Arago OK’d to extend validity of PH e-passports

Philippine Honorary Consul to the CNMI Glicerio “Eli” Arago.

The Office of Philippine Honorary Consul to the CNMI Glicerio “Eli” Arago has been authorized to extend the validity of expiring Philippine e-passports for one year.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs authorized Arago to make the extension for a limited period as the Agana Philippine Consulate General’s mobile consular outreach is temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine Honorary Consulate Office-CNMI will begin accepting passport extension processing on Monday, Nov. 16. This will be conducted at the Philippine Honorary Consulate-CNMI Support Office at the Sun Palace Hotel in Oleai, Saipan.

Arago is urging all applicants with valid and unexpired Philippine passports—or those with at least a month before the expiration date—to avail of the passport extension opportunity. He will also assist other passport extension requests, depending on the applicant’s needs.

Arago is advising applicants to give his office at least a week to process the passport extension requests.

In the same advisory from the Agana Philippine Consulate-General, it said that applicants will still face the risk that they may be refused entry into a foreign country if they use these extended passports in passing border controls. This means that holders of manually extended passport validity may be refused admission by border control authorities when travelling to a foreign country or at international ports of entry.

Arago said holders of extended Philippine passports must understand that they can be refused entry to a foreign country.

To apply for the passport extension, applicants must fill out and sign the Request for Emergency Extension of Passport Validity that will be available at the support office. Once extended, the passport holder must renew the passport prior to the expiry date of the extension. There can be no re-extension.

At the same time, Arago will be informing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that, due to the current coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs through the consulate, will be conducting “manual extension of passports” that Philippine nationals will use when travelling/going home using the Guam route and or other Asian countries.

For applicants needing a two-year passport validity extension, for purposes of work permits such as CW-1 renewal, the request of extension will be submitted to and processed by the Agana Philippine Consulate General via courier or postal service.

The Philippine Honorary Consulate Support Office-CNMI will be exercising strict social distancing procedures and public health protocols when processing for passport validity extension on Nov. 15 and onwards. (PR)