MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has opened a Philippine passport renewal center in Los Angeles, the first in North America, to cater to the growing demand for consular services more accessible to overseas Filipinos in the United States.
“The Philippine ePassport Renewal Center (PaRC) system supplements and strengthens the consular operations of our 94 embassies and consulates around the world. It radically reduces the pressure to get things done faster,” DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said during the facility inauguration on December 3.
Locsin said the new renewal center would be operational even on weekends. “Filipinos here in Los Angeles and in the surrounding states need not worry about missing work obligations or other inconveniences caused by an 8-to-5-time window. I know you work so hard to make a life out here, and we will make sure that the PaRC works harder for you to help you achieve that end,” he added.
The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles serves the largest section of overseas Filipinos in the entire region.
VFS Global, the largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, currently operates ePassport Renewal Centers on behalf of the DFA in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates; Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia; Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast in the United Kingdom; Dublin in Ireland; Marseilles in France; Singapore; Kuwait; and in Los Angeles.
Applicants for passport renewal at the LA PaRC must set an appointment via services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/phl/.