audrey at the dfa

This morning our family had a little field trip over at the DFA Aseana office in Parañaque to apply for a passport for Audrey. Since I also needed to renew my passport to reflect my married name and updated civil status, I booked a family appointment for us at their online appointment website (www.passport.com.ph) for 7:30am.

We got to DFA before 7 as you are supposed to be there 30 minutes prior to your appointment. Initially we were directed to the Courtesy Lane section, for senior citizens, PWDs, pregnant women, and minors under age 7. However, that service was apparently for the aforementioned people without online appointments. We were told to have our printed online application forms verified by DFA personnel.

Fortunately, not being in the Courtesy Lane did not mean we were not given priority (as applicants with an infant). While we waited for the counters to open at 7:30, my husband photocopied my passport just outside the area. I made the mistake of printing out a scanned copy of just the information page of my passport (I had forgotten my passport when I was photocopying the requirements). If you have the e-Passport, you need both pages—the personal information page, where all your details are written, as well as the adjoining page.

Photocopy BOTH pages.

The kind lady officer directed Audrey and me to sit with the senior citizens. After a few minutes, Audrey woke up, and thank heavens did not make a fuss. At 7:24 (I checked my watch when their boss lady told everyone to open their counters), they started processing the priority applicants, us included. 

After checking our requirements, we then headed to the second floor to pay the fees. They grouped us again with other priority applicants so we were able to finish quickly.

The last step is encoding, where you have your picture taken. Since we were the first batch of appointments for the day, our number was almost immediately called. Most of the counters were open so they were able to serve everyone who was done at the cashier. Audrey had her photo taken first, sitting on top of a box on the chair with me holding her under her arms. This took a lot of arm power on my part since I had to crouch down while holding her up so I won’t be seen by the camera. I also had to grasp her under her shirt so my hands would be hidden. Then, thanks to a combination of the officer’s stapler and Harvey’s “Audrey! Look here! Audrey!”, we were able to snap a pretty good passport picture of our baby. It took several tries, but fortunately Audrey cooperated.

Why yes, I have extra long arms.

If you won’t be availing of the courier service to have your passport delivered, you’re done at this stage. We wanted ours delivered so we spent a few extra minutes paying for the delivery service.

Total time at DFA (including waiting time): 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Total time of the passport renewal and application process for Audrey and me: 40 minutes. Not bad!

P.S. 

Suggestion for DFA:

If you will require a personal appearance of infants for passport application, please have easy access to restrooms with changing tables. Audrey pooped after the first step, and we were told we could change her in the second floor. Once we got there, though, the guard told us the restroom was downstairs and outside. So we had to go back down. Then because there was no changing table, we just laid the baby in between the sinks with a blanket. The space was big enough, but barely. Audrey kept grabbing at the sinks (which were raised) while I changed her.

Our makeshift changing table

On the other hand, thank you for the quick service and clear instructions. Except for the Courtesy Lane/Online Appointment mix up, things went smoothly. All in all a good experience.

Note: Because the taking of video and photo is not allowed inside the DFA, I took the liberty of just sketching our experience. As you can see, I have exceptional skills.