When I was pregnant with Luca, the pregnant women express lane made is soooo easy and hassle-free for me to update my IDs to my marital name which you can read about here.
During that time, I surprisingly received countless feedback saying the best time to update my passport is after Luca is born because I will hit 2 birds with 1 stone: a new passport for Luca and an updated one for me with my married name (even if my existing one was far from expiring.)
Alas – they are correct! Basically I “rode on” Luca’s DFA Courtesy Lane appointment as a minor. Today, Luca and I applied for our passports today and I’ll be sharing my experience hoping it will be helpful for first-time moms like me! Here are my tips and Requirements for getting a passport for your newborn in DFA Aseana via Courtesy Lane
How To Secure A DFA Courtesy Lane Appointment
First and foremost, if you have a little one, know you are immediately eligible for the DFA Passport Courtesy Lane so I applied for an online appointment thru Courtesy Lane via this link. It’s a Google doc – fill out carefully and correctly because you can only fill it out once per email acct. A few days later, I received via email a confirmation that I am qualified together with the appointment date and time. Wuhoo!
Requirements For A New Passport (Newborn) – 5 Years Validity
1. Print out of your Confirmed Online Appointment via email
2. Passport Application Form which you can fill out here. TIP: Print it properly and make sure QR code is readable upon printing
3. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Birth Certificate or certified true copy of Certificate of Livebirth with PSA Stamp. Bring original and photocopy.
Very important: If your baby is a newborn and you only have the Live Birth Certificate, you MUST take it to any PSA office to have them stamp and certify it. Luca is 6 months so he was already on the PSA system and has a PSA birth certificate.
4. Marriage Certificate & Passport / Valid Government issued ID of either parent
5. No matter how young the applicant is, personal appearance is a must since the DFA needs to take photos.
Requirements For Passport Renewal / Change To Marital Name (10 Year Validity)
1. Passport Application Form which you can fill out here. Make sure to put your married name on the application form because whatever is on the application form, that’s what they will encode.
2. Old passport with photocopy of the data page. They will cancel your old passport upon application.
3. Original and photocopy of PSA Certificate of Marriage
4. Print out of your Confirmed Online Appointment via email (the Courtesy Lane eligibility email)
For more info, check out the requirements on the official DFA website.
Tips
1. The DFA appointment time given to us was 8-10AM. They suggest to be there 30 mins before but we arrived at 8AM. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded at all, there were no long lines and you could easily be in and out in 30 minutes. When you arrive with your baby, instantly approach the guard and no need to line up.
2. Nanny is allowed to go in with us! Yay!
3. Ditch the strollers since space is limited and I was relieved I left Luca’s stroller in the car because the elevator wasn’t working today.
4. Incase things go wrong (and for me, it did!), make sure to bring snacks and toys to keep the little one entertained. No one wants a grouchy baby in his first passport pic!
5. They only accept cash payments so bring cash!
6. Malayo ang photocopy machine (sa labas ng building) so make sure to photocopy your documents!
Costs
I availed the Express processing and Home delivery which cos Php1,200 per passport. I applied today and they said it will be delivered around 1-2 days after Dec 20.
Bonus Tip:
If you’re like me who showed up without a PSA Birth Certificate AND failed to get a PSA Stamp on the Live Birth Certificate – good news! There is a nearby PSA Satellite Office (Pasay branch) near DFA Aseana. They usually don’t accept Walk Ins (by online appointment only!) but they allowed me to walk in because Luca was with me. I lined up to get his PSA Birth Certificate printed out and it took me around 30 minutes. Not bad!
That’s it! I hope you found this useful and feel free to share with other new moms. For any concerns in the DFA Aseana Courtesy Lane, you can call them at 86519400 local 3. If you have a minute, it would be great if you can subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thank you for reading!
XO, Mrs H
