Filipino expats urged to apply for e-passports

Filipinos in the UAE are being urged to renew their passports and switch to e-passports under standards set by International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Filipinos queue-up for their new, electronic passports at the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National

ABU DHABI // Filipino expatriates are being urged to switch to electronic passports to avoid running into difficulty at airports around the world.

All non-machine-readable passports may no longer be extended beyond October 31, 2015, and will be completely phased out by November 24 of the same year.

Only electronic passports will be accepted by immigration authorities after October 2015 as the old passports are phased out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“If right now our nationals still hold the [old] maroon, machine-readable passports or even the old green passports, we advise them to get the e-passports as soon as they can, which is 10 months before the expiration of their passports,” said Grace Princesa, the Philippine ambassador to the UAE, on Tuesday.

“Both old passports are still valid until the date. However, based on ICAO standards and our government’s regulations, everyone should have their e-passports by October 2015.”

The Philippine foreign affairs department began issuing new maroon e-passports in August 2009. It has a logo of the microchip below the crest on the front cover.

The e-passport has a chip embedded in one of the passport pages, which contains data essential to verifying the validity of the passport and includes the personal data found on the data page of the passport, the biometrics of the passport holder, a unique chip identification number and a digital signature to verify the authenticity of the data stored on the chip.

Ms Princesa made a similar call to UAE employers who hold the passports of Filipino staff.

“We request those companies, which have the passports of Filipinos under their custody, to please check them regularly so that we will not face the challenge in renewing the passports,” she said. “It takes about two to three months, as of now, due to the volume of passport applications.”

Filipinos can have the validity of their old passports extended for 10 months only, said Roseny Fangco, vice consul at the embassy.

“If the applicant requires a longer period, then proof must be presented to justify a longer extension,” she said. “We urge Filipinos to set an appointment as soon as they can.”

Applications have to be sent to Manila and returned in a process that takes up two to three months.

Applicants need to secure their appointments through a manual system, which requires them to submit their names, contact numbers, and preferred appointment date. It can take up to four months to secure an appointment.

“We discourage walk-in applicants because we don’t want them to waste their time,” Ms Fangco said. “We are bypassing the appointment system for applicants in the event of an emergency by accommodating up to 20 walk-ins on top of the 130 applicants with an appointment.”

Priority will be given to the elderly, children under seven, and the disabled, she said.

Carlo Billones, 45, who has worked in a car rental company in Abu Dhabi for eight years, turned up at the embassy at 9am to secure an appointment. His passport, which is being held by his employer, expires in December this year.

“I know that our passport needs to be valid for at least six months if we intend to travel within that period,” he said. “But our PRO [public relations officer] told me that I can renew it now.”

He waited in the queue for an hour and a half to get an appointment, only to be told to return on February 9, between 1pm and 3pm.

“They can accommodate 20 walk-ins per day but I need to be in the queue as early as midnight,” Mr Billones said. “I would rather wait until February to renew it since I won’t be travelling anytime soon and my residence visa is still valid until December 2015.”

Ms Princesa meanwhile called on her compatriots in the UAE to take care of their e-passports.

“The passport is the most important document for workers, so they should ensure that it is in its best condition,” she said. “The e-passport has a special chip so it shouldn’t be kept in back pockets, stapled or folded.”