PHL mission in UAE scrambles to beat Oct 15 ePassport deadline

Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates are scrambling to beat the International Civil Aviation Organization's Oct. 15 deadline for all countries to use ePassports for travel.

Consul Giovanni Palec advised e-passport applicants who could not keep an appointment to cancel ahead of time, so urgent applications can be accommodated, Khaleej Times reported.

“When we put up an online appointment system, applicants can choose the dates convenient for them. But we have noticed that some of them fail to come for their appointments. Many have come as walk-in applicants, but we cannot accommodate them unless we see cancellations online. So, we encourage those who cannot come on their appointed day to cancel it so others can be accommodated,” Palec said.

Palec said it may be hard for the PCG to accommodate all applicants for ePassports in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, which account for two-thirds of some 525,000 Filipinos in the UAE.

Of some 250 applicants processed by the PCG a day, 230 are for online system appointments. The other 20 are reserved for children and pregnant women.

“We tried to maximize the number to 300 before but three of our encoding machines bogged down. So we reduced the number to 250 daily,” Palec said.

On the other hand, he said those who have already applied should check the consulate website, www.dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph - or risk their passports being destroyed.

“We destroy passports which have not been claimed for six months from the date of issue,” he said.

Palec also said there is a backlog in the delivery of ePassports from Manila to Dubai – only half of the 4,000 ePassports have reached Dubai.

“We were told by Manila that only four to five machines are working in the Department of Foreign Affairs for passport processing because several machines have bogged down,” he said.

Palec also advised Filipino residents in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to make sure they are no longer using the 2010 green passports.

“Lots of Filipinos anticipate burgeoning jobs while Dubai is preparing for 2020. So, they come in hordes,” he said. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

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