The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that passport applicants will soon be able to pay their passport processing fees online or through designated payment centers.
DFA said it will soon be opening online payment portals that will allow applicants to pay their processing fees ahead of time, a move to ease the lines in consular offices.
Passport applicants will be able to pay online through debit or credit card transactions, or pay in cash through over-the-counter transactions in selected banks.
In a video posted in DFA’s online page, the foreign affairs department posted the four steps needed to be able to process passports and pay the required fees outside consular offices.
The steps are as follows:
1. Visit passport.gov.ph and schedule an appointment.
2. Pay passport processing fee at any authorized payment centers.
3. Print out the confirmed appointment packet that will be emailed after paying the passport processing fee.
4. Personally show up at the chosen DFA consular office on the date and time indicated in the appointment.
In April, DFA conducted a live-testing of the Passport ePayment system in its consular office in Aseana in Pasay.
The electronic payment facility for the Online Appointment System is DFA’s response to the high percentage of no-shows.
The new system also aims to hasten passport application processing which DFA previously promised to be noticeable by June this year.
DFA also promised developments in facilities and acquisition of new equipment to better services.
