DFA Passport Slots Closed for now

Many were wondering about the Passport Appointment System of the DFA Office. Since month it was not possible to get an open Slot and all Slots until July 2018 were already filled. From that date onward was also no option available. Now the DFA Office issued an official statement regarding this problem.

PUBLIC ADVISORY of the DFA Office

Passport Online Appointment Slots

27 April 2018 — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) wishes to inform the public that passport online appointment slots from July 2018 onwards have not been opened in preparation for the enhancement of the passport online appointment system through implementation of ePayment. The ePayment will enable applicants to pay at a payment facility of their choice before going to any DFA Consular Office in the Philippines. This will make the passport application process faster by lessening the amount of time each applicant spends at a Consular Office. The ePayment will also minimize the number of no-show applicants and open more online appointment slots.

Pilot tests of ePayment are ongoing. Once ePayment is launched, online appointment slots for the remaining months of the year will be opened. In the meantime, the DFA continues to open slots for May and June. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

There was no further statement if and when the new payment system will be finally implemented. The basic idea is certainly very good. However, there are plenty of cases where citizens, who carried passports for decades, were not able to renew in time due to the problems in the system and had to cancel their travel plans. While for some is a priority system in place (OFW, single mothers, etc.) others have no chance to even get a slot due to the temporary shut-down of the DFA Online Appointment system. Let’s hope the ePayment will be tested and in place soon to keep the backlog in reasonable size.

You can find here all info on how to set an Passport Online Appointment (when all is up and running) and the passport requirements for to apply for a passport.