to proceed to Gate 2, fall in a line that progresses in a short while, and submit your requirements:
1. Accomplished Passport Application form, downloaded from the DFA website
2. 3 passport size photos, taken against a royal blue background, applicant in collared top (I spotted a photo stall inside the DFA compound. They will provide your Americana!)
3. Original copy of Birth Certificate issued by the NSO
4. Photocopy of one valid ID
That’s all! And upon verification of documents, you will just proceed to the auditorium for the payment. It’s that easy. I just had a problem with number three because my birth certificate is just a copy certified by the city civil registrar. They don’t honor that. So I had to make a quick trip to the NSO along Diosdado Macapagal Avenue and had my BC released before 12 noon. Mahaba ang pila, pero mabilis naman ang pag-usad. Paid Php 140 and later on discovered that DFA gets the original. Considering the delay, the process still didn’t take me that long. I arrived at 9:00 am and finished at 1:30. Without the appointment they say, I should be there before six in the morning to avoid long queues.
Madali lang din ang pagko-commute. Just rode the MRT up to Taft Ave and boarded a jeep to DFA. Walking distance lang din hanggang NSO but I just rode the trike. O ‘di ba, ‘di naman talaga ganoon kahirap mag-apply ng passport.
Siguro iniisip na ng iba, mag-o-OFW (Overseas Filipino Writer) ba si MJ? Hindi naman. Gusto ko lang talaga ng pasaporte para sa mga ‘di inaasahang pangyayari. =) Nung nakita ng encoder ‘yung occupation ko, tanong niya, “Anong sinusulat mo?” Napangiti lang ako at napasagot ng: Scripts. Kaya wala munang scripts ang mga hosts ko ngayon kasi nandito ako.
