Even if you hear the news that "it's now possible to apply for a passport online," there are probably still not many people who have actually tried it.
I needed to get a new passport to use for identity verification on the overseas website POND5. As a first step, I 'll summarize my experience of actually applying via My Number Portal
What do I need to apply for a passport online?
First of all, the preparation is surprisingly simple.
- My Number Card (with a valid digital signature certificate)
- Smartphone (My Number Portal app compatible model)
- Facial photo data (compliant with standards)
- How to pay the application fee (pay upon receipt)
If you have all of these, you can apply from home without having to go to a passport center.
I started the application process at night. It went surprisingly smoothly.
On the evening of Sunday, October 26, 2025, I logged into My Number Portal and started my application.
I entered my name, address, phone number, and passport collection location. The
process went much more smoothly than I expected, and I hardly had any trouble at all.
It's important to note that you must log in with your My Number card .
You won't be able to proceed to the passport application page with a regular account login.
The system uses the NFC function on your smartphone to read the card.
It's convenient to be able to save the progress
I found the feature that allows you to stop working on the photo or signature upload screen and resume later from where you left off convenient. However, this "saved" work is not saved online, but as a file on your smartphone.
When you resume your application, you will need to upload that saved file and continue.
On iPhone, saved files are stored in the "Files" app, so it is important to know where they are saved when you resume.
Taking a photo of someone's face requires specific requirements, such as no shadows on the face and a white background, so it seemed difficult to do so under night lighting.
Therefore, I decided to take the photo the next day in natural light.
My impressions so far
To be honest, I had the impression that "online application = difficult," but it's actually more intuitive and easy to understand than I expected.
On the other hand, people who aren't used to using smartphones or who haven't updated their digital certificates may have trouble.
Still, I think it's a big step forward that you can get this far without going to the government office.
After I finished the process, I suddenly thought,
"It's convenient, but it also gives me a sense of security." Just being able to save my work midway through gives me peace of mind.
This may be the greatest advantage of going online.
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