Getting a valid ID: Passport Application Experience!!!!
After graduating in college, I feel like I lost my identity...
I'm not actually talking about an identity crisis, but the proof that I am who I say I am 😂. When I was a student, my student ID works fine for identification. I can use it anytime, anywhere whenever they ask for an ID. Sure there are other valid IDs here in the Philippines like postal ID, voter's ID, etc. but studying far from my hometown made it harder for me to acquire these IDs.
So how can I tell people that I am Rigi? Get a valid ID! Here is a list of valid IDs in the PH. Narrowing it down, I had three choices, voter's ID, postal ID and a passport. Something happened recently that I decided to get passport. It will be useful if I'd be given a chance to go outside the country!
Getting the requirements!
Looking at the Department of Foreign Affairs website, I found the requirements here and here. First and foremost, I need to set an appointment online. Luckily, on the day that I was checking out their website, they just released new slots so I was able to get an appointment last January 17!
I've got a problem though, I only had my college ID and birth certificate... I need to get at least three documents that proves my identity!!! Checking out the requirements, I decided to get barangay, police and NBI clearance because it was the easiest to get on such short time.
I tried to get all the clearance in one day. I was able to get the barangay and police clearance easily. But for the NBI clearance, I had to make an online appointment too and get it on their nearest office which is in Pagsanjan, Laguna. Being a probinsya girl, commuting alone is hard for me. So I had to ask questions all the time, and I'm always alert because what if I missed my stop?
When I arrived at their office, there was a long waiting line. But since I had an appointment, they gave me a number so I didn't have to wait that long. It turns out that I can't get my clearance that same day and I had to come back the following week. :( Goodbye to one of my requirements.
My friend Jove is going to apply with me, but her requirements are complete but then she realised her birth certificate is still NSO and for some reason NSO is PSA now and DFA requires the most recent birth certificate(which should be PSA certified not NSO). It was the day before our appointment! I told her to get one on a PSA office to be able to get it that same day. The closest to us is in Lipa, Batangas. I accompanied her because I got confident on my commuting skills. Hehe (Thank you Aira @erangvee for the instructions on how to get to Lipa!) We arrived at around 11 AM. There was a looooooong line! We stood in line until 3 PM. And by 4 PM we got our birth certificates! (I got one too just to be sure.)
We now have all our requirements!!!!
Passport Application!!!
We arrived at the DFA Manila at around 12 noon. Our appointment is 1 PM. We started on a line where they checked our requirements. They asked for my application form(which they provided when you get your appointment), my valid ID where I presented my college ID, and lastly, my birth certificate. That was it. Those were the only requirements that they asked from me... All the effort in getting the clearances gone to waste...
Next we proceeded to payment. We paid Php 900 since we're not in a rush. If we want to get our passport in just 7 days we should pay Php 1200. We then waited for us to be called to get our picture taken and check the information that they will put on the passport. We were called after 15 minutes. We were done! Also there is an option if you want your passport to be delivered. We applied for that one and it costs Php 150.
Thoughts...
It was really fast! It took us about 1 hour to finish our application. It's not bad. I expected to wait in line for more than 2 hours. I got disappointed in the requirements though. I was nervous the whole time thinking what if they reject my application because I lack some of the requirements... But it was okay because the important thing is that my application went smooth. We can get our passport on February 7. So excited! I think the DFA has improved greatly in their service. The validity of the passport which is 10 years is also a plus! Overall, it was a nice experience for me. 😊