Since we are going home for the holidays and my daughter's passport is expiring in five months, we thought it would be best to renew it the soonest possible time. Why Berlin? It is indeed a loooong way from where we live but Berlin is the only consular office that offer passport services among other things. So we don't have a choice. Before, the Philippine Consulate office in Frankfurt still provided passport services but since the ePassport went in effect last March 2011, processing of passports is only accepted in Berlin. So me and my little girl went to Berlin for a couple of days to apply for a new passport.
The weather wasn't cooperating en route and even while we were in Berlin. Thankfully, my little girl was up for a little adventure in the city as we tried to navigate our way from the Berlin main train station to our hotel, riding the train to get to the embassy office, etc. and all that while it was raining intermittently.
Unlike the other embassies which are mostly located in the "Embassy Quarter" on the Tiergarten, on the Unter den Linden and around the Brandenburg Gate, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin is located on the 6th floor of the Uhlandstrasse 97 building. To get there, one needs to take the U7 train and get off at Blissestrasse and take the Uhlandstrasse exit. The building is just across the street and you can see the Philippine flag right above the main entrance of the building.
A prior appointment is not necessary so we just went there. I filled up some forms for my daughter and also for me for the overseas absentee voting registration. Then we paid €60 for the passport and waited for a while until we are called for the capture of biometric data. I guess it took us less than an hour to get everything done. Next, we need to wait for a few weeks (a minimum of 30 working days) before the passport is ready, which the embassy will send us via Post.
On our way out, we decided to take some photos of the Embassy. My little girl especially loved the bear painted with the colors of the Philippine flag. And that was our next activity... "Bear Hunting in Berlin".
2 comments:
Hi! Just a quick question from the day of renewal how long were you able to receive your renewed passport? Because ill be staying in Germany for 2 months I am considering renewing it here before i fly back. Hoping to hear from you soon. Thank you very much.
Hi Elaine. it took about 6 weeks from renewing the passport. I think all passports are processed centrally in Manila. According to the Phil. Embassy website, processing time is 6-8 weeks. Hope this helps!
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