September 20, 2021:  The Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs and VFS Global, the world's largest visa outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, has signed a contract for the establishment of the first Philippine ePassport Renewal Centre in the State of Kuwait.

 

The centre has started to accept passport renewal requests on appointment basis from Sunday to Thursday between 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM

 

This is the first time The Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs has outsourced its passport renewal process in the State of Kuwait. Prior to this, Philippine nationals resident in Kuwait needed to visit the Philippine Embassy for passport renewal. With the opening of the new ePassport Renewal Centre, customers have an additional avenue to complete the process.  

 

On the launch of the new centre, Mohd Noordin Pendosina N Lomondot, Ambassador from the Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, said, “The launch of the very first ePassport Renewal Centre in Kuwait marks an important milestone for the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs. Through our partnership with VFS Global, we extend our reach to the Filipino community in Kuwait. Going forward, all holders of Philippine electronic passports can now submit their renewal application conveniently at the newly launched centre.” 

 

As part of the constant and ongoing endeavor to add value to customers’ experience, VFS Global offers optional services designed to make the process easy and effortless. Customers may opt for:

• Form Filling Assistance: Personalised assistance from professionally trained staff for completing online application form.

• Courier Services: Delivery of renewed passport directly at a time and location of choice. 

• SMS Alerts: Regular alerts to stay up to date on the progress of application

 

In order to ensure a safe environment for employees and customers, VFS Global has established standardized protective measures to be followed across the centres, including specific social distancing and sanitation mandates. All customers are subjected to body temperature checks at the entrance to assess their health conditions. Any customer exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough and breathing difficulties will not be permitted to enter the centre and will be requested to return once the health condition improves. Additionally, all customers and VFS Global employees are required to wear a face mask within the centre. 

 

Mr Chris Dix, Head of Business Development, VFS Global, said, “We would like to thank the Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs for their faith in us. Our passport and consular services portfolio has  been growing from strength to strength, and we look forward to bringing those best in class services to the Philippine nationals in Kuwait.”

 

VFS Global already operates 158 centres providing Passport and Consular Services to 10 governments in 30 countries worldwide. The organisation’s transparent, scalable and intuitively designed services in the passport application and consular services domain delivers on a range of key requirements from online appointment booking and customer support to front-office services, biometric enrolment and doorstep return-delivery of passports and other documentation. 

 

VFS Global is responsible only for accepting applications for client governments. All applications submitted will continue to be assessed and processed by the respective client governments. VFS Global has no influence on the process at the Embassies or Consulates.