HOWTO: Renew your Philippine Passport in Kuala Lumpur Year 2015 Edition

This work by estelito.iii is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

It's that time of the decade again

Normal Philippine passports last for about 5 years. For OFWs or people living outside the motherland, that's technically 4.5 years since you need to renew your passport way before it expires to transfer the visas or to tailor fit the whole renewal process to accommodate your planned trips.

So I'm going to try and outline the steps I took from deciding if it's time to renew my passport to actually going to the embassy and applying for a renewal.

A common question one would ask is, "How early do I need to renew my passport?"

I had to renew my passport 1 year early. Talk about wasting that 1 year validity (considering the renewal cost is not cheap like if we renew passport from the Philippines -- I blame the courier costs)

Skip to the process by clapping three times and then clicking this link.

Why I had to renew ~1 year early 

Here are some of the reasons why I chose to renew early:

Some random dates I had to consider

1. Passport Expiry: August 2016
2. Employment Pass Expiry: June 2016
3. Confirmed Travel: December 2015, January 2016
4. Possible Travels: February 2016

Advised Turnaround Times

1. Passport Renewal: 2-3 Months 
2. Transfer of Employment Pass to new passport: 3-5 working days
3. Employment Pass Renewal: 6-8 weeks

Additional Stuff to factor in:

1. Earliest you can renew your employment pass: 90 days before expiry (March 2016)
2. Employment Pass validity if you want to apply for tourist visas: 3 months (Japan)
3. Passport validity if applying for tourist visas: 6 months 
4. If you (for any reason one can think of) have not yet properly processed your POEA/OWWA, add some time for that process (that's a whole other banana that I won't dare touch, best of luck na lang!)
5. THERE ARE NO LEGAL EXPEDITED PROCESS FOR ALL THE ABOVE.

So from all the random dates and periods I outlined above, my travel plans are whacked.

Before the February 2016 plans got sidetracked, there was only 1 window for me to renew my passport, which is ASAP, to avoid the max period 3 months falling to December. (*knocks on wood*)

But now that February 2016 is no longer in the pipeline, there are now actually 2 possible windows:

1. ASAP (September 2015)

2. January 2016, after the confirmed trip I have in January.

In my case, the process will be like this:

Passport Renewal (Sept to December 2015) -->  Transfer of EP to new passport (3-5 working days) -->

Followed by EP renewal on March 2016.

If you are still in the decision phase, I advise you to list down all the dates as I did above, and see if you can find the appropriate time windows for the processes.

LET'S RENEW OUR PASSPORTS!

the new and updated requirements!

Before we start, head to the Philippine Embassy web site to take a look at the requirements

The following list is taken from the embassy web site, with updated comments in orange by me!

1. e-passport form, download it here
2. e-passport fee: 240255 MYR (source) Double check the correct fee as they just increased recently (Sept. 21, 2015)
3. Present passport and photocopy of inside and back cover; Don't forget to photocopy page 2! Don't be like me who obeyed the above instruction to the letter, and just photocopied the inside and back cover (so smart!). 
4. The pages showing latest Bureau of Immigration departure and arrival stamps; I photocopied the pages with the last arrival/departure from the Philippines and the last arrival/departure from Malaysia (since they were not the same -- came from a Singapore trip)
5. For illegitimate minor, personal appearance of mother is required;
6. Photocopy of the Work Permit in Malaysia (Proof of Residency); and,
7. Photocopy of Employment Contract. Bring your contract (may or may not be POLO verified, seems they are not strict with it being POLO verified contract)

Embassy hours: 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday. (source)

Attire: No slippers, sandos or shorts. Doesn't seem to be strict on the attire now.

If you missed any of the requirements to be photocopied, the nearest shop is EXPrint @ Wisma Cosway, walking directions here.

the new and updated process!

1. Make your way to the Philippine Embassy. If it's your first time, use this link to search for directions to the embassy.
2. Register at the guard house. Don't use your passport if they are asking for an ID. #duh
3. Go to the Consular Section window (on your left side, once you enter the air conditioned waiting area)
4. Get a number from the Queue Management System machine. Press A for "Processing (Passport, Visa, Notarials, Authentications)"
5. Wait for your number to be called to the appropriate window (Window 3, middle window)
6. Submit all your requirements to the embassy personnel. If you're missing something, this is the time you'll be informed about it. You can either address whatever's missing and then return directly to window 3 (no need to get a new queue number)
7. You'll be asked to pay at the cashier, which is at window 5. This is the only time you're going to queue manually (if there are others waiting in line)
8. After payment, take a seat and wait for your number to be called to window 1 (not exactly window, but door). You have to knock and wait for the door to be opened from the inside -- be patient.
9. Submit all your requirements and the receipt to the encoder
10. Encoder will input your data into the system. Make sure you double check all the information.
11. Biometrics (thumbs) will be taken, followed by your picture and lastly your signature.
12. You'll be given 3 sheets of paper: (1) Official Receipt from cashier (2) Passport Application Receipt (3) Passport Finder sheet
13. If you want your passport to be couriered to you, proceed to the LBC booth and fill up the form and give the receipts (so they can photocopy it) along with 30 MYR as courier fee. Best to see which is more economical for you (transportation, leaves, incidentals if you're claiming the passport personally in 2-3 months vs 30 MYR courier fee)

some tips!

• Do you regret not taking the courier option? You can bring your receipts to the LBC office at Kota Raya and tell them you would like them to claim your passport on your behalf, fill up the form and pay the fee.
• If you are personally claiming your passport after 2-3 months, the queue letter you should press in the QMS is letter B for "Assistance to Nationals / Releasing of Passports and Documents"
• Take note of the people who went for passport renewal (went to window 3, then window 5) after you. If they were called earlier than you from after cashier payment, go back to the cashier and ask if your queue number was transferred to the encoder. They sometimes forget to transfer the numbers and make you wait longer than usual.
• You can contact the embassy though Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PhlembassyKL. They reply to your messages, and if you have specific cases that I personally have not encountered before I would advise you to contact the embassy directly.

pc game give-away/contest announcement

Our names are forever etched in the Trophy Room.

UPDATE: Mechanics are here: http://journal.estelito.com/2011/09/win-pc-game.html

Yesterday, I won something from the Hatch The Egg application of Maybank in Facebook. It's a fun and simple game for the Save & Win campaign of the bank. It's a game of pure luck (and making events in your calendar to remind you of the egg hatching times - LOL)

Technically my friend won since I cannot win the prize without sending it to another Facebook friend but my friend sent it back to me this morning (says she's busy with The Sims Social).

It's a PC Game coupon from Big Fish Games.

However, when I scanned the whole list of games from Big Fish but couldn't find any games to my liking -- so instead I would like to give it to other people who may want one from the list.

The coupon is valid for a Standard version of any game in Big Fish, so while I think of how to proceed with this give-away, go look for any of the games which you may like to play.

Do check back tonight at 12:00 Midnight for the details. (I hope I don't eat this deadline for midnight snack -- lol)

Oh and btw, Maybank recommends the game Supercow.

HOWTO: Renew Your Philippine Passport (Kuala Lumpur)

NEW, UPDATED PROCESS ON HOW TO RENEW YOUR PHILIPPINE PASSPORT HERE.

my passport with the receipts and oec

Yesterday was a Public Holiday in Selangor, and to make the most of the holiday I made a couple of trips the whole day around KL to prepare for my trip back home in a couple of weeks.

First agenda and subject of this post is the renewal of my passport which expires sometime in February 2012.

It is my fervent wish that this guide makes your life a little easier if you're in the same situation as me. 

- NOTE For those who just got married here in KL -

A reader sent in this tip for those who just got married here in KL and wish to do passport renewal, you'd need to do a couple of prerequisites before you can renew your passport. (sucks, but this is how the Philippine Government works for now)

If you have just married and plan to apply for a new passport at the Philippine embassy for your Philippine spouse, beware that you must first "register" your marriage with the embassy.  You are supposed to do that anyway within 30 days of your marriage. To do this you will need:

The original plus 4 copies of the Malaysian marriage certificate. This must be "authenticated" by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign affairs (after the marriage.)  So bring your marriage certificate to the Ministry and expect to spend 40 RM and waste a morning to get it done. If you just got married then you already know where this place is.

4 copies of you and your spouses passport (or IC card if you are a Malaysian.)  I think just the first page is okay and a copy of any work permit, multiple entry visas, or residence permit pages within the passport.  Also, your last departure and re entry pages in the passport.

4 passport photos EACH, color with blue background.

4 copies of "legal capacity to contract marriage" if you had to get that form in order to get married. Example - you are under 25 years old.

96.25 RM Payment.

You will then have to fill out a form, "Report of marriage."  Perhaps you can find one on the internet so you can do it before you arrive. Here is a link we found as of this date.

http://philembassy.no/sites/default/files/downloads/rom_form_oslo_pe.pdf

Fill it out, make three copies and do original signatures on all four copies.

After you have submitted all this paperwork and paid the fee, you can then file for the passport renewal.  Good Luck and be patient!

-- Thanks for the tip(which took too long for me to add), you know who you are.

- The Requirements - 

Prior to making the trip to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur make sure you have the following with you:

1. ePassport Form, download it here.
2. Your Passport.
3. Cash for ePassport fee (231 MYR)
4. Photocopy of the first page of your passport
5. Photocopy of the page where the visa / working permit is stamped
6. (OPTIONAL) Photocopy of your employment contract, if employed
   (OPTIONAL+ to have the employment contract notarized by a Malaysian Notary Public)

Now that you have all the requirements, you can allot half a day for the whole process and do take note of the following:

Embassy hours: 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday.
Attire: No slippers, sandos or shorts.

Also, it would be wise to look your best (no eyebags, no zits, hair spray, hair net) on the day you decide to have your passport renewed, as you will be photographed once you're done with payment. Don't wear any earrings or jewelry though as the operator asked me to remove them if I had them on me.

-The Process-

Make your way to the embassy. Directions are here.

NOV 9, 2012 UPDATE: The embassy layout might be different than when I wrote this guide, there is now air conditioning in the waiting area and I think the counter now reads ePassport or something. And I think the passport room is in Counter 6 (where they get your picture taken, etc.)

JANUARY 8, 2013 UPDATE: Kindly don't forget to read up on the official website of the Philippine Embassy in KL with regards to passport renewal here.

Also, the embassy's official Facebook page is PhlEmbassyKL.

Once at the gate of the embassy, wait a few minutes for other people who haven't memorized their passport numbers or their phone numbers fumble.

It's your turn to fill up the logbook -- Hurray! Start with your (1) Name (2) Full Address (3) Phone Number (4) Passport Number (5) What's your purpose in life going to the embassy (6) Time In

And please note the last column is not a signature column, but rather a "time out" column which you are not expected to fill up after you leave.

Open the steel gate, take out your wallet and bring out any photo id you can find inside your wallet -- give this to the security guard, he will give you a "Visitor" Id.

If you were looking at one of the signs while waiting for  slowpokes who were filling up the logbook, you'll see that they want you to pin the "Visitor" Id on your chest area -- not on the sleeves nor the lower part of your shirt. For me, I pinned it on my collar.

Go down into the driveway into the place where there are lots of chairs and people waiting, then look for the counter for "Passport". For those who are lazy to read, if you are facing the chairs, it's the group of windows on your left -- 3rd from the left. ( Receiving/Releasing | Visa, etc. | Passport, etc. | Empty window with no sign)

Give all the required documents to the person by the window (ang babae/lalake sa bintana) or wait for the person to appear.

If there is no problem with your documents, they'll point you to the cashier window which is a few steps to the right. 

Say goodbye to your 231 RM and give it to the cashier, who will staple all your documents and give you a small piece of paper that you must not lose no matter what. 

Then make your way to the ePassport room, wait for your turn/number (it's scribbled on top of your documents, something like AM/PM 999,999,999). If there's no queue  by the door, don't be so happy as there may be a couple of people before you sitting by the chairs waiting for their turn.

There will be nobody calling out numbers, but best to look for the number after you then make friends with him/her and tell him/her that you are number 999,999,999 and he/she is 1,000,000,000 so you are in front of him/her.

Once inside the room, there's another chair where you can put your belongings. Give the documents to the operator of the computer. While He/She types a few things, make sure your hair and face is all pweetty and nice because in a few minutes he/she will then take a photo of you using a Canon digital camera .

After the photo session, right thumb into the biometric scanner followed by left thumb then signature on the small rectangular thingie with some pen attached to it (NOTE: do not use the ball-pen that's near you to write on the rectangular thingie)

He/She then prints a sheet of paper, containing all your info with your picture and signature -- verify everything is correct then sign again at the lower right corner (NOTE: pretend you read the thing that is usually printed before the signature field).

He/She returns your passport with the 2 receipts stapled to it and instructs you to call the embassy in 2 months. Get your things from the other chair and leave after saying "Thank You" to the embassy personnel.

Hope this very long "HOWTO" helps you. :)

good morning, kuala lumpur



Early morning view in Kuala Lumpur, February 22, 2011



One of my favorite pastimes is looking out my window, observing the city from my vantage point. On this particular morning, the combination of the street lights below, the peeking sun, the twin towers and the clouds was just perfect.

I was debating with myself whether to put a watermark on the picture or just leave it be -- and the latter won. As for those who want to reuse the above image, kindly do so as you wish just don't claim it as your own and link to this blog post is all I ask. If you need a higher resolution picture, you may send an email to contact@estelito.com.

*Oh, and I can't seem to fix that weird issue with the margins of the picture in this post at all.

petronas towers

This is a test post. /bow

my recommendations for the KTM Komuter

I have been very vocal, always complaining about the level of service by KTM Komuter  here in Kuala Lumpur, both in twitter (@KTMKomuter) and Facebook.
But now I just realized complaining wouldn’t do much.
And this past weekend, I was aboard a shuttle train to Klang and every time the door opened some passengers would just be dumbfounded what route the train is going to – some hesitate but board the train anyway. So I came up with a list of recommendations to KTM and my first recommendation is:
1. Have sign boards on the doors of the shuttle trains.

As most shuttle trains are the usual setup: a non-functioning train with the noisy train pulling it and the generator located somewhere – usually there would be no electronic sign board along the side of the train informing passengers what the train’s destination is.
The only sign that will give out the train’s destination would be a the very front of the train and passengers wouldn’t usually notice it since the setup is different from the usual.
There are signs in the  doors, but these are not helpful because the sign reads 2 different routes, and it’s outdated (as with the shuttle train I boarded over the weekend was going to Klang but it was nowhere in the sign – sign only was up to Shah Alam) and people not familiar with KTM get confused.

2. Have some mechanism to inform the passengers of any delay
It sometimes frustrates me, whenever you think that the train services are under normal conditions but when you get to the platform you’ll be doing a double take as to whether you are at the KTM station or a rock concert. In the case of the KL Sentral station there is absolutely no way to know how many people are in the platform or how delayed trains are (although I think KTM started turning off the display when inevitable delay is happening). You would just know about it after you have purchased a ticket or swiped your Touch’n Go and it’s too late – you can’t switch to another route for your travel.
Maybe a whiteboard that gets updated would be the cheapest way to go about this. Or have some pre-made signs that you can clip into somewhere. Be creative! But informing passengers of any type of delay and being transparent would definitely be appreciated.
3. Check the volume of the speakers in the open air stations
At times, the volume in the speakers (i.e. Putra station) would not be loud enough to hear. It’s like a whisper specially since the noise around the station would drown out the sound of the speakers. It would be best if the volume was checked and adjusted for the speakers at certain times of the day. Also sometimes toning it down in the late, late night would be great as sometimes I can hear the PA system from the condo at 32nd floor.
4. Fix the signage inside the trains
A train I boarded got an ad for an event that is going to happen in 2007 – oh wait, it’s 2010 already. Another train doesn’t have the usual train routes pasted on top of the doors. Make the signage for the other stuff, like the “courtesy to those who need seats” to be noticeable because they are just the opposite.
5. (Putra Station specific) Move the signboard for the north/south(pick one) bound (going to Seremban/P. Klang)
The said electronic signboard can be moved somewhere that the passengers outside the station can see it from a far. Why? So that people can run like they’re being chased by ghosts when they see that destination blinking already. It is being covered by the walkway from the stairs and is not so noticeable from the end of that platform.
6. If you’re going to be using social media like Twitter and Facebook, abuse it (figuratively speaking).
No need to reply to everyone one by one but it’s the ideal situation. At least use the two services to provide timely updates on your service.


I do hope someone in KTM gets to read this post. These recommendations are by far non-authoritative, but I just wanted to take a different tone to my usual complaining and instead contribute something constructive.
Anyone got other ideas? Put them in the comments section!