Riyadh embassy: Renew passport early, use online system

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has advised overseas Filipino workers and other frequent travelers to renew their passports as early as  nine months before its expiration, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Tuesday.

"Filipinos in the Kingdom are advised to inform their employers of the expiry date of their passports to avoid inconvenience as the new electronic passport will be released around one month after filing or renewal application," the state agency said.

Applicants for renewal are advised to visit the embassy's website, www.philembassy-riyadh.org, to schedule an appointment.

The online appointment system will allow the applicants to schedule the date and time of their appointment, with a sysytem sending a confirmation to the applicants' email address.

DFA said the embassy no longer accepts appointments made through text messages due to difficulty in managing them.

"The embassy discourages multiple bookings made by a single applicant to maximize the appointment slots of 216 applicants in one day. In the event that an applicant wishes to change his/her appointment schedule, he/she needs to cancel the appointment to allow another applicant to book the vacated slot," the state agency added.