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Introduction
A passport is crucial when you travel outside the borders of India. Besides enabling overseas travel, your passport also acts as an identity proof. Hence, high scrutiny is carried out before issuing a passport. The applicant has to submit an array of documents to prove his identity, address, age and other eligibility required to get a passport.
Passports are issued under various categories for both fresh and reissue. There are also special categories like Diplomat Passports, Residents of J&K or Nagaland, Minor Passports, Indian Citizens other than by birth, and many such categories are present. Then there is Re-issue of passport due to various reasons like change of name, change of address, renewal, name correction and many more.
The applicant has to submit a list of documents to each of these application categories. Since the entire passport application process is done online, the applicant has to submit the correct documents so that the passport is approved and dispatched on time. This article aims to list the required documents under several of these categories.
Important Note: The below list is only an indicative list. The applicant might be required to submit additional documents on a case by case basis. Applicants are encouraged to visit the passport office's home page to read, if any, about the additional documentation needed. Applicants are expected to request original documents along with one set of self-attested photocopies of the same at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) for processing
List of Documents Acceptable for Fresh Passport Issuance
Type of Application: Normal
Applicant Category: Adult
Proof Of Address
| Water Bill |
Telephone (landline or postpaid mobile bill) | |
Electricity bill | |
Income Tax Assessment Order | |
Election Commission Photo ID card | |
Proof of Gas Connection | |
Certificate from Employer of reputed companies on letter head | |
Spouse's passport copy (First and last page including family details mentioning applicant's name as spouse of the passport holder), (provided the applicant's present address matches the address mentioned in the spouse's passport) | |
Aadhaar Card | |
Rent Agreement | |
Photo Passbook of running Bank Account (Scheduled Public Sector Banks, Scheduled Private Sector Indian Banks and Regional Rural Banks only) | |
Proof of Date of Birth (DOB)
| Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or any other prescribed authority, whosoever has been empowered under the Registration of Birth and Deaths Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India |
Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate issued by the school last attended/recognised educational board | |
Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy | |
Copy of an extract of the service record of the applicant (only in respect of Government servants) or the Pay Pension Order (in respect of retired Government Servants), duly attested/certified by the officer/in-charge of the Administration of the concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant | |
Aadhaar Card/E-Aadhaar | |
Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India | |
PAN Card issued by the Income Tax Department | |
Driving License issued by the Transport department of concerned state Government | |
A declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letter head of the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant |
Type of Application: Normal
Applicant Category: Minor
- The consent of both parents is considered to be present, unless stated.
- In the case of minor applicants, the current proof of address should be submitted in favour of the parent(s).
- It is recommended to bring original and self-tested copies of the parents’ passport to Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) if the parents have a passport.
- For minor candidates, the records can be attested to by the parents.
- The minor applicant is eligible for a non-ECR before he/she reaches the age of 18 years.
Proof Of Address (Can be in the name of the Parent)
| Water Bill |
Telephone (landline or postpaid mobile bill) | |
Electricity bill | |
Aadhaar Card | |
Photo Passbook of running Bank Account (Scheduled Public Sector Banks, Scheduled Private Sector Indian Banks and Regional Rural Banks only) | |
Proof of Date of Birth (DOB)
| Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or any other prescribed authority, whosoever has been empowered under the Registration of Birth and Deaths Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India |
Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate issued by the school last attended/recognised educational board | |
Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy | |
Aadhaar Card/E-Aadhaar | |
PAN Card issued by the Income Tax Department | |
A declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letter head of the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant |
Type of Application: Normal
Applicant Category: Senior Citizens
Proof Of Address
| Water Bill |
Telephone (landline or postpaid mobile bill) | |
Electricity bill | |
Income Tax Assessment Order | |
Election Commission Photo ID card | |
Proof of Gas Connection | |
Certificate from Employer of reputed companies on letter head | |
Spouse's passport copy (First and last page including family details mentioning applicant's name as spouse of the passport holder), (provided the applicant's present address matches the address mentioned in the spouse's passport) | |
Aadhaar Card | |
Rent Agreement | |
Photo Passbook of running Bank Account (Scheduled Public Sector Banks, Scheduled Private Sector Indian Banks and Regional Rural Banks only) | |
Proof of Date of Birth (DOB)
| Birth Certificate issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or any other prescribed authority, whosoever has been empowered under the Registration of Birth and Deaths Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India |
Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate issued by the school last attended/recognised educational board | |
Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy | |
Copy of an extract of the service record of the applicant (only in respect of Government servants) or the Pay Pension Order (in respect of retired Government Servants), duly attested/certified by the officer/in-charge of the Administration of the concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant | |
Aadhaar Card/E-Aadhaar | |
Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India | |
PAN Card issued by the Income Tax Department | |
Driving License issued by the Transport department of concerned state Government | |
A declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letter head of the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant |
Tatkal Passports
Tatkal Passports can be applied for when in urgent need of passport. An additional fee shall be charged for Tatkal Passports. Upon successful application process, the passport shall be issued and dispatched within 7-8 business days.
Along with the required documents, the applicants should submit 2 out of the 6 documents given below to expedite the passport application passport under the Tatkal Scheme;
- Aadhaar Card/e-Aadhaar containing the 12 digit Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI)
- Student Photo Identity Cards issued by Recognized Educational Institutions
- Birth Certificates issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (18 of 1969)
- Rations Cards
- Last Passport (only in case of reissue)
- Permanent Account Number(PAN)
ECR or ECNR Stamping on Passport
Passports that need an ‘Emigration Check’ will be stamped with ‘ECR Needed’ stamp. There won’t be any stamp on passports that don’t need an emigration check.
ECR stands for Emigration Check Required, ECNR stands for Emigration Check Not Required.
Any applicant with ECR required stamp needs to obtain an ‘Emigration Clearance Certificate’ from the Protector-General of Emigrants, Ministry of Overseas India Affairs.
The following category of people eligible for Non-ECR Category of Passport:
- All persons having educational qualifications of matriculation and above
- All children up to the age of 18 years. (For re-issue of passport, after they attain the age of 18 years, documents to prove their non-ECR category has to be submitted, else ECR stamping will be done)
- All GAZETTED Government servants, their spouses and dependent children
- All holders of Diplomatic/Official Passports
- All persons above the age of 50 years
- All persons who have been staying abroad for more than three years (the period of three years could be either in one stretch or broken) and their spouses
- All professional Degree holders, their spouses and dependent children. Examples of professional degree holders are Doctors holding MBBS degree or equivalent degree in AYURVEDA or HOMEOPATHY, accredited Journalists, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Lecturers, Teachers, Scientists, Advocates, etc.
- Income-Tax payers (including Agricultural Income-Tax payees) in their individual capacity, their spouses and dependent children below the age 18 years
- Non-ECR Category
- Nurses possessing qualifications recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act. 1947
- Persons holding Permanent Immigration Visa, such as the visas of UK, USA and Australia.
- Persons possessing two years’ diploma from any institute recognized by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT), or persons holding three years’ diploma/equivalent degree from institutions, such as Polytechnics recognized by the Central/State Governments of India
- Seamen who are in possession of Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC), or Sea Cadets and Deck Cadets
- Who have passed the final examination of three years B.Sc. Nautical Sciences courses at T.S. Chanakya, Mumbai and
- Who have undergone three months’ pre-sea training at any of the Government approved training institutes, such as T.S. Chanakya, T.S. Rehman, T.S. Jawahar, MTI (SCI) and NIPM, CHENNAI, after production of identity cards issued by the Shipping Master at Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai
List of Documents Acceptable for Re-issue of Passport
As mentioned earlier, there are various reasons for re-issue of a passport. An applicant applies for a re-issue of passport for the following reasons:
- Change of Address
- Exhaustion of Pages
- Validity Due to Expire
- Validity Expired
- Renewal of Short Validity Passport (SVP)
- Lost/Stolen Passport
- Damaged Passport
- Change in Existing Personal Particulars
Here is a list of documents required to apply for re-issue of passport:
Old Passport in original with self-attested photocopy of its first two and last two pages, including ECR/Non-ECR page (previously ECNR) and the page of observation (if any), made by Passport Issuing Authority and validity extension page, if any, in respect of short validity passport
Proof of Present Address
- Water Bill
- Telephone (landline or postpaid mobile bill)
- Electricity bill
- Income Tax Assessment Order
- Election Commission Photo ID card
- Proof of Gas Connection
- Certificate from Employer of reputed companies on letter head
- Spouse's passport copy (First and last page including family details mentioning applicant's name as spouse of the passport holder), (provided the applicant's present address matches the address mentioned in the spouse's passport)
- Aadhaar Card
- Rent Agreement
- Photo Passbook of running Bank Account (Scheduled Public Sector Banks, Scheduled Private Sector Indian Banks and Regional Rural Banks only)
Additional documents while applying for re-issue of passport in specific cases
Renewal of Short Validity Passport (SVP) | Proof of documents which eliminate the cause of issuance of Short Validity Passport (SVP) |
Lost or Stolen Passport | Proof of Date of Birth Affidavit stating how and where the Passport got lost/ damaged as per Annexure F Police report in original Proof of Present Address Documentary proof for any one of the Non-ECR (previously ECNR) categories Self-attested photocopy of first two and last two pages, including ECR/Non-ECR page of old Passport |
Damaged Passport | Affidavit stating how and where the Passport got lost/ damaged as per Annexure F Proof of Date of Birth Proof of Present Address Police report in original Self-attested photocopy of first two and last two pages, including ECR/Non-ECR page of old Passport |
Change in Existing Personal Particulars | |
Change of Appearance | Recent photograph (required only in case of DPC/SPC/CSC applications). The photo should be most recent showing the latest appearance. A notarised statement is required in case of request from Sikhs who want to change from turban photo to clean shaven ones or the other way. |
Change in Appearance | Recent photograph showing latest appearance |
Change of name | Gazette notification mentioning the change of name |
Change of Date of Birth | Proof Of Date Of Birth |
FAQs
1. Can I apply for a new passport if my current passport is lost or stolen?
Yes, you can apply for a passport re-issue by submitting the Police report in original along with other relevant documents.
2. Is a police report compulsory to apply for a re-issue of passport if my old one is stolen?
Yes, a police report is mandatory in case of lost or theft of passport.
3. What are the applicant categories under passport application?
Passport applicant categories are Minors, Adults and Senior Citizens. And under each of these categories, there are different sub-categories. One should refer to the official passport website of their respective area to find the correct category they belong to.