Who should renew their Philippine passports?

DFA recommends to have your Philippine passport renewed if you’re one of the following:

You have an expired passport. Note: Philippine passports now have a 10-year validity so expect the number of expired passports to dwindle over the next few years.

Your Philippine passport has one year (or less than one year) of validity.

You’re married and you want to change the maiden name in your passport to your married name, regardless if your passport is expired/expiring or not.

The first two reasons are a no-brainer. You can’t travel if you have a passport that is invalid either because it’s expired or there are no pages left for the immigration officials to stamp on.

However, if your passport is on the following list, it will be treated as NEW APPLICATION instead of RENEWAL:

Brown passports issued before 01 May 1995

Green passports issued after 01 May 1995

Machine Readable (Maroon) passports issued in 2007

Any older passports

Lost valid or expired ePassport

Frequently lost passport

Mutilated or damaged passport

In addition to the passports mentioned above, applicants who used travel documents to travel back to the Philippines, as well as those who lost such travel documents, will be treated as NEW APPLICATION.

For a complete list of documentary requirements needed to replace the above-mentioned passports/documents with the latest Philippine passport, ---> click here.

If you own one of these passports, follow this step-by-step guide on how to get a new one.

How soon can I renew my Philippine passport?

DFA recommends having your passport renewed as early as one year before its expiration date. Here are two reasons why:

a. First, there are countries that have adopted the “6-month rule,” meaning they don’t allow entry of travelers whose passports have less than 6 months of validity upon arrival.

If you’re about to visit the following countries, make sure your passport has at least (or more than) 6 months left before its expiration date:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Cambodia, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

b. All Philippine passports are printed in the Philippines to prevent the proliferation of counterfeit documents.

If you’re based abroad, it may take between 1 and 2 months for your Philippine passport to be processed and delivered to you.

So in addition to the 6 months of validity required by some countries (including the Philippines), you also have to factor in the time it takes for you to get your renewed passport.

How much does it cost to renew Philippine passport?

Philippine passport renewal fees depend on where you make the appointment/transaction.