Per the regulations of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all non-machine readable passports may no longer be extended beyond October 31, 2015 and must be completely phased out by November 24, 2015.

All Filipino nationals holding Machine Readable-Ready Passports (MRRP; green passports) and Machine Readable Passports (MRP; maroon passports) will no longer be allowed to apply for an extension of the validity of these passports after October 31, 2014.

They must instead apply for a new e-Passport as soon as possible before the expiry of their current MRRP (green) or MRP (maroon) passports. Those who fail to do so will likely encounter difficulty at immigration checks when traveling through any ports of entry around the world after October 2015.

Passport holders are also reminded that there are strict rules for applying for an extension of the validity of expiring or expired passports. The following are the conditions for the extension of validity of ePassports:

1. Death in the family requiring the OFW and members of his/her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines;
2. Medical or Legal emergencies requiring the OFW and members of his/her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines or another country for medical treatment or legal proceedings;
3. OFWs with sufficient proof of such status;
4. A Filipino Citizen who is a permanent resident of a foreign country who is returning to said foreign country;
5. An application for ePassport has been filed at the Embassy simultaneous to the application for extension of passport validity; the release of new passport will either be at place of application or at the Embassy nearest the applicant´s place of destination;
6. Presentation of proof of urgency such as a death certificate, medical certificate, and similar medical documents, subpoena or notices of hearing and the like. OFWs shall also be required to present a valid employment contract processed by the POEA or POLO.
7. Confirmed flight details and plane tickets
8. Accomplished Application Form
9. Processing fee of US $25 payable in cash and in US dollars only.

The extension of passport validity is processed on the same day.

Important: ePassport validity extension may only be given to expiring and not expired passports.

Before coming to the Embassy, please send an email message to bThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.