VFS Global and The Republic of the Philippines extend collaboration to provide Passport Renewal Services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Established standardised protective health & safety measures to be followed across all Centres 

To provide efficient passport renewal services to a vast population of Filipino nationals living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), The Republic of the Philippines has extended their collaboration with VFS Global for five years by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on 7 May 2021 in an official ceremony that was held in Manila, Philippines. 

KSA is one of the countries in the Middle East with the highest concentration of Filipino workers. To enhance customer experience and provide greater accessibility to customers in the KSA, the DFA outsourced the administrative and non-discretionary task of the passport renewal process to VFS Global in 2019. Subsequently, three Philippine ePassport Renewal Centres were launched in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar in October 2020.

Prior to the launch of ePassport Renewal Centres, Philippine residents in the Kingdom had to visit the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate in Jeddah for passport renewal. Customers now have an additional avenue to complete the process. In addition to the Centres in KSA, VFS Global also operates two ePassport Renewal Centres located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which are also part of MoA extension.

Upon signing the agreement, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido J. Dulay said, “Partnering with an established outsourcing champion like VFS Global enabled the DFA to multiply its presence in the Middle East at zero cost to the Philippine government. With the renewal, we can now look at widening and implementing similar service centres in other countries.” 

Since the launch in October 2020, the three centres have collectively processed over 47,000 passport applications as of 15 May 2021 amidst the pandemic impact. The centre operations are supported by well trained and professional employees who comprise of 10 Filipino citizens in addition to other nationalities.

Attending the virtual signing ceremony, Chris Dix, Head of Business Development, VFS Global, quoted, “On behalf of VFS Global, I would like to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Republic of the Philippines for their faith in us as we renew the ePassport Renewal Centre services. Our Passport and Consular services have been growing from strength to strength, and we continue to look forward to offering a world-class service experience in KSA, and possibly soon in other Middle Eastern counties, to ease the passport renewal process for Philippine nationals.” 

Health and Safety Precautions:

In order to ensure a safe environment for customers and employees, VFS Global has established standardised protective measures to be followed across all ePassport Renewal Centres.

• All customers must pre-install Tawakkalna app, the official Saudi Contact Tracing app, before visiting the centre.

• To ensure social distancing norms are followed, the centre accommodates walk-in customers only for application submission. Collection of renewed passport is per appointment basis.

• Customers are subjected to body temperature checks to assess their health conditions. Customers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough and difficulty in breathing will be requested to visit once health condition improves.

• It is mandatory for customers and employees to wear a mask when on centre premises.

• Additionally, staff also carry out preventive measures such as disinfecting high-contact surfaces, body temperature screenings, use of hand sanitisers, regular hand washing, etc.

• As an optional service, customers may opt to receive renewed passport at a desired location via courier service to avoid travelling to the centre.

For more details or enquiries, visit www.vfsglobal.com/philippines/saudiarabia/passport-services/ or email at info.phpptksa@vfsglobal.com 

© Press Release 2021