A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies the identity and nationality of its holder for the purpose of international travel. Any body who is a citizen of India can apply for a passport irrespective of age, sex, religion etc. Passports can be issued at 37 locations across the country and at 162 Indian missions abroad.
What are the different types of passport?
There are three types of passports issued by the Indian Government.
- Ordinary passport - An ordinary passport appears with a blue cover and consists of 36 or 60 pages. It is valid for 10 years from the date of issue and can be renewed for another 10 years. An Indian citizen can use this passport for vacation or business travel.
- Diplomatic passport - Members of the National Government,including diplomats, administrative officials, and official public couriers, use a diplomatic passport whose cover is maroon in colour.
- Official passport – Ordinary citizens travelling on official government business carry an official passport with white cover.
- E - passport - India has recently initiated the first phase of biometric e-passport for Diplomatic Passport holders in India and abroad. The new passports have been designed locally in India by the Central Passport Organisation, the India Security Press and IIT Kanpur. It contains a security chip with all personal data and digital images. In the first phase new passports will have a 64KB chip carrying a personal photograph of the passport holder and in subsequent phases it will have a fingerprint. On 25 June 2008 the Indian Passport Authority issued the first e-passport to the then President of India, Pratibha Patil. The e-passport is under its first phase of deployment and is restricted to Diplomatic passport holders.
- Special Passport - Selected passport offices in India as well as overseas missions are authorised to issue Regular Indo-Bangladeshi passports and Indo-Sri Lankan passports, to Indian nationals resident in West Bengal, the North Eastern States, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. These two passports respectively permit travel to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka only and are not valid for travel to other foreign countries. While the Indo-Sri Lankan passport continues to be issued, the Indo-Bangladesh passport is in the process of being phased out, with no new Indo-Bangladesh passports being issued after 2006. The passports already issued can be used until their expiry date. Holders of the Indo-Bangladesh passport were permitted visa-free access to Bangladesh, which holders of regular Indian passports were not.
How to get a passport? Where to apply for passport?
- Get the Passport Application Form: One can apply for Passport through Online Registration, after you finish online registration, get printouts of the application form. One can download the passport application e-form online from here
Apart from this,applicant can submit directly in the respective passport office/ DPCs/Speed post centres.
The main form of passport application can be downloaded from here
- How to fill the Form: The Passport Application Form is Machine Readable and the following instructions must be followed:
- Use capital letters only. Particulars given in the form will be printed in the passport. Therefore, please be careful in filling up the form and avoid any mistakes
- Use black/blue ball pen only
- Do not fill the form with pencils or ink-pen
- While filling up the boxes, kindly leave one box blank after each completed word
- Write clearly within the box without touching the boundaries
- Adjust the information to fit within the number of given boxes
- Do not write anything outside the box. Avoid over-writing
- Incomplete application will not be accepted
- Applicants who, despite appointment, have been “refused token” due to non-availability of required set of documents can re-visit the same PSK as “Walk-IN”, within next 3 working days from the date of appointment and as per the time slot mentioned in the appointment slip. On-line appointment is not mandatory for these applicants
- Some categories are allowed as Walk-in applicants and obtaining online appointment is not mandatory. [Please see: Walk-in Appointments with online Registration]
- In case you are unable to secure appointment or don’t fall under Walk-in category, you may visit concerned Passport Office for submission of manual passport application form if permitted by the concerned RPO [Please see: Manual Submission of Applications].
- Alternatively RPO may consider giving staggered appointments keeping in view the load/capacity at the respective PSK under their jurisdiction.
- Tatkaal and other urgency applications will be given preference in allotting appointments through this route. Such applicants should fill-up the application online, generate 'Application Reference Number' and visit RPO along with printed copy of 'ARN Sheet'
Note: All original documents are to be shown at the time of submission of the passport application form. With the Original Passport Application Form, self-attested copies of all required documents need to be attached. Illiterate applicants should put only thumb impression in the box meant for thumb impression/signature. In case an applicant has stayed at more than one address during the last one year, he/she should furnish two additional photocopies of the PP form for each additional place of stay.
3. Where to Apply : For Online Registration, the applicant has to submit the print outs of the application form along with required documents to the respective passport office in the appointment date and time printed. Apart from this Passport Applications can be submitted at:
The counter of the Passport office
The Speed Post centers
District Passport Cells
Passport Collection Centers
To get a passport a person can submit the Passport Application Form online or via District Passport Cell (DPC) of his/her district.
Related Links:
http://passport.gov.in/cpv/dpcs.htm
http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/faqWhereToApply
http://passport.gov.in/cpv/obtain.htm
Do’s and Don’ts for a new Passport
The various Do’s and Don’ts for applicants applying at District Passport Cell (DPC) are:
- Photograph
Do- Paste colour photograph having white/light background, Size- 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm, and photograph on the application form should be of the applicant only.
Don’t- No signature/ stamp on the pasted photograph.
- Demand Draft
Do- Should be issued by a Scheduled bank, Validity 60 days or more from date of submission. Draft should be of exact amount of fee, as applicable.
Don’t - It should not be torn/soiled.
- Documents
- Self-attested photocopies of the supporting documents that need to be submitted along with the form.
- CLEAR photocopies and One documentary proof is sufficient for each document category.
- Documents should be correctly mentioned in the "ENCLOSURES" section and properly attached.
- Personal Details mentioned in the application form should match the details in the enclosed documents
e.g. address, employment type, gender, Parent's/Spouse name, citizenship, Date of Birth.
- Application form
Do - Only passport application forms in NEW FORMAT will be accepted. Form should not be torn/soiled and should be complete/correct in all respects. E.g. valid 10 digit mobile number, Education Qualifications & Emergency Contact Details should be mentioned clearly, Present/Permanent Address with correct Pin code is filled, 'Residing since' and both references should be provided, ECNR category to be appropriately mentioned. In "Place of Birth" column, only "Village", "District" and "State" needs to be mentioned;
Don’t - "Post" and "Taluk" not required.
- Signature
Do - Applicant should sign/ provide thumb impression STRICTLY within the designated box below the photograph and also at the self-declaration in the last page.
http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/faqWhereToApply
How do I track my Passport status?
To track the Passport status one needs to follow the given steps:
- Click on this link here that will direct you to the status tracking page.
- Then type the file number which is a 12 digit alpha-numeric number found at the top left corner of the acknowledgement receipt that one gets when they apply for the passport
- Submit your date of birth in the DD/MM/YYYY order correctly
- And then click the option “track” to get the passport status
Documents required for passport:
- Passport Application with 4 Passport size photos
- Proof of Date Of Birth
- Address Proof
- Fees for Passport
- Change in name Certificate if you have changed your name.
What is the fees for issuance of Passport?
1500 - Fresh or Renew passport (36 pages) of 10 years validity
2000 - Fresh or Renew passport (60 pages) of 10 years validity
3000 - Duplicate passport (36 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport
3500 - Duplicate passport (60 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport