How to get a Passport?

Getting a Passport is No Magic – But it’s Simple.

Passport is a Valid Document which identifies a person as a specific country’s citizen when you travel  abroad from your Home country! And it has many other uses when you go to indian government offices and other places domestically, to prove you are a citizen of our country. But nowadays getting a passport in India  is always being an adventure for most of the applicants except one or two!

Sometime ago I got my re-issued passport in Tatkal mode and fresh passports in normal for my wife and child. I received my passport within a weeks time after applying, but it took a little bit of time for my family members. But the process was very simple and hassle free. I went through Old website And I checked for the required documents, I prepared the documents perfectly and there was no problem at the time of appointment and we received the passports very easily.

Recently I was associated to my niece to help and get her passport as she is getting married and going to abroad very soon. Since I was an experienced hand in getting the passport, they pulled me in this scenario. Nowadays they have made the system as very easy to register and apply in on-line through New Website . We applied in on-line and received the ARN (Application Reference Number) immediately.

Then only the struggle started! Getting an appointment was a big head-ache.

Seeking Appointment after Submission of Application is the Bottle Neck in this Process making the People frustrated and tired.

The Passport Agents are ballooned  and harvesting big Money by utilizing this Opportunity!

I went through lot of web sites, blogs to understand the process well and the nuances of this process. I could see a lot of queries  like this….

• How  to get a Passport?

• “Why appointment slot not available in PSK?”

• Appointment Slot Not Available on any Passport Seva Kendra!

• Not able to get the Passport Appointment in PSK

Though it was lot more helpful, I could not find precision answers to many people’s queries in these blogs and sometimes it seems generic. That’s why I started my own blog to help others.

Even if you get an appointment to PSK, the verification process of documents in the passport office is a bitter! There is lot of chaos among TCS staff while verifying the documents.

When we attended for the interview at the first time, they rejected the application as the ration card could not be verified in on-line.

Then the second time they rejected the application for  over writing in birth certificate which is also a corporation official fault!

And finally we obtained all the corrected documents as per the expectations of PSK and we got the Passport.

I learnt a lot through these  experiences and I would like to share this  to the needy people like You! Hence I started this Blog!

So, the purpose of this post is to let the people understand a little bit about the process, the hurdles to be faced and the way get your passport!

Navigate through the links available in this blog shown in blue for the further information and process.

Feel Free to share your Comments, Queries, Advises , Suggestions and your experiences in this Blog and You are welcome!

Let many Master Brains come together to help People and make this Blog a great success!

Here are the Simple Steps to obtain your Passport with out any hassle.

1.Plan

First of all you need to plan well in advance, that in which mode you are going to apply for getting your Passport i.e., Tatkal or Normal  based on your need and Circumstance.

Then  you have to register your account in on-line to proceed this process further. To your register your account click the following link.

User Registration

After registering  your account you will get your User ID and password, and you can use this User ID and password to log on your account through out the entire process and for follow-up.

After logged on you may notice three choices.

1. Apply for Fresh Passport/ Re-issue of Passport.

2. Apply for Police clearance Certificate

3. View Saved / Submitted Applications.

Choice 1 & 2 preferred for Application form Submission and Choice 3 to view your Saved and Submitted Applications.

If you are applying for Fresh/Re-issue of Passport select 1, and there you will have the options to select  either to fill the application in on-line or by download the application which you can fill it at your own pace and later you can upload and submit.

After the Submission of your Passport application in on-line you will get an ARN (Application Reference Number) which is a Two digit – Seven digit Number which will be used for future refernce.

You can take a print out of your application after submission of your application.

2.Prepare the your Documents

1. Documents required for Fresh Passport Issuance

2. Documents required for  Re-issue

3. Documents required for  Police clearance

4. Documents of Annexures/ Affidavits

Documents  required for Fresh / Normal 

Document Code:7001 Proof of Present Address

Document Code:7002 Proof of Date of Birth

Document Code:8015 Document Required for Non-ECR. 

The Documents required for obtaining a Fresh Passport 

For Normal Application Type:

1. Birth Certificate from Municipal Authorities    –        Mandatory
2. Any Two identical Address Proofs:                            –        2 Mandatory & 1 Optional
   1. Ration Card
   2. Voter ID
   3. Driving License
   4. One Year Statement and Passbook of running Nationalized Bank
   5. Income tax assessment Order
   6. Certificate from Employers from Reputed Public limited Companies on     their letter head with Seal.
   7. Spouse’s Passport Copy (Spouse’s present address should match)
   8. Proof of Gas Connection.
   9. Telephone Bill ( Land or Mobile Post paid bill)
   10. Electricity Bill
   11. Water Bill
   12. For proofs 9,10,11  – 2 bills are required one for last year and one for current year.
   13. Parent’s passport copy ( in case of minors)
3. Educational Qualification Certificate with T.C   – Mandatory  

       Minimum Matriculation or more qualified Certificate for Non-ECR. 

For Tatkal Application Type:

1. Birth Certificate from Municipal Authorities       –           Mandatory
2. Any Three identical Address Proofs:                           –       3 Mandatory & 1 Optional

• Address proofs are as shown above

(OR)

If your document proofs are not sufficient, enclose Annexure ‘F’ for verification. It has to be received from Government Officials like Tashildar and above cadre, higher police officials, Magistrate, Government Secretaries etc.,

3. Educational Qualification Certificate with        –           Mandatory

            Minimum Matriculation or more qualified Certificate for Non-ECR.

         4. Standard Affidavit as per Annexure ‘I’                    –            Mandatory  

 Care to be taken while  preparing the Documents to avoid Failures in Passport Interviews:

1. There should not be any correction or overwriting in the documents.

2. Name , Birth Date and the Address you are providing should be identical in all the Documents.

3. If your Date of Birth is on or later 26.01.1989 you should submit your Birth Certificate received from Municipal authorities, or if it is before the mentioned date you can submit either Birth Certificate or S.S.L.C certificate to verify Date of Birth.

4. Check  in advance whether the details of your documents are available in the Server, which is used by Passport authorities for verification.

5. When getting Annexure ‘F’ it should be noted that Verification Officer’s sufficient details like Employment Code, Designation, Address, Telephone numbers of Land-line and Mobile are provided in that annexure and attested with their office seal.

6. If you are a student get the Bonafide certificate from your concerned School/College Principles with Round Seal. Your study details, present address and  photo to be affixed and over signed by the Principal. 

7. While using your Bank Account  as a proof, your photo to be affixed and over signed by the Bank Manager in the Passbook and you should submit up-to date transaction statement for the last six months duly attested by the Bank Manager with stamp and only Nationalized Bank Accounts are accepted.

8. Provide only correct details to the Passport Authority.

9. You should prepare all the original documents along with two sets of self attested Xerox copies for submission of your application at PSK at the time of Interview.

Reissue of Passport:

You can apply for reissue of passport if you want another passport in lieu of an existing passport for any of the following reasons:

1. Change in Existing personal Particulars.

2. Validity Expired within 3 years/ Due to Expire.

3. Exhaustion of Pages.

4. Damaged Passport.

5. Lost Passport.

6. Validity Expired more than 3 years ago. 

Booking Appointment Slot:

Once if you are submitted your application and prepared the Documents, you can seek for an appointment for Interview in Passport Seva Kendra .  You can find out  appointments slots opening time of your concerned PSKs through Updated News of PSK: link. To get an appointment log-in 2 minutes before slot opening time with you user id and password.

1. Select view Saved/Submitted Applications.

2. Select your ARN against your name.

3. Click Manage your appointment.

4. Click Create appointment.

5. By selecting PSK location and entering captcha Code, click Show      Available slots .

6. Select the required time and enter captcha Code at a faster pace and click Book slot.

That’s all you will get your appointment and you can take out a print out and go to  the PSK for Interview on the specified date 30 minutes before the appointment time and Submit the forms in PSK.

Points to be noted while booking appointment:

1. An updated browser and System are preferred.

2. You should have high speed broad band connectivity.

3. Find out your PSK slot opening time using this link.
Updated News of PSK:

4. Set your system time coincides with PSK portal time.

5. While trying for appointment, you should not have multiple log ins for the same user ID. Then the system will automatically log out due to multiple log ins.

6. Use Caps Lock while entering captcha code.

7. Should not waste time while selecting the slot time. Select any time within a blink and enter captcha code and click Book slot.

8. After booking the slot, take a print out with the date and time of your appointment.

On the time of Appointment:

1. Reach PSK 30 minutes before the appointment time.

2. Carry out enough proofs and also additional proofs, in case if some proofs are not considered by PSK authorities you can show additional proofs.

3. Sometimes, the on-line system may be broken down and hence be prepared for filling manual application. Keep photos with white background and pen in handy.

4. Don’t forget to take the Appointment confirmation copy.

5. Go neatly combed and well dressed, because you are photographed in PSK for your passport and this photo will be seen in your Passport for another 10 years.

6. Your Documents will be verified thoroughly and if everything is okay it will be accepted for filing.

7. After filing your application and remitting the fees, you will be given a file number with 15 digit alpha numeric number as a receipt for filing your application with initial two alphabets referring your PSK and the remaining 13 digit your application file number.

After the Interview:

1. After attending the interview, you can track the status of your Passport.

2. Log on with your User ID and password with PSK portal .

3. From your Applicant’s Home, select View Status.

4. You can track your Passport status at every stage till you receive your passport at your Door step.

Links:

The Sevices available in Passport Seva Kendra:

Locate your Passport Seva Kendra:

Know the Fee Structure:

Track Application Status:

Updated News of PSK:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

1.Where to apply?

2.Application form Overview:

3.Fee Payment:

4.Police Verification:

5.Postal Dispatch Tracking:

6.Call centre:

7.Lost/Damaged Passports:

8.Tatkal Passports:

9.Micellaneous

10.What has Changed:

11.Locate Your Passport Seva Kendra:

12.Form Download:

Before concluding this Blog, I would like to remind you that Feel Free to share  your Comments, Queries, Advises, Suggestions and  experiences in this Blog in obtaining Passport, so that others can get to know something and You are welcome!