No, I am not yet going abroad. My brother is though. Unfortunately his NBI clearance was not authenticated by DFA and so his employer had it returned. Now, what should i do?
First, I searched the internet about the process. I do believe in being prepared for any eventuality. Good thing the DFA website shows the authentication process. For those who would want (or need) to know, here is the link: http://dfa.gov.ph/?page_id=2506.
It will tell you enough of the process specially the consecutive orders of the government agencies you have to go to. So, thats great news. You may still have some lingering doubts or questions though.
I visited forums, searched more from the internet, and still I was not satisfied. Can’t find a good enough article that really answers the questions, “How do you go about the authentication process?”, “What do I need?”, “Where do I go?”.
So, after ensuring that I don’t have any “urgent” deliverables at work, I braved it out and planned a trip to the NBI office at Sta. Cruz/Carriedo Manila.
I woke up as early as 5AM, left the house at 6AM, and reached their office a little before 7AM. And the place was already full! Good for me, I was there not to apply for a clearance or renew one, so I didn’t have to line up. And what a line it was, I don’t even know where it ended. And there were more coming to line up.
At aroung 7:15am the applicants going to the Releasing department were allowed to go in. I was supposed to come with them, unfortunately, the personnel assigned on the Authentication department was not yet around. The guard (facilitator?) said I should wait until 8AM.
My reaction? “WHAAAAT??!?!?!!??”
Of course, that was only inside my mind. I have to be always poised and calm when talking to government employees. You also have to be patient and understanding. Even if they are surly, rude, and sometimes unreasonable, you can never win an argument against them.
So, after an hour of sitting and reading KikoMachine Blg4 (thanks soo much for KM!) i went up to the 5th floor, Window 10 of the Releasing section.
Surprisingly, it took just a few minutes. I just gave the clearance to the guy manning the post and was given a DFA claim stub dated 5 days after (May 21). The personnel noted though that the personal copy of the NBI clearance should have been included, but he still accepted my bro’s clearance.
So, to answer the three questions:
“”How do you go about the authentication process?” – Prepare your NBI Clearance. If you don’t have one, apply for one. If you already have one, bring the whole document, which includes your personal copy.
“What do I need?” – Only your NBI clearance or the NBI clearance of your kin. Please note that in the DFA website, authentication should be processed by yourself or your next of kin.
“Where do I go?” – NBI Office in Sta. Cruz/Carriedo. It opens at 7AM. For authentication, be there by 8AM. Go to the Releasing department at 5th floor. Authentication is done at Window 10.
Additional note: The authentication process is 4-5 working days, so the claim stub given by NBI (Receiving division only!) shows a claim date a week after. You have to go to DFA on the date stated or another option is avail of the WWWE (Wide Wide World Express) service.
So there, another efficient day for me.
Updates:
Wide Wide World Express (affiliated with DHL) contact number is 879-8888. You may call them for information and also to check the outlet nearest you.
Due to important meetings and reports I had to attend and prepare, I had to use their service instead of personally going to DFA and processing my brothers NBI Clearance. For busy people like me its very convenient, although it will costs a bit more than if you process the documents yourself.
You just have to go to the neares WWWE outlet, give them the claim stub from the NBI personnel and fill out some forms. The service fee is actually the DFA fee of Php 100 plus Delivery fee. I provided a Manila (Pandacan) address and my total payment was Php 357.60.
If you would process your documents personally, you only have to prepare the Php 100 DFA Fee. Im not sure how the process is, so you can check the DFA website I provided before. For those who are near Manila, you can go to SM Manila and they have an outlet on the 5th floor. Take the escalator near Kenny Rogers and the outlet is to your right, near Worlds of Fun and an alteration shop.
The processing period, if you opt for WWWE service, is 7-10 working days from date of claim (the date stated in the claim stub). This means you have to exclude Saturdays and Sundays in the count. I went to WWWE last May 20 and was said to expect the authenticated document on June 4, 2009. I would like to note that this is the maximum date of their delivery.
Actually I just received the authenticated (with Red Ribbon) document today May 27 which is 4WD after date of claim. If you would process the invoice by your own, you can get it on the day itself.
Now, my next action is to send the document to my brother’s employer in Qatar. Estimated cost of shipping for Doha, Qatar is Php 2,000.
Hope this helps a lot of you out there.
