I posted a pic of the filter in this other thread:
Fuel Filter Location
It looks like there's 1 vertical and 1 horizontal filter. The vertical one that looks like the other VW filters is the canister type. The horizontal one looks like you replace the whole thing. I thought it was a fuel pump but the parts manual shows 2 types of filters. The part numbers for the vertical filter are in the other thread, "8k0 127 400 a" is the part number for the horizontal filter if equipped.
If you do this, can you document it with step by step pictures? It would be most helpful since I don't have access to one and it would really help others.