All confirmation emails containing application packets of passport applicants, who have appointments this week, will be sent out within the day, Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
This as the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) is "working to resolve the issues on booking of passport appointments," including the applicants' non-receipt of confirmation emails which contain the application packet.
"The DFA-OCA is aiming to send out all application packets of those who have appointments this week within the day," the DFA said in an advisory.
It added that confirmation emails of applications scheduled from the week of Nov. 21 "may take at least two days due to a congestion in the system."
The DFA explained that the delay in the transmission of confirmation emails is "likely caused by the overloading of servers, compounded by the late remittance of payments made through the over-the-counter payment mode."
"Please note that only booked appointments that were successfully paid online will be confirmed and shall receive the application packets. If no proof of payment and/or payment reference code was received, this means that there is no confirmed appointment," the DFA said.
Applicants, who have successfully booked and paid for their appointments but are yet to receive their confirmation emails, were told to regularly check their email inboxes, including spam or junk folders or send an email to [email protected] to follow up.
Applicants, who received their application packets beyond their supposed appointment date, will be rescheduled within 30 days from the receipt of the email from DFA-OCA. Applicants are requested to coordinate with the concerned consular office for the new schedule.
"DFA-OCA apologizes sincerely to its clients for the inconvenience and disruption caused by this technical issue, and requests the public's continued patience as the DFA-OCA continues to find ways and exerts all efforts to improve the delivery of its services," the agency said.