HOW TO: Online Passport Renewal Appointment in Kuwait | Diary ni Gracia

Online Passport Renewal Appointment in Kuwait: A Friendly Guide on how to use DFA’s Global Online Appointment System (GOAS)

“Every day is a renewal, every morning the daily miracle. This joy you feel is life.”

— Gertrude Stein

  Renewing Philippine passports in the country where they are currently situated is essential for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Even during this pandemic brought by the novel coronavirus, our fellow Filipinos abroad, especially in Kuwait, need to renew their passports to travel and stay outside Philippine boundaries legally.   However, walk-in passport application is still strictly prohibited due to the state’s snowballing number of active COVID-19 cases. To ensure the public’s health, safety, and welfare, the Embassy encourages the OFWs to book or set passport renewal appointments online through the Department of Foreign Affair’s Global Online Appointment System (GOAS).   If you are a first-time GOAS user, refer to the infographic below or follow this comprehensive guide to be able to navigate the site with relative ease.  

1. Log on to Global Online Appointment System GOAS, then click on Schedule Appointment.
2. After carefully reading the instructions and Terms and Conditions, check the box and click on the START INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENT (for solo renewals) and GROUP APPOINTMENT (for two or more renewals).
3. For the Individual Appointment Site Location, choose MIDDLE EAST as the region, KUWAIT as the country, and choose your preferred site.
4. For the Individual Appointment Date and Time, choose your preferred schedule for passport renewal. Please note that the selected time is only reserved for 20 minutes. Dates in red are fully booked and unavailable. Additional slots are regularly made, so make sure to check the site from time to time.
5. Once you have picked your desired schedule, provide your accurate personal, family, and contact information.
6. Please review all of your entries to make sure that they are accurate.
7. Please check your email to see the provisional email for instructions on how to confirm your booking.
8.  Please confirm a confirmation email that will be sent to the email address you used for registration.
9. Print out the application packet found in your email confirmation.
10. Once you’ve confirmed your passport renewal schedule, arrive at your scheduled date and time for passport renewal.

During Passport Renewal

1. Bring the requirements for the renewal of the passport with you.
2. Please arrive in time for the passport renewal date. An adult must accompany minors up to the age of 17.
3. From renewal to release, all passport services are performed at Al Sahel Sports Club in the Abu Halifa area. Your temporary office in Sabah Al Salem will not have passport renewals or releases.

After Passport Renewal

1. Request your new passport from the Embassy within 6 months of being issued.
2. Walk-ins are only accepted for passport delivery.
3. Ensure to check the official Facebook page of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait for regular updates on passport releases. If your name is on the list, go to Al Sahel Sports Club at Abu Halifa Area from Sundays to Thursdays, only from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
4. No online appointment is required to claim your passport.

Those whose names are not on the list posted on the Facebook page are still not allowed to go to the Al Sahel Sports Club. People who feel sick or have a fever are not recommended to enter the place to eliminate the risks of transmission of COVID-9 inside their premises.  

Additional notes regarding Passport Renewal in Kuwait:

• Passport holders with passports that expire within the next six months should apply for a passport renewal to avoid losing validity or entry fines.
• Passports that have expired more than a year cannot be renewed.
• The validity of the passport can only be extended once.
• The residence visa for Kuwait must be transferred to the new passport immediately to avoid immigration fines.
• For a visa that expires before the passport date, apply for passport renewal three months before the visa expiration date.

Reminders

• Booking your online appointment in the Philippine Embassy is relatively easy. However, the available appointment slots are only limited. Therefore, you must be updated for more appointment slots to secure a slot for your online appointment.
• The Philippine Embassy announced to all applicants that an online appointment is FREE and encouraged those individuals to file a complaint with those who requested payment for their reservation online so that the Embassy can investigate the complaint.
• The Embassy does not accept any walk-in applicants. Therefore, an online appointment for passport applications and extensions is a must.
• The Embassy will accommodate them every day from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
• When their respective applications are confirmed, the Embassy personnel will send a message or call them about the designed time and date of their return to the Philippine Embassy to complete their final step. The Embassy advised following these reminders once their online appointment has been successful.
• The applicants are advised to arrive at the Embassy 30 minutes before their time of appointment.
• If the applicants did not show up on the assigned date of their appointment, they could no longer use their online appointment.