passports this week’s photohunt theme is important, and considering our upcoming trip to the philippines, i had to make sure these were in order. jan’s in particular was just recently renewed at the german embassy here in singapore because his previous one was was expiring in june this year, and international travels require that your passport is valid for 6 more months. had we renewed his passport earlier, he could have had the new “chipped-and-thumbmarked” version of the reisepass instead of the kinderreisepass. although its equally valid, well, the paper, printing and the fact that it’s not laminated makes it look rather less impressive. it’s also not valid for travel to the US. not that we’re planning to fly that direction soon, but who knows?

these maroon passports my boys bear can gain them entry in more countries than my green one can get me in. that’s probably why a lot of pinoys take the first chance they can get to obtain a different passport. however, there’s one case my green passport has powers over their maroon ones: when we travel to the philippines, hehe. travelling alone, they are allowed to stay in the philippines visa-free for a maximum of only 30 days. travelling with me, a filipino passport-bearing spouse or mother, they can stay up to a year without having to apply for a visa.

so for that, along with many other reasons, thanks, but i’m not giving up my pinoy passport just yet.

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