Second Mobile Consular Mission for 2023 held in Brisbane, Queensland for the first time!

CANBERRA, Australia (29 November 2023) – The Philippine Embassy in Canberra concluded its second mobile consular mission in Brisbane, Queensland on 21 to 24 November 2023. This is the first time that the Embassy held two mobile consular missions in Brisbane in one year.

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The Embassy worked with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Brisbane led by Consul Sheryll Gabutero ensuring an organized and productive consular mission.

 

The mobile consular team processed 137 passport applications and administered the oath of allegiance of 42 Filipinos who reacquired their Filipino citizenship through Republic Act No. 9225 or The Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003. Registration for overseas voting for the 2025 national elections was made available to Filipinos in Brisbane. 

Based on the 2021 Australian census, there are over 73,000 Filipinos and Australians of Filipino descent in the State of Queensland. As a result of the ten-year validity of Philippine passports that began in 2018, the Embassy noted the declining demand for passport renewal services.

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In September 2022, the mobile mission processed 657 passport applications while in August 2023, there were 327 passport applicants served. Passport renewal services are available for all Filipinos in Australia at the Embassy of the Philippines in Canberra and Consulates General in Sydney and Melbourne. Regular mobile consular missions are held in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, and Perth that provide passport renewal services.

The Embassy team was composed of Consul Corina Reyes, Ms. Irene Sadang, Mrs. Virginia Gavino, and Mr. Rodrigo Gavino. Migrant Workers Office-Canberra representative Ms. Julienne Cavida facilitated contract verification services and provided post-arrival orientation seminar (PAOS) to 52 workers based in Queensland. She also held worksite visits to engage employers and Filipino workers.  

This year, the Embassy of the Philippines deployed mobile consular missions in Darwin (May 2023), Perth (July and November 2023), Brisbane (August and November 2023) in Australia and in Nauru (May 2023) and Vanuatu (October 2023) to ensure the provision of consular services, overseas voting registration services and assistance to migrant workers.