The process of getting a new Indian passport has become very much easier after the government introduced two significant changes to the procedure.
1 Appointment Choice
The first is that a solution has been implemented whereby applicants can book their appointments as per their choice. Earlier, the appointment was assigned by the Passport Seva system based on the availability and on first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis.
“The new provision will allow applicants to choose any of the latest five available working days while scheduling or rescheduling an appointment for passport-related services,” External Affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing.
2 No Police Verification
“Under this new system, normal passport applications of all first time applicants who furnish three documents – Aadhar, electoral photo identity card and permanent account number or PAN card — and an Affidavit stating their address, citizenship and swearing that there are no criminal cases pending against them will be processed on a post-police verification basis without payment of any additional fees subject to successful online validation of the Aadhar number,” Swarup said.
So, a citizen who has the three relevant documents would be issued the passport almost immediately with the police verification following later.
“The ministry has also launched an mPassport Police App which allows for police verification to enter the status of verification digitally and in real time, thus cutting down further on the time required for verification,” he added.
These changes have come into effect from 27th January as a Republic Day gift from the external affairs ministry.
