Passport Seva - How to Apply For Passport | Passport Application | Passport Renewal Online | Passport Status and Tracking

Passport - an important document for traveling to foreign countries for education, medical assistance, pilgrimage, tourism, business purpose, and family visits. With the growth of the economy and globalization, the requirement for passports and other related services has increased immensely.

And to ensure wider reach and availability - the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) launched the Passport Seva Project (PSP) in May 2010 with the purpose to elevate and improve the delivery of passport services.

Although, the fundamental purpose of the introduction of Passport Seva was to allow seamless, efficient, and transparent passport delivery and other related services. Moreover, apart from establishing a countrywide network of government staff, the Passport Seva has also integrated State Police to conduct physical verification of credentials, along with the delivery of passports through the post.

With digitization, the Indian government has taken several initiatives to keep up through the introduction of e-governance with the motive to deliver the best public services.

In this blog, we will know about a new version of Passport Seva that would include types of passports issued, how to file Passport application online, how to do passport tracking, passport renewal process, the process of passport status check, and passport Seva login.

In a nutshell, this will be your personal Passport online guide, and let’s start with the types of passports issued in India.

What Are the Types of Passports Issued in India?

In India, three types of passports are being issued, which are -

Ordinary Passport - It consists of 30-60 pages and is generally issued to adults. The validity of an ordinary passport is 10 years, from its date of issuance, after its expiration date, it can be reissued or renewed. However, a minor can also get an ordinary passport, although its validity would be only 5 years or till they attain the age of 18, whichever is earlier.
Official Passport - As its name implies, it is issued to designated government officials or other individuals as authorized by the Government official deputed to a foreign country for an assignment.
Diplomatic Passport - As its name signifies, it is issued to authorized government members.

Since, it is clear which type of passport you would need to apply for, let’s move to the location of the passport office in India.

Passport Offices in India

In India, an applicant who wants to get a passport needs to pay a visit to their jurisdiction passport office for any passport-related query or walk-in interviews. However, it is to be noted that, for more knowledge regarding documents required for passport, you are advised to visit the official home page of your State or UT.

For instance, in the case of a visit to a passport office, walk-in interviews are not allowed unless authorized by the Incharge of PSK/POPSK.

Be it Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and other states or UT, Passport Seva Kendra is available to provide assistance to the applicant online or offline. For a better understanding of passport offices in India, you can visit the official website of Passport Seva Kendra.

Only understanding certain aspects like the types of passports issued in India or the location of the post office is not enough if you don’t know how to apply for passport. So, in the next section, we will apprise you of how to file passport application online.

How to Apply For Passport | Passport Application Online

The registration process will begin by visiting the official website of Passport Seva Online Portal.
Log in through your credentials.
Click on a new applicant to move the process forward.
Provide the required details in the form and submit it.
The next step would be clicking on “pay and schedule appointment,” to schedule an appointment.
Online payment needs to be made.
Once the payment has been processed, you are required to print the receipt of the application.
Finally, a visit needs to be paid to the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Regional Passport Office (RPO) as per the scheduled appointment.

If you have an urgent requirement to apply for a passport online, then you can file a tatkal passport application. For this, you can refer to the below-mentioned process for the tatkal passport application.

Under the Tatkal passport, you can file a passport application under the Tatkal scheme.
You are not required to provide certification of verification from a Gazetted officer.
Documents notified vide G.S.R. 939(E) dated 16 December 2019 need to be submitted.
If an applicant is a minor, any of the two documents signifying identity and resident proof can be submitted.

After filing the Passport application online for tatkal passport, the passport will be dispatched in three working days.

With the filing of the passport Seva application, the documentation plays a major role in the issuance of a passport, be it filing a new passport application or tatkal application, or application for passport renewal. So, why don’t we discuss what are the documents required to file the passport application in the next section?

What Are the Documents Required For Passport?

Basically, you are required to submit, residence proof and birth proof to the passport Seva Kendra, the list of acceptable documents under both residence proof and birth proof are mentioned below -

Documents required for Date of Birth (DPB) proof

Birth certificate issued by the registrar of Births and Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or other concerned authorities.
School leaving, transfer, or matriculation certificate.
Aadhaar card or e-aadhaar card.
PAN card.
Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India.

To view the complete list of documents, you can visit here.

Documents required for address proof

Telephone bill.
Water bill.
Aadhar card.
In the case of rented property, rent agreement.
Picture of a current bank account.

To view the complete list of documents, you can visit here.

How to Renew Passport Online | Passport Renewal Process

The passport renewal process is similar to filing for a fresh passport application, however, for better understanding, we are mentioning the systematic steps involved in passport renewal online.

The registration process will begin by visiting the official website of Passport Seva Online Portal.
Log in through your credentials.
Click on a re-issue of the passport to move the process forward.
Provide the required details in the form and submit it.
The next step would be clicking on “pay and schedule appointment,” to schedule an appointment.
Online payment needs to be made.
Once the payment has been processed, you are required to print the receipt of the application.
Finally, a visit needs to be paid to the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Regional Passport Office (RPO) as per the scheduled appointment.

Since, the process of passport online application and how to renew passport online is clear, including information regarding documents required for passports is clear, let’s see how you can check the passport status.

What is the Process of Passport Tracking | Passport Status Check

If you have already filed a passport application, however, are confused regarding how to track it, that’s seamless too. Simply follow the below-mentioned steps for passport tracking -

Visit the Passport Seva login portal for tracking applications.
Choose the type of application.
Then, enter the file number provided to you during passport application submission.
Lastly, enter your date of birth.
Once all the required details are filled in, you will be able to do passport tracking.

Conclusion

Filing passport Seva application, passport tracking, passport renewal process, and other information regarding passport have been provided. Although, it is to be noted that, only obtaining a passport is not enough, you are also required to ensure conformance with the compliance requirements of the country you are visiting.

That being said, it includes meeting the requirements of customs and other authorities, much more similar to importing and exporting a product in the Indian market. Let’s understand it through an example, to enter the Indian market, a product needs to obtain applicable standards, it could be BIS certification, TEC certification, BEE certification, LMPC certification, and any other certification as applicable.

And being India’s leading compliance service provider, we - JR Compliance can provide you assistance in meeting any compliance requirements, from Indian to Global.

Get in touch with our professionals for expert assistance.