Postal ID Now A Primary Requirement for Passport Application

Good news to Postal ID cardholders!

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) satellite offices in Metro Manila, Regional Consular Offices and Foreign Service Posts are now accepting digitized Postal ID as primary document in passport applications.

According to the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost), the DFA-Office of Consular Affairs has included the new Postal ID as one of the primary ID’s due to its improved physical and biometrics-based security features. DFA is currently revising their ePassport Application Forms which they will be releasing in the coming weeks.

The Improved Postal ID has multiple security features that guarantee a safe and reliable identity card.

It is now infused with additional physical security features that are difficult to reproduce. These include a hologram of a running mailman which can only be seen in certain angles, and a UV ink or special ink that lights up to ultraviolet light.

Likewise, it has a ghost image which is a slightly transparent copy of the applicant’s photograph.

Aside from the DFA, The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also accepts the improved postal ID as “a primary form of identification.”

The Improved Postal ID is available to all Filipinos living here and abroad and to foreigners living in the Philippines for at least six (6) months upon application. Application forms are available in any of the 1,300 post offices nationwide or can be downloaded online at www.postalidph.com or www.phlpost.gov.ph. (PHLPOST/RJB/JEG/PIA-NCR)