Passport offices to remain open next four Saturdays

o book a fresh appointment, applicants have to fill in the application at: https://www.passportindia.gov.in/ and make the payment online

PUNE: As part of the Ministry of External Affairs’ initiative to make passport appointments available at an earlier date, certain Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) under the jurisdiction of the Regional Passport Office (RPO) Pune will remain open on the next four Saturdays with effect from August 12. Applicants can book fresh appointments or reschedule their appointments under both ‘normal’ and ‘tatkaal’ categories.

The passport department has requested applicants to ensure that the details mentioned such as their complete name, date of birth, father’s name, etc. are the same in all the documents. (HT PHOTO)

To book a fresh appointment, applicants have to fill in the application at: https://www.passportindia.gov.in/ and make the payment online. They must then again log into https://www.passportindia.gov.in/ to verify the payment status and book the appointment. Once done, the appointment confirmation receipt can be downloaded from the portal. For obtaining a passport under the tatkaal scheme, applicants aged above 18 years have to submit any three documents listed on https://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/tatkaalPassports plus address and non-ECR proofs, as applicable. Applicants aged below 18 years have to submit any two documents listed at https://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/tatkaalPassports plus address and non-ECR proofs, as applicable.

The passport department has requested applicants to ensure that the details mentioned such as their complete name, date of birth, father’s name, etc. are the same in all the documents. Small cut-out Aadhar cards/smart cards printed by non-UIDAI entities will not be accepted. The tatkaal scheme is a priority and not premium service. It requires more documents and has restricted eligibility criteria. The applications under the tatkaal scheme must be made only by those applicants who need passports on an ‘urgent’ basis. Many tatkaal scheme applicants fall under ineligible categories and/or do not possess the required number of proper documents. To check the misuse and trivialisation of the tatkaal scheme, the eligibility and document criteria will be strictly enforced. Ineligible category and document-deficient applications will not be accepted. On the day of their appointment at the PSK, such applicants will have to request for an ‘Application EDIT’ option to convert the tatkaal scheme applications into normal scheme applications and reschedule their appointments on their own. For more details about the tatkaal scheme, the passport department has requested applicants to read very carefully the information and undertaking available on the official website.