Category Archives: Passport

Have you ever dreamt of traveling around the world? Having those luxurious tastes of the champagne and wine tumbling down on your tongue, having the best authentic cuisine rolling inside your mouth, resting your body on a lavish, plushy feather textured beds of a magnificent hotel room. Do you dream all of this? Well… who doesn’t? Every human being living on this mother earth dreams of traveling around the world. But, have you have any idea how a small wallet-sized document has bought wonders into our lives. And this wallet-sized document is nothing but the “PASSPORT“. With the passport in your pocket, you feel powerful just like the “HERCULES”. You don’t have to think about the traffic and the scrubby parking areas, just think about the planes and you floating in the sky. Okay, now keeping aside our crazy imagination lets come to the point of what exactly a PASSPORT is. How this smallish document has made life so ease and accessibility? We are going to discuss the basic facts about the INDIAN PASSPORT, its eligibility criteria, types, rules and regulations, benefits and the most important, step by step guide to how to apply it online.

Basically, a passport is a hall pass to the world. It is an all-important travel document for those who are willing to travel overseas for education, pilgrimage, tourism, business purposes, medical attendance and family visits. It is issued by the country’s government that denotes the identity of the nationality of the holder.

Exactly an Indian Passport Looks Like

The Indian Passport comes in Blue- Black cover. The prints on the passport are golden in color. At the center of the passport lies the mark of the Official emblem printed. On the top “REPUBLIC OF INDIA” is inscribed in Hindi and English languages. A standard passport consists of 36 pages whereas; an individual who is traveling frequently can get a passport of 60 pages.
A basic passport contains the following information:
1. Holder’s name
2. Place and date of the birth
3. Photograph
4. A ghost picture containing Encoded Sensitive Information
5. Signature and other identifying information.
6. Permanent Address of the Holder
7. Gender
8. Date of issue and expiry of the passport
9. Place where the passport is issued.

Eligibility Criteria For an Indian Passport

The eligibility criteria for applying the passport is that applicant must be an Indian citizen. The validity of the passport is limited, usually between 5-10 years.

Types of Passport

Under the Passport Act, 1967 issued by the Government of India, there are basically three types of passports and they are categorized as follows:
1. TYPE P (ORDINARY PASSPORT): The letter “p” denotes “personal“. This is the most commonly used passport. This type of passports is used mainly for the travel on a holiday or a business purpose.
2. TYPE S (OFFICIAL PASSPORT): Here the letter “S” denotes “service“. These passports are basically used by people traveling abroad for an official government or state work.
3. TYPE D (DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT): “D” denotes Diplomat. These types of passports are issued to those who always travel an official government work including those who are posted abroad.

Rules & Regulations To Follow For Passport Application: (Document to be Submitted) at Time of Applying

Before applying for a passport there are few things which are needed to keep in mind like, the applicant must be born on or after 26.01.1989. They are required to provide the birth certificate as the proof of Date of Birth. Other than this, there are few documents that are needed to be submitted before applying for Indian Passport.

Proof of Date of Birth Documents for Passport

1. The birth certificate must be issued by the Registrar of Births or the Municipal Organization or any other organization who has the authorization and has been empowered under the Registration of Birth and Death Act 1969, to register the birth of the child born in India.
2. He/she must submit the school leaving certificate which is issued by the school or college last attended. The school/college must have a good educational background.
3. The policy bond which is issued by the Public Insurance Corporation/ the companies holding the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy.
4. A copy of the service record of the applicant (Government servants) and pay pension orders (Retired Government Servants) must be dully attested and certified by the administrative officer of the concerned Ministry Department of the applicant.
5. Aadhaar card or E-Aadhaar card.
6. Election Photo Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India.
7. PAN card issued by the Income Tax Department.
8. Driving license issued by the Transport Development.
9. A declaration is given by the head of the child care home/orphanage on their official letterhead issuing the confirmation of the Date of Birth of the child.

Documents Required for The Proof of Address

1. Water bill
2. Telephone bill (landline/paid mobile bill)
3. Electricity bill
4. Income tax Assessment Order
5. Election Commission Photo ID card
6. Proof of Gas Connection
7. Certificate of the employers of the reputed companies on the letterhead.
8. Spouse’s passport copy (First and last page including the family details) provided that the applicant’s present address must match the spouse’s address.
9. If the applicant is a minor then, he/she must provide their parent’s passport copies (first and last page).
10. Aadhaar card
11. Rent agreement
12. Photo passbook of the running bank account (Scheduled Public Sector Banks, Scheduled private sector banks, Regional Rural Banks only).

POLICE VERIFICATION: The applicant’s criminal record must be clean. The police verification is a must.In the case of the standard passport application, they have a pre-police verification. For Tatkal (Emergency) application of passport, you need to have a post-police verification. During the Tatkal Passport Application Process of Police Verification, they provide you a character certificate, denoting that you’re clean.

ECR/ECNR PASSPORT STATUS: ECR (Emigration Check Required) and ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required): If an Indian Passport Holder is a Matric/ Std X pass, he/she is free to go to any Gulf Countries/African Countries or to any poor countries. They are free to earn their livelihood at their own risk and thus they do not require any emigration check.

Procedure for Applying for a Passport

Before applying for a passport you need to choose the option of what type of passport you need: normal or tatkal. After choosing, based on your need there are two modes: online and offline.

For applying online, you need to log into the official site of the Passport Service Website i.e. www.passportindia.gov.in You need to take an appointment or time slot for visiting PSK.

The Applicants those who are applying offline need to download and print the form and submit them at the passport collection center. The applicants can also buy and submit the form there itself. There are even walk-ins for minor, handicapped and senior citizens that mean submit the form without an appointment. This case is mainly applicable on Tatkal applications.

New Passport Application System in India: Quick N Fast

To make the applicant’s life more repose and comfort the Government of India is installing Point of Sale (POS) machines at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) to facilitate the payment for the tatkal passports. This will blot out the requirement of the cash transactions.

The individuals can also apply for Passport using Aadhaar Card. This method of application can cut the red tape for the entire process.

Fee Structure for the Renewal or Application of New Passport

Hold On, Have You Got An Appointment

When applying for the passport, the applicant is needed to be present himself or herself to the Regional Passport Office for the verification of the information.

The applicant is required to make an appointment which undergoes the following steps:

1. Log into Online Passport Seva Portal with a registered login id.
2. Click on apply for fresh passport/reissue passport.
3. Fill in the required details in the form and submit.
4. Click the “Pay and Scheduled Appointment” link on the “view saved/submitted applications” screen to schedule an appointed and thus an appointment slot will be allotted.

Step by Step a Guided Procedure for Applying for a Passport Online

Log-In Your First Step

1. When you visit the home page, you’ll find a section -” APPLY”.
2. If you are an existing user, then you can happily login into your account mentioning your details (user id and password).
3. If you’re a first time user then you need to register and create an account in-order to generate a new user id and password.

Registration Procedure is as Follows

You will be redirected to the user registration page, where you need to fill in the details, some of the details are mandatory which are marked with Asterix(*).

1. Firstly, you need to choose the type of passport applications you want to apply for i.e either CPV Delhi or the passport office (CPV is basically for the application of diplomatic/official passports)
2. The passport office relevant to you based on the address of your current residence (the Tibetian refugees will have to choose “Delhi Passport Office” for identity certificate).
3. You can also use your email id as the login-id and type the password and confirm your account.
4. Modify your login process using a “HINT” option where you can provide a hint to a question and answer, in case you forget your login details.
5. Finally, enter the code displayed and enter the “Hit” button to confirm.

Choosing your Application Type

1. After login in, you can have the accessibility to the site and you are redirected to the Application Page. Here, you can choose to apply for the following types of applications.

• Fresh Passport/Passport Reissue
• Diplomatic Passport/Official Passport
• Police Clearance Certificate
• Identity Certificate

This page has also a link which is used to view the previously submitted application, saved the application.

2. Clicking on the apply, for the fresh/reissued passport on the applicant home page will take you to the next step.

Filling the Application Form

The application form can be applied in two modes- offline and online

Offline Mode of Applying:

1. If you’re choosing to fill in the form offline, then click on the link provided “download  the form in soft copy“(NOTE: applicable on ACROBAT READER VERSION 9.0 ABOVE)
2. It will redirect you to the “download e-form” for each of the following:
   • Fresh/reissue
   • Police Clearance Certificate
   • Diplomatic/Official
   • Identity Certificate
3. Click on the desired link and download the e-form.
4. Fill in the application e-form
5. Click on the upload e-form and upload/submit the filled in application.

This is a quicker way to fill in the form since it doesn’t require any internet connection.

Online Mode

If you choose to fill in the form online, then click on the application online button

You will be redirected to the page, showing the option of the Passport Type you want to apply for.

• FRESH/REISSUE
• NORMAL OR TATKAL
• Booklet of 36 or 60 pages.
• The Validity of 10 years or up to 18 years of age is not applicable-choose not applicable if you are an applicant over 18 years.
• Choose over 10 years or up to 18 years of age if the applicant is a 15 to 18 -year old minor.

Click on the “NEXT ICON” at the bottom right corner.

This will take you to the subsequent pages which denote different sections of the application field. These sections are:

• Passport Type(current page)
• Applicant Details
• Family Details
• Present Address 1
• Present Address 2
• Emergency contact
• References
• Previous Passport
• Other Details
• Self Declaration.

NOTE:(You have to say connected to the internet for a while filling in the form. This is a slow process if your internet speed is less than 512 Kbps) You are required to fill in all the genuine details.

Schedule, Pay and Book the Appointment

You need to schedule an appointment for Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). You are required to be present yourself. You can locate the nearest Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) on the portal.

1. Go to the “Applicant Home Page” where you can view the saved applications. It shows in a tabular form the ARN, ARN file no., Applicant name, Appointment Date and Submission Number.
2. Select the ARN Number of the form you just filled.

Below the table are the various options:

• Retrieve partially filled form
• Pay and Schedule Appointment
• Track Application Status
• Track Payment Status
• Payment Receipt
• Uploading supporting documents
• Appointment History

3. Click on the pay and schedule appointment.
4. This initiates your payment process- choose the “mode of online payment” you want to use.

Online Payment-This is done using the Internet Banking, Debit Card, Credit Cards or other options.

Offline Payments– Also called as the Challan Payment. More about this in later steps.

5. Once the payment is done the next step is to book an appointment.
6. If you choose to pay online, you can move on to booking the appointment directly.If there is a hitch in the system, whereby you have been charged the passport fee without having your payment done -successfully. Go to the application Home Page and click on the track payment status.Here you can check the status of the application. If it has been processed successfully then get an appointment confirmation. If it is not processed, then it will show “transaction failed“. If in this case the amount is charged then, it will get refunded to your account within 7 days else, you will have to contact the customer care.
7. In a case of the challan mode, take the challan to the SBI Branch and pay the required amount of the cash.
8. The Challan is valid for only 85 days from generation.
9. Collect the copy of challan from the receiving bank personnel.
10. The bank will take 2days to verify the ARN details of the challan given.
11. You can also track your payment details.
12. On successful payment, either online or offline, you can schedule your appointment.
13. Ensure all the details you have provided are correct, then click on the appointment payment and booking.

Note: Once the payment is done the money is not refunded.

If your payment is successful then, you will receive an Appointment Confirmation and Appointment Number.

Print ARN Receipt

Now, click on the Print Application Receipt present at the bottom right corner

The print application receipt has the following details:

Applicant Details: ARN, Type of Application, name, place, gender and marital status, employment type, Father’s name and current address.

Applicant Refrence: First reference details, Second reference details(these are the alphabetic codes).

Passport Payment Details: Total fee,f ee paid, Date and Time of Payment and the Payment Transaction ID.

Passport Appointment Details: Location of the PSK and its address, Date and Time of the Passport Appointment, appointment ID as well as the reporting time.

After reviewing out the complete details click on the print receipt present at the right bottom of the corner.

The last step in this process is the display of the “Passport application receipt”. This is the proof that you have completed the process of online passport application.

It also contains a tabular display where the Batch Sequence number, reporting time where the applicants are told to visit the nearest PSK according to the batches and appointments.

Things to be Taken Care When You Have an Appointment at PSK (Documents you need to carry)

1. Carry your documents, i.e one set of original and another set of self-attested photocopies.(Parents can attest their minor copies).
2. Its not necessary to take photographs along with because the photographs will be taken at the PSK. Only applicant who is a minor in age i.e below 4 years needs to carry a recent passport size photo with a white background with a size limit of 4.5*3.5 cm.
3. You need to be present before the reporting timing after you reach, you will be issued with a token. Documents will be verified before the token issuance. If you’re late then you will not be entertained and will not be given a token.
4. Cameras, electronic gadgets, and harmful objects are not allowed to PSK.
5. If you’re unable to attend the appointment then you can reschedule it at PSK as soon as possible and you need to follow the above process from the start.

Latest News about Indian Passports

• 5 New Rules in Application Process of Indian Passport in 2017
  

You don’t have to submit the Proof of the Birth Certificates, no requirement of attestation, no requirement of the divorce decree for a divorced person, no requirement of the adoption certificates and the reduction of the Passport fees (10%) for the senior citizen and the children below 8 years of age and last but not the least – the reduction of the annexures from 15 to 9. These are the new changes done in Indian Passport Application Process in 2018.

A passport is one of the most important documents issued by the Government which helps us to travel to other countries in an ease. It is an official document that ensures smooth immigration into another country. It also doubles up as an authentic office document, helping us to avail various government and private services as it acts as an address and id proof. The fastest way to get an Indian Passport is to apply for Tatkal Passport Scheme.

Tatkal service is available for issue or reissue of Indian Passports. It is not available for miscellaneous services as OCI Card. Tatkal service is available on consideration grounds of genuine emergency like death, serious illness of a blood relative. Tatkal passport service is not for the case of scheduling travel plans, or in case of expired visa status or in a case where the passport has not been renewed for more than six months after the date of expiry.

Eligibility Criteria for Tatkal Passport

There are certain eligibility criteria for the TATKAL Passport application. Applicants falling into this category below cannot apply/reapply for the tatkal scheme.

• Citizens born to Indian parents outside India having an Indian Descent– The applicants who have Indian parents staying outside India but have an Indian descent can apply for the Tatkal Passport.
• Applicants who have been deported to India from other countries.
• Applicants who have been repatriated from a different country at Government’s cost.
• The applicants who have changed their name-this is a major issue
• Residents from Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland.
• Naga origins residing outside Nagaland.
• Children adopted by Indian and Foreign parents.
• Minor Children with a single parent.
• Minor Children residing in Nagaland.
• Short passport validity renewal
• Lost or Stolen Passport.
• Passport damaged beyond recognition
• Change in sex or appearance
• Change in personal credentials such as a signature.

*No Police Verification is attempted in the Tatkal Passport Application.

Documents Required for Tatkal Passport Application

Before visiting the Passport Seva Kendra you need to make sure that you carry all the required documents as mentioned in the official site.

The documents that are needed at the time of applying and submitting.

• Verification certificate as per Annexure F– The annexure ‘F’ is basically a verification document which certifies that the applicant was staying at his/her current address for the past 1 year continuously and you are an Indian citizen with no criminal record from the past till date.
• Election card- The voter ID card.
• Aadhaar Card
• Service Photo Id Card
• Certificate of SC/ST/OBC
• Identity cards of Freedom Fighters
• Arms License
• Ration Card
• Property Documents
• Pension documents
• Railway Photo identity card.
• PAN card issued by the income tax department.
• Bank Passbook
• A students ID card from a recognized institution.
• Driving License
• Birth Certificate
• Gas Connection Bill
  

  Tatkal Passport Fees

  The charges for the Tatkal application is quite high. If you are applying for a fresh passport (TATKAL) then it has a different fee and payment process along with the duration. You will be charged Rs 2000/- extra in addition to the regular fees mentioned. The maximum time limit for the Tatkal Passport issuance is 7-10 days.

Tatkal Passport Application Process

The official site for applying for the Tatkal Passport is passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink.

1. Register yourself at the official portal of Passport Seva.- You need to apply at the official website of the passport and register yourself.
2. Every individual will be provided with a unique ID and password.- After registration, you will be provided with an ID and password. Log in using the ID and the password.
3. When you log in yourself, you will be redirected to a page with two options fresh and reissue Choose the application option.
4. Now, Select “Tatkal Option” in the scheme type.
5. Fill in the desired details and click on the submit button.
6. After filling the details, Download the application form and fill in the form.
7. You can submit the form either online and offline.
8. Please Complete the payment procedure
9. Print out the payment receipt online
10. Book an appointment at the nearest Passport Seva Kendra. Here you’ll be provided with an application token number.