Birth Certificates for Passport Renewal Not Necessary, DFA Says
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has ordered the removal of the submission of birth certificates for the renewal of passports.
Previously, DFA informed those who are planning to apply or renew their passport to submit their birth certificates.
The announcement was made after the DFA passport maker runs off with all the data of the applicants after the termination of contract.
![Birth Certificates](http://philnews.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/passport-1.jpg)
The data was not “run-away-able” but made inaccessible wherein most of the data are corrupted.
On Wednesday (January 16, 2019), Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. said that the submission of birth certificates for passport renewal is not necessary anymore.
Locsin said that the old passport is more than enough when applying for a new passport.
![Birth Certificates](http://philnews.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/passport2-1.jpg)
However, DFA may still require applicants to submit a birth certificate with the following instances:
- First-time passport applicants
- Applicants whose names appear on the DFA’s watchlist
- Renewal of lost or damaged passports
- Renewal of passport due to name change
- Renewal of brown passports, green passports, machine readable passports (maroon) or any older passports
The DFA secretary was also asking for the understanding of the public due to the data breach issue.
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