While new visa norms have made travel easier for all Indian passport holders, getting an Indian passport has gotten easier too. ICYMI: here's a recap of the rule changes introduced by the Ministry of External Affairs in the recent months.
More than one way to prove date of birth
Earlier, all applicants born on or after 26 January 1989 had to submit the birth certificate as the proof of date of birth. Now, all applicants can submit any of the following documents as well:
Transfer/school leaving/Matriculation Certificate that contains the date of birth of the applicant
PAN Card
Aadhar Card
Driving licence
Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC)
Copy of the extract of the service record of the applicant (only for government officials) or the Pay Pension Order (for retired government officials), duly attested/certified by the officer/in-charge of the administration of the concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant, having their date of birth
Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the date of birth of the holder of the insurance policy
Easier for children of single parents
The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of only one parent/legal guardian and not both. This allows single parents to provide just their own name for their child's passport.
Easier for children without parents
Orphaned children who do not have any proof of their date of birth (Birth Certificate/Matriculation Certificate/declaratory court order) may submit a declaration given by the head of the orphanage/child care home on their official letterhead confirming the date of birth of the applicant.
Easier for children born out of wedlock
In case of children born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only Annexure G while submitting the passport application.
Easier for adopted children
In case of issue of passport to in-country domestically adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed is no longer required. In the absence of any deed to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming the adoption.
Easier for children of gurus
Sadhus/sanyasis can apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual guru in lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document (Election Photo Identity Card/PAN card/Aadhar Card, etc) wherein the name of the guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).
Fewer annexures needed
The total number of annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been brought down from 15 to 9. Annexes A, C, D, E, J, and K have been removed and certain annexes have been merged.
No attestation required
All the annexes that are required to be given by the applicants are in the form of a self-declaration on a plain paper. No attestation/swearing by/before any Notary/Executive Magistrate/First Class Judicial Magistrate is necessary.
Goodbye, marriage certificate
Married applicants are not required to provide Annexure K or any marriage certificate.
Goodbye, exes
If separated/divorced, applicants are not required to provide the name of their spouse or the divorce decree.
Goodbye, NOCs
Government officials who are not able to obtain the Identity Certificate (Annexure B)/No Objection Certificate (Annexure M) from their concerned employer but intend to get the passport on urgent basis have a way out. They can get the passport by submitting a self-declaration in Annexure N stating that they have informed their employer that were applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.
Goodbye, Annexure F
Under the tatkal scheme, applicants no longer need to submit the Annexure F: a certificate issued by a Class 1 officer recommending the passport to be issued under the tatkal category.
Apply, no matter where you are
You can now apply for a passport from anywhere in India, irrespective of where you're currently staying. For instance, if you're from Delhi but temporarily reside in Mumbai, you will now be able to apply for a passport at a Passport Seva Kendra under the Regional Passport Office in Mumbai, instead of having to fly back to Delhi. The police verification too will be conducted at the Mumbai address specified in the application form.
Apply through a new app
The new ‘mPassport Seva App' (available on iOS and Android) lets you apply, pay and schedule appointments for acquiring a passport.
No parents' name, address
Soon, passports will be printed without the usual last page of the book, which contains the names of the parents and address of the applicant. When in effect, passports could no longer be used as a document for proof of address.
Police verification post passport issuance
Applicants going for a new passport (that too, under the regular scheme) can opt for a post-police verification option at no extra cost. Under this scheme, the passport will be issued first and police verification will be done post-issuance. (FYI: It is mandatory to provide the 28-digit Aadhaar enrolment number to avail this scheme.)
Priority for children, senior citizens
In a first, the regional passport office in Chandigarh gives priority to children below six years, their parents, senior citizens and physically challenged people in processing their applications. The F-token facility, as it's called, means that applicants have to take an online appointment but do not have to wait in a queue.