UPDATED: Philippine Passport Renewal and Ad-Hoc Validity Extension in Singapore

Just sharing our experience with the on renewal and validity extension of our passports in the embassy. Hopefully these info will help some people out there.

NOTE: These are our experiences in March 2011. Whether the process will change in the future, we don't know yet.

UPDATE: Just updated this port on 2012-05-05, with some new information that I've got, all in RED.

Just a background: our passports will expire in June 2012, but already had plans to go back to Philippines in May. As commonly known, persons with phil passports with less than six months validity cannot go out of the country. So we either had to renew our passports or extend our passports validity. Since me and my wife had differing work schedules, we got to try two methods of renewing our passports.

Extending Validity Only (aka the Ad-Hoc Method)
 

As I found out sooner, this is not an option. Well, not exactly. They don't extend the validity of passport without an existing renewal appointment. (UPDATE 2012-05-05: I haven't been able to confirm if this has changed yet. For the rest of this post, I'm working on the assumption that you still need an existing renewal appointment.) You will end up renewing your passport right then and there. Be that as it may, it does have some advantages.

Here's what you need:

• passport;
• 2x photocopy of passport;
• 1x photocopy of IC/EP/WP;
• 2x ID picture;
• accomplished passport renewal form;
• 136 sgd, cash;
• extra coins (if you can't have photocopies listed above before going to embassy)
• ballpen;
• snacks; and
• anything else for entertainment.

Here's what you do:

1. Inquire about passport validity extension at Window 1. Two things that the person at window 1 will ask: why you're extending your passport validity; and if you have an existing passport renewal schedule. You'll get a bunch of forms to fillup. One of the forms has the pickup date for the amended passport indicated. Take note of that.
2. Submit forms and required documents at Window 1. As of this writing, the required documents are passport, passport copy, IC copy, and ID pictures. You will be asked to come inside the office (ah aircon). UPDATE: 2012-05-05: This may not necessarily be the case now. You may be asked by the person at Window 1 to go directly to the Cashier. They changed things a lot and quite often. Just the same, inquire at Window 1 for any questions and follow the instructions.
3. Interview with the embassy officer and approval of extension. You will be interviewed as to the reason for your request. A few notes on your application forms later, you will be asked to go back outside and fill up the form for passport renewal. It is at this point that you will be informed that your extension will not be processed without an existing passport renewal appointment. (Why that is, I don't know. Perhaps that's a good topic for another discussion.) You will be asked to fill up the passport renewal form (you can use the one you filled up beforehand, if any) and go to the Encoding Room to have your picture and other details, uhm, encoded. UPDATE: 2012-05-05: This step is no longer required.
4. Submit passport renewal requirements to Encoding Room. It's the passport renewal form with the attached the passport photocopy and anything else requested.
5. Wait for your turn in the Encoding Room. Just wait for your turn. This might take a while, as those with actual scheduled appointments, take priority over you. Also, don't be surprised if some people who do have appointments outside don't look very kindly at you (even with the schedule provided, there are always delays). One of the forms that will be returned to you has the pickup date for your renewed passport which you should take note of as well.
6. Pay up at the cashier. The Extension is 34sgd, while the Renewal is 102sgd. So that's 136sgd. Done for the day. Thankfully. :)
7. Pickup amended passport. Check the claim stub for the date. Unless specified otherwise, this should be at Window 8.
8. Pickup new passport. Same as above, check the scheduled date. (As of this writing, I haven't actually got this step done yet. Hopefully, no issues when the day arrives.)

It's gonna be a hectic day, but once you're through with the first day, you're done. The next two trips are just pick-ups which should not take too much of your time at all. There's one snitch though. In Step 1 and Step 5 above, you will see the pickup dates for your amended and renewed passports. From there, you could conclude whether you actually needed the extension of validity or not. (Since you were encoded on that same day, your pickup date would be significantly earlier.)

In my case, I went to the embassy early March. I got my amended passport 5 days later. My renewed passport will be picked up by April! (Remember, our planned trip was in May.) I wouldn't even be able to use the amended passport on my May trip, because by then I already have my new one. So it seems kind of a waste. But not really... Check the other method that is going to be done by my wife further below. UPDATE: 2012-05-05: I haven't gotten my passport yet, and I have no desire to do so for the next few months. I'm gonna use my passport extension to the fullest. It's worth 34 dollars, and I'm going to use it!!!

 
Anyway, not sure if you could have gotten away with doing all of the above but -- after evaluating whether you actually need the extension or not -- paying only for the renewal. Theoretically, since you don't need the amendment, there's no need to pay for it. I admit having thought about it, but I don't know for sure how this would work out. Something might go amiss and I don't want any headaches for something as important as your passport. I wanted peace of mind that it will be processed correctly, so I just paid all the fees. I think it's not worth the extra worry.


Passport Renewal Appointment

This is the prescribed method as indicated in the Philippine Embassy website. Without elaborating much, here are the steps:

1. Submit the Passport Renewal form via email. Remember to attach the other requirements via email. You will get a response with your appointment slip.
2. Go to the appointment. Just go to the embassy as indicated. This is where you'll be spending most of your time: waiting for your turn in the encoding room. (As of this writing, we haven't got to this step yet. Update 2012-05-05: we've done this. No changes as far as we can see.)
3. Pay up at the cashier. That's only 102sgd.
4. Pickup your renewed passport. Check your claim stub for the details.

This one has slightly different results. This method tends to take a longer time to finish, as you have to be in the entered into a queue of people who wants to renew as well -- and there are many. And, the longer you delay, the more likely that you're pickup date will be pushed back.

In case you need to extend your passport, all you have to do is follow the steps in the above adhoc method, minus steps 4 and 5 (the Encoding Room part, which will be included in your scheduled appointment).


Comparing Notes

I did the adhoc method for my passport the same day when my wife got the appointment from the embassy. With that in mind, we have the following observations:

• UPDATE: 2012-05-05: Not necessarily true now; I got a text from the Embassy stating that the processing is delayed. Up to now, I haven't claimed my passport yet. Ad-Hoc gets your passport sooner. If one person did the ad-hoc method on the same day that another person got a confirmed schedule, the one who did the ad-hoc method will get his passport sooner, since he/she skips the appointment queue. (I can get my new passport by April; my wife has her initial appointment in May.)
• Ad-Hoc costs more. Doing ad-hoc costs you 136 sgd -- or whatever the total price would be, adding the cost of extension fee and the renewal fee. Via scheduled method, you will pay the renewal fee and/or the extension fee, depending on whether you actually need to extend or not. (Her schedule is May so the passport pickup will most probably be by June; we have plans on May, so she would most likely do the extension as well.)
• Ad-Hoc buys you time. While it may seem that you have wasted cash for the extension via adhoc method (as in my case as explained above), given that there are so many people already have scheduled ahead of you, you actually -- quite literally -- bought yourself some time. It gives you peace of mind that hey, you're still allowed to stay here. :) (I probably will get my new passport ahead of the people who had scheduled it much earlier.)
• Encoding room causes the delay. The bulk of your time will be spent (wasted?) on waiting for your turn in the Encoding Room, regardless of which of the above methods you use. (In my adhoc method case, I got to the embassy at 1030AM and finished before 1PM; 30 minutes I spent on everything else, the rest of the time I spent waiting for my turn in the Encoding Room.)
• Extension of Validity is optional. Unless you're really pressed for time or have plans already set up, there's actually no need to extend the validity of your passport as long as you are able to renew it ahead of time.
• Listen to the ones with the mics. While it is extremely boring and you'd most likely end up listening to your own music, you should keep one ear listening out for announcements from the windows and encoding rooms; you wouldn't want to miss your turn!
• If you're not prepared, be sure to have lot's of coins. Coin-operated photobooth and photocopiers are there but has very long queues; there's also an automated money changer that always spits out 20 cents, where there is also a long queue; it pays to have everything prepared beforehand. (Not to mention, the machines don't always work as expected; the photocopier doesn't return your change; your change will be kept and be used for the next transaction; basically, you could end up paying for the copies of the person after you.)
• UPDATE: 2012-05-05: Bring cash! For those who haven't been in the embassy for years (e.g. my wife), they don't use NETS anymore. And there's no ATM nearby. The closest one is a long walk all the way to Orchard Tower.

 And that's it. I'll try to update this as soon as I get more information.

UPDATE: 2012-07-30: for SPRs, check the post regarding the Transfer of Re-Entry Permit. You need a valid Re-Entry Permit linked to your new passport before you leave Singapore. Otherwise, your PR status will be cancelled!