Do you have an upcoming family travel and realized you need to renew your child’s passport? Whether you are traveling or need it for other purposes such as immigration, it is best to maintain at least a 6-month validity. On the other hand, kids’ passports are only valid for 5 years, therefore, you have to make sure this important government identification are updated.
So how do you renew your child’s passport? What are the requirements needed for Philippine passport renewal for minors? I’m sharing to you my experience when I renewed my kids’ passports.
Steps in passport renewal for Filipino minors
-
Set an appointment
As of this writing, appointment is needed via the government portal, www.passport.gov.ph. Even if you haven’t used this portal before, it is easy to follow.
One thing that you have to careful is this data:
When you choose a birthdate that will make the applicant a minor, the encircled information appears. You have to be careful in putting the name of the “Traveling Companion”. It’s because the traveling companion should be the one who will also accompany the minor for his/her passport renewal (in our experience).
You have 24 hours to pay after you receive the confirmation email of your appointment. I always pay at 7-Eleven.
Who doesn’t need an appointment?
When it comes to renewing passports for minors, you don’t need to schedule an appointment if:
- Minors seven (7) and below and his/her parents and his/her siblings
This means that if you (as parent) have a child below 7, you also don’t need an appointment as long as you will be renewal your passports together. The same if you have children with different ages as long as one of them is 7 and below, no need for an appointment.
Take note that DFA will check the validity of the passports because some people tend to take advantage of this exemption. If your passport will expire in less than 1 year and your minor (below 7) still has more than 1 year validity, they may not accept your child’s passport renewal application.
2. Prepare all your documents
As of this writing, here are the documents needed for passport renewal for minors Philippines:
- Print outs of receipts and application form of your appointment
- Old passport
- Copy of Minor’s Birth Certificate
- Copy of Parents’ Marriage Certificate
- Copy of Accompanying Parent’s Passport
- Identification cards like school ID. If none, ask for a certification from your school. This is not listed as a requirement but I was asked when we renewed our passport. Since my kids’ still don’t have their new IDs yet, I had to ask for a school certification. However, when we came back to DFA, they didn’t ask for an ID or looked for it (I even asked my college classmate who is now a consul in an embassy that this shouldn’t be a requirement anymore for passport renewal). So I wasted money for the certificate and time 🙁
3. DFA Appearance
Come 30 minutes before your appointment. Wear proper clothes – no tank tops, shorts, etc.
4. Proceed to the Information Desk
Upon entering, your documents will be checked if you completed them. They will also check if you arrive at your scheduled appointment. If you need to copy some documents, there is a photocopier. You will be given a strip of paper that you need to sign as confirmation that all information is correct.
5. Head to the Processing Booth
Wait for your name to be called. They will verify your documents if they will accept it or not. This is where I was asked for the kids’ ID. The staff won’t accept my plea since kid2 looked different (he was 4) in his old passport. If you’re good, they will ask you to sign the strip of paper given to you at the Information Booth (Step 4)
6. Give your receipt copies to the Cashier
The cashier will ask 2 copies of your receipt (they will keep one copy). Therefore, instead of 1 copy (as stated in the appointment portal), have an additional copy.
7. Sit down and wait for your turn at the Encoding
This is the part where it will take some time but it basically depends on your schedule. Wait for your child’s name to be called and parents must accompany them.
Parent will be asked to verify that all information that will appear in your child’s passport is correct (very important!) and then will be asked to sign. Kid2 was in another booth and since he is 12, he signed his application himself.
Get the final receipt and take note of your releasing date.
8. Come back for Releasing
Documents to bring in claiming your new Philippine Passport:
- Old passport of minor/s
- Receipt I lost my receipt, the guard told me to photocopy my passport instead.
Review all information before you sign. And that’s it, your kid/s now have their new passport that they can use for the next 5 years!
Notes
- The requirements seem the same as first time passport applications, but I brought their birth certificates and my marriage certificate just in case. True, they looked for it. So mommies or parents, just bring them. #GirlScoutMode
- When completing the application form online, there is one part that will ask who will be traveling with the child. The adult should be one of the parents and should be the same one that will accompany the minor at DFA when renewing his/her passport.
- Parent’s passport was not listed in the requirements but they asked. I asked them what if it will be the grandparent who will accompany the child for renewal? The staff said, it should be one of the parents unless the parent are OFWs or abroad. I hope someone from DFA can clarify this for me and you readers because I’m not totally sold the the staff’s explanation. 😀
- I prefer to set my appointment on Saturdays. Though there is additional payment, you don’t have to pull out your child from school and less of a crowd during Saturdays.Thanks for reading!
Please visit DFA site for the most updated information on passport renewal.
