Philippine passports (Photo from DFA website)
The country’s diplomatic missions overseas will now be issuing 10-year passports at no added charge, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
These passports will almost be like the current electronic passports, with the same design, security features and even number of pages, but their validity will be 10 years instead of five.
The current passport application fees will also apply: P1,200 for “express” processing of 10 working days and P950 for “normal” processing of 20 working days.
The DFA expects to release the first batch of 10-year passports on Jan. 12.
Since Jan. 1 and 2 were holidays, passport applications submitted from Jan. 3 will be issued 10-year passports so long as the applicant is not a minor.
Under the new Philippine Passport Act (Republic Act 10928), applicants who are below 18 years old will still be issued five-year passports.
The DFA said passports issued prior to Jan. 1, 2018 which have a five-year validity, shall remain valid until they expire.
According to Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano, President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 10928 last Aug. 2, but implementation was postponed for five months to enable the DFA to inform other countries about the new passports. /atm