AN alternative, off-site passport renewal center will soon open in Los Angeles to address the huge demand for ePassport renewal applications, according to the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
VFS Global, a private outsourcing company, will operate the renewal center.
“The opening of a VFS Global Philippine Passport Renewal Center (PaRC) in Los Angeles is a continuation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-VFS Global Agreement that began in 2019,” Consul General Edgar B. Badajos said in a statement on Thursday, August 5.
“The DFA reached the agreement with VFS Global in line with President Duterte’s directive for Philippine agencies to streamline procedures and to make ePassport renewal services faster and more convenient, especially for Overseas Filipinos (OF),” he added.
The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles has consular jurisdiction over Southern California, Southern Nevada and the State of Arizona, serving an estimated 1.3 million OFs.
Since May 2021, the Consulate General has been processing the maximum number of passport, dual citizenship and other consular services applications that its limited office space and personnel can accommodate and process daily.
“With the demand for passport renewal services exceeding the Consulate’s operating capacity by a wide margin, it was felt that the opening of a VFS Global PaRC in Los Angeles will help address the problem,” said the Consulate General.
In addition to its regular weekday consular services, the Consulate General has been conducting consular services on Saturdays since March 2021.
It also resumed its post-pandemic consular outreach missions in May 2021 and has so far visited Las Vegas, NV (twice), Phoenix, AZ, and San Diego CA.
“In spite of these extra services, the huge demand for passport renewal applications still cannot be fully met,” the Consulate General noted.
VFS Global then will be in charge of processing passport renewal services, specifically, only those that have non-complex, non-sensitive and non-discretionary elements.
However, as a third-party service provider, it will charge an additional fee for its services.
“Passport renewal through the VFS Global PARC is not compulsory. It is up to the applicant to decide whether to apply through VFS Global or through the DFA-Global Online Appointment System (GOAS),” said Badajos.
The Consulate General said that appointment slots to be rolled out by VFS Global for passport renewal will be separately announced through its website, with a link to be provided on the Consulate General’s own website.
It also advised the public to visit the Consulate General’s website and Facebook page for future announcements on the location and opening date of the VFS Global Passport Renewal Center in Los Angeles.
