Jun 22, 2021
Renewing passport from Japan during pandemic
Has anyone had any experience with renewing their (overseas) passport from here in Japan during the pandemic? I'm just wondering if the coronavirus situation has made passport renewals from overseas take longer than usual (or maybe the time has become shorter). I understand that procedures and times vary from country to country and are influenced by other factors but I'm just curious. Thanks.
A foreign salaryman in Japan, documenting life from somewhere near 'salaryman town' Shimbashi, Tokyo. Way out of my depth!
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on Jun 22
I did around February this year at the Philippine consulate in Osaka. They were strict. If you don’t have a schedule you can’t walk in and you can’t even go to the consulate or its corridors (it’s in a commercial building) if it’s not yet your schedule. They will ask you to go back again when it’s your time. They don’t want people loitering around, which could create a crowd. I only saw around 4 staff in the consulate, and then just 4 applicants. When I was finished getting my passport, I was the only applicant left. After a month, I got my passport :) It was pretty easy and organized.
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on Jun 23
@Bella Hey. That's good to know. Thanks.
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on Jun 24
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on Jun 24
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on Jun 24
I did it before the pandemic, by mail. Information should be available for your country's consulate explaining the process in person and if possible by registered mail. This includes the expected time for both types of renewal. (By mail was a lot easier as you won't need to take time off work and find an open appointment.) When I went in person for an affidavit stamp about five years ago, appointments were required and they were strict about the number of people allowed at a time, even then. This is probably standard at all the consulates.
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on Jun 28
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on Jan 21
A quick update for anyone following this thread. I recently received my new passport. In the end the whole process took around one month. In terms of sending the old passport back to the U.K. I used the EMS tracking service with Japan Post and the passport arrived at the U.K. passport office within a week. Delivery from the U.K. back to Japan seems to have taken a little longer - 10 days or so. I wrote a post about my experience with the whole renewal process: How to renew a British passport from Japan - https://www.city-cost.com/blogs/SalarymanJim/GyWx6-living
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on Feb 2
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on Feb 2
9 Answers