Embassy Operations during Alert Level 3 (the Rest of New Zealand) and Alert Level 4 Auckland and Northland JSD-2021-15
Following today’s announcement of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on the extension of Alert Level 4 (Lockdown/Eliminate) until 11:59pm on Tuesday, 31 August 2021, for Wellington and two (2) more weeks for Auckland, the Philippine Embassy in New Zealand will continue to temporarily suspend its consular operations until further notice.
Once the alert levels have been downgraded or under Alert Level 3, people must continue to work from home. Even if the Embassy is included in the list of Essential Sectors, most of the consular services provided by the Embassy, particularly passport applications and Overseas Voting (OV) registration involve close personal contact with clients. According to the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 website:
“If your business requires close physical contact it cannot operate.
We recommend your staff work from home if they can.”
For Alert Level 3, the Embassy’s personnel will continue to work remotely to process the following applications which could be submitted by mail only:
- Reports of Birth
- Reports of Marriage
- Retention and Reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under RA 9225
Those with previously booked appointments at the Embassy from 18 August 2021 and up until the lockdown’s extension, are still effectively cancelled. Please do not travel to Wellington as regional travel is still not allowed during this time.
For those who urgently need to renew their passports but cannot do so due to the prevailing travel restrictions, you may request for the extension of your passport. You may download the form here: https://bit.ly/2YY01Js. Submit your ePassport, completed form and your self-addressed courier bag by mail only to:
Embassy of the Philippines
50 Hobson Street, Thorndon,
Wellington, New Zealand 6011
For labor/employment-related matters, please directly contact the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO Wellington) via email: polo.newzealand@philembassy.org.nz.
The Embassy continues to monitor the situation and you may follow the Embassy’s website at www.philembassy.org.nz or the Embassy’s Facebook page for updates https://www.facebook.com/PHLinNZ/.
Let us all keep safe. Maraming salamat po.