Articles

Know more about your Indian Passport

by James Lincoln Technology Advisor

Indian Passports are issued by the president of Indian for the purpose of international travel. Citizens who acquire Indian citizenship by birth or naturalization are eligible to apply for a Passport. The Passport enables its holder to travel internationally while functioning as a proof of Indian citizenship. The Passport Act (1967) outlines the guidelines and regulations pertaining to Indian Passports. Under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) of the Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) manages the application and issuance of Indian Passport to all eligible applicants. Currently, there are over 93 offices in India and 162 diplomatic missions abroad which are issuing Indian Passports.

Types of Passports in India

In India, most Passports are issued with 60 pages, however, individuals can also request a Passport with 60 pages. The Government of India issues the following three types of Passports to the citizens of India:

        Ordinary Passport – This is the most common type of Passport issued for the purpose of ordinary travel. Whether the Passport is required for a travel plan to another country for vacation, education or for business requirements, applicants can apply for the Ordinary Passport which will have a dark blue cover. Categorized as “P” (personal) Passport, applicants can apply for an Ordinary Passport with either 36 pages or 60 pages.

        Official Passport – Often referred as the Service Passport, the Official Passports are issued with white cover. These Passports are issued to those individuals who represent the Government of India on official business trips to other countries. The Official Passports are categories as ‘’S”’ Passport where the letter S indicates Service.

        Diplomatic Passport – The Diplomatic Passports are issued with maroon cover. Many Indian diplomats, government officials, and diplomatic couriers are provided with the Diplomatic Passport. The Diplomatic Passports are categories as ‘’D”’ Passport where the letter D indicates Diplomatic.

Passport Note

All types of Indian Passports carry a note from the President of India which is addressed to all the authorities and territories. The note reads ‘’These are to request and require in the Name of the President of the Republic of India all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford him or her, every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need. - By order of the President of the Republic of India.”

Machine-Readable Passports

Earlier, Indian Passports were handwritten and offered validity of 20 years, however, since November 2015, the Government of India started issuing machine-readable Passports. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) travel regulations introduced the machine-readable Passport to eliminate the printing of fake Passports and also to implement an efficient Passport processing system.

Impounding of Passport

Passports can be impounded by the authorities for the following reasons:

        If the Passport is obtained by providing wrong information/documents.

        If the Passport affects the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.

        If the Passport affects friendly relations of India with any foreign country.

        If the Passport threatens the security of India. , or in the interests of the general public;

        If the Passport holder has been imprisoned for more than two years and convicted by a court in India for an offence resulting from moral turpitude.

        If the Passport holder has restrictions on applying for a Passport.

        If the Passport is being used for any action against the specified regulations under the Passport Act, 1967.

Applying for an Indian Passport

Indian citizens by birth and naturalization can get in touch with the Passport Seva Kendra and a Diplomatic Mission abroad to carry out the application for an Indian Passport. The applicant will need to fill in the application form online and schedule an appointment to provide bio metric details and/or other required documents. Once the application form is submitted along with the required documents and the applicable fee is paid, the applicant will need to go through the police verification. After successful verification, the applicant is provided with the Passport. Recently, the Government of India has eased the Passport application policies by accepting various other types of documents as the Proof of Birth instead of the Birth Certificate itself. Moreover, the application policies have also been relaxed for divorced/widowed individuals and various other applicants of other categories.

Passport Application Fee

Depending on the type, speed of processing, and the number of pages, the following fee must be paid by the applicant while applying for a Passport:

Type of Application

Speed

Number of Pages

Validity

Fee

Fresh issuance or renewal of Passport

Normal

36

10

Rs.1,500

Fresh issuance or renewal of Passport

Normal

60

10

Rs.2,000

First-time applicant or renewal

Tatkal

36

10

Rs.3,500

First-time applicant or renewal

Tatkal

60

10

Rs.4,000

Fresh Passport issuance for minors (below 18 years)

Normal

36

5

Rs.1,000

Duplicate Passport

Normal

36

Same as Original

Rs.3,000

Duplicate Passport

Normal

60

Same as Original

Rs.3,500

 

The fee for Indian Passports issued by one of the diplomatic missions outside of India will depend on the country from where the application is being initiated.

Passport Seva Kendra

In September 2007, the Government of India introduced Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) to provide fast and efficient Passport services to the citizens of India. There are over 77 PSKs throughout India which are responsible for managing Passport related services such as application, issuance, etc.

Biometric Passports

The Government of India is also working towards introducing e-Passports which will contain the biometric details of the holder. Currently, the e-Passports are only issued to Diplomatic Passport holders but the government has plans to convert the Ordinary Passports to e-Passports in the coming years. The e-Passport will be machine-readable where a chip will have all the details of the holder including a digital image.

Raking – Indian Passport

According to Global Passport Power Rank 2017, Indian Passports rank at the 55th position. Based on the cross-border access pertaining to visa-free movement allowed to the Passport, the global index ranks the Passports of various countries. Being at the 55th position, Indian Passport holders can visit 59 countries with e-visa, visa on arrival, and visa-free arrival facility. The list of 59 countries are mentioned below:

Antarctica

Ecuador

Haiti

Micronesia

Samoa

Timor-Leste

Bahrain

El Salvador

Indonesia

Moldova

São Tomé and Príncipe

Togo

Bhutan

Ethiopia

Jamaica

Montserrat

Senegal

Trinidad and Tobago

Bolivia

Fiji

Jordan

Myanmar

Seychelles

Turks & Caicos Islands

Cambodia

FYRO Macedonia

Kenya

Nepal

Somalia

Tuvalu

Cape Verde

Gabon

Laos

Palau

South Korea

Uganda

Comoros

Georgia

Madagascar

Rwanda

Sri Lanka

Vanuatu

Cote d’Ivoire

Grenada

Maldives

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Svalbard

Zambia

Djibouti

Guinea-Bissau

Mauritania

Saint Lucia

Tanzania

Zimbabwe

Dominica

Guyana

Mauritius

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Thailand

 


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About James Lincoln Advanced   Technology Advisor

51 connections, 1 recommendations, 190 honor points.
Joined APSense since, January 13th, 2017, From Bangalore, India.

Created on Jan 12th 2018 03:06. Viewed 805 times.

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