Passport Renewal in Davao City

[ellmvl 1]

Ok I just want to share with you all, my "combat" in getting my passport renewal. I have an old passport under my maiden name which I haven't use at all. Since I am married now and the passport is soon to expire in Sept. 2010, I decided to apply for renewal in advance while waiting for my petition to be approved.

A VJ friend of mine told me the list of requirements she submitted to renew her passport with her married name and one of them is a certification from Guidance and Counseling Seminar conducted by the CFO either in Manila or Cebu. This seminar is for those who are spouse of foreign nationals. I was surprise and i really didn't expect this. So i got all panic since I live in Davao City and it is too costly for me to fly to Cebu or Manila just for a 2 hour seminar. Well, I excuse myself from work and went to the Department of Foreign Affairs here in Davao to inquire about the requirements for renewal of passport especially for those who are married to a foreign national. I was so happy to hear from them that they don't need the certification as long as I can provide our NSO authenticated Marriage Certificate. Thank God i didnt rush to buy a ticket and fly to Manila today to attend the seminar.

Anyways, I arrived at the DFA office around 7:45AM so I have more time to process the whole AM then go to work in the afternoon. When I got there the line was too longggggggggggggggggg already. Gosh, I wonder what time did they start to make the line...maybe I was still dreaming in bed when those people got there LOL. So around 9:30AM finally I got my numbern #159 but the guy told me to come back @1 PM. so that means I can't go to work all day. So i went home for lunch and came back around 1:30PM coz I know they won't really start @ exactly 1PM. When i got there they were already calling number 131-140...so i just got on time. After another 30 mins of waiting, they finally called my number and the lady checked my papers. I submitted the ff: Application form, authenticated marriage license from NSO, photocopy of the front and back of my old passport. The lady made a correction of my name Mary_cris which is supposed to be just one word "Marycris" She said it's 2 words on my old passport, so i showed her my birth certificate to proved it's just 1 word. So she changed it back to the right one. After she looked over my papers she asked me to wait til they call my name. Thank God I finally got a seat coz the place is packed with people and it's tooooooooooo hot, a/c is not working urrghhh can't breathe and I've waited for like an hour to be called. I went to the counter and the lady showed me the computer screen to make sure all the info's encoded are correct before they print it. Well she made a mistake on my mom's maiden name but it's all ok now. Then she printed it and i signed it then went to thumbprint table gave the papers back to the lady and went back to my seat to wait for the Cashier to call my name. After 30 mins of waiting i finally paid my passport and the cashier told me to claim it on Nov. 19 because I only paid the regular processing fee which is P500 for 25 days...if you want it done in 15 days you have to pay P750...and if you want to have it delivered to your house you can pay the LBC for P100. Well i am not in a hurry so i just paid the regular processing fee. So after I paid....im done! woooohooooo Gosh I was sooooo happy to get out from that crowded place.

Just a piece of advice...if you want a hassle free and go for a travelling agencies to handle your passport make sure they are accredited agencies AND don't deal with the fixers outside the DFA office...they're sooooo annoying anyway. LOL

ok ok im gonna end this now coz my husband is nagging at me already. Bye bye...hope this could give you info if you are planning to get your passport renewed and if you are from Davao City. Goodluck!

Smile

[mergee 0]

hi im from davao also, i go through agency when i applied for a passport.. though it costs 2x the price, but still its hassle free and relaxing =)