Our Little Lakwatsero’s first passport photo. He doesn’t look too thrilled to be having his picture taken. We swear he was laughing and running around right before this.
How to get a Philippine Passport for you baby – particularly in the DFA Office in Legazpi, Albay.
Anything that requires going through a government agency may seem like the most tedious and trying of processes, but surprisingly, this one isn’t (at least for us) bad at all.
First of all, make sure you have all of your requirements ready:
- Birth Certificate issued by the National Statistics Office. This document is printed on the yellowish paper.
- Marriage Certificate of parents duly authenticated by the NSO (again, this appears on the yellow paper).
- Notarized Affidavit of Support and Consent to travel from either parent.
- Document of identity with photo. Clearly, our one year old does not have any form of valid identification. We brought an affidavit for this one.
- Original and photocopy of the valid passport of the person travelling with the minor.
- Identification documents (passports, drivers license) of the parents (should be the mother if the parents are not legally married).
You will also need to make time because these are requirements as well:
- Personal appearance of the minor applicant.
- Personal appearance of either parent (if minor’s parents are legally married). If the child’s parents are not legally married, his or her mother should be there.
We live in Naga City, so the closest DFA office is in Legazpi (approximately a two-hour drive). The DFA office is on the 3rd floor of the Pacific Mall. Once you go up the escalator, you’ll see it right away.
The office is clean, bright and cool, with the seal of the department welcoming all those that need assistance with their passports. This is a big change from the old DFA office in Legazpi, which was situated a bit closer to the airport. The old office reminds me of the LTO office here in Naga, with the garage turned into a waiting area and the absence of a clean toilet. Now, the office has a waiting area for about sixty people. Seats face the counters, so they can see whose number is up next.
Normally, we would leave early in the morning to catch the office once it opens. This time, we decided to leave Naga around noon, getting to Legazpi at about 2PM. Surprisingly, there were no lines waiting for us. We were sixth on the list to be accommodated (with half of us with a baby or toddler in tow). Most people (and we’re normally a part of this population) aim to be there early in the morning and get things done before lunch. If you end up being a bit later (say 10 minutes) than those who wake up even earlier, you’ll end up spending more time waiting. Going after the rush was a good move for us.
Step one: Friendly (courteous at the very least – or maybe they were friendly because we had a baby, I don’t know) staff check your papers to make sure you have all the necessary documents.
Thank you DFA Legazpi for a hassle-free passport application process for Javy!
What happens if you’re missing an affidavit? Or the affidavit that you brought all the way from faraway iswrong? No worries – at the back of the office is an Affidavit Desk. They charge PHP300 for the correct notarized document. Photocopying is also available there – PHP2.50 for legal/long sized documents.
Step two: Wait for your name to be called for your child’s photo to be taken. (YAY! No need to bring ID photos)
Step three: Sign the pad for a digital signature.
Now you’re ready to close the deal. You can have your passport processed regularly for PHP950 (25 working days) or for PHP1,200 (15 working days).
Getting Javy’s first Philippine passport must be the most efficient government experience I’ve had in a while. Congratulations DFA Legazpi!
We are happy citizens.
Here is a link to our post with a sample affidavit of support and consent: https://www.thespiralsun.com/affidavit-of-support-and-consent-sample-for-a-travelling-minor/
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