New rules for passport application
Posted on: 31/Jul/2017 9:20:54 PM
Below is the new set of rules for passport application as revised by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Documentation and DOB:
According to earlier rules, it was mandatory for all applicants born on or after 26th January 1989 to submit their birth certificate. However, with the new rule, this is relaxed and it is not mandatory like earlier. Submitting any of the following documents will be enough:
Birth certificate as received from the Registrar of births and deaths or from the municipal corporation or any other prescribed authority that is authorized to provide registration of birth and deaths act, 1969 and register the birth a baby born in India.
- Any transfer certificate, school leaving certificate, or matriculation certificate received from the previously studied educational institution
- Aadhar card or e-aadhar
- PAN card
- In case of government servants, a copy of the record of service of the applicant, or pay pension order in case of retired government servants
- Driving license
- Voter id card as received from the election commission of India
- Policy bond got from public life insurance corporation or companies
Parent or legal guardian details:
As a welcome move, with the new rule for passport application, it is not mandatory for both the parents to be present at the time of application. It is enough if the applicant provides just one of the parents or the legal guardian. So, for children brought up by single parent or orphans, things have turned much easier. There are also options for spirituality oriented people also called Sadhus or Sanyasis. They can simply mention names of their respective spiritual leader rather than their biological parents.
Annexes:
Earlier, 15 annexes had to be submitted, but this is now reduced to 9. These are Annexes A, C, D, E, J and K. A few of these are removed, whereas others are merged. With lesser number of annexes, the trouble is lessened too.
Attestation:
All these annexes need to be attested from any Notary or executive magistrate or first class judicial magistrate. Thus, the annexes can be made as a self-declaration form on plain paper. So, the applicant need not run for attestation like before.
Married or divorced individuals:
The Annexure K which mandates the need for marriage certificate is no more a need. For divorced applicants, it is not necessary to mention the name of their spouse. This serves as one other interesting modification brought, keeping in mind the changing norms.
Urgent passports for official reasons:
When there is a need for urgent passports, when a government employee is not in a position to get NOC or identification certificate from the employer, it is enough if they provide a self-declaration stating an intimation to the employer about applying for an ordinary passport to the passport issuing authority.
Complete details of all these instructions and modified rules are mentioned as press release on the official site of the ministry of external affairs. With all these changes, passport application process has got way too easier which is definitely a welcome move.
