Most of us think that passport is only required when one is planning an international travel. Though this is true but the fact is that a passport can serve as an important and all-acceptable identity, age and address proof. This is why it is advisable that one applies for passport even though international travel might not be on the cards. One can now apply for passport online and follow a simple procedure that we will discuss in the later section of this article. But first let us get familiarized with the parts of a passport.

A Walk through your Passport

There are three types of passport- Personal passport, Diplomatic passport and Official passport. All of them serve different purposes and can distinguished by the color of their cover. A passport is essentially divided into three parts. The first part or page has the photograph, name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth, place of issue, date of issue, date of expiry (for passport) and thumb print of the applicant. Then comes series of blank pages where visa is stamped whenever you are travelling overseas. These leaflets have all the information related to your exits and entries including exit and entry points in every country you have travelled to. When these leaflets get exhausted owing to frequent international travel, one has to apply for a fresh passport. Let us now proceed to third or the last part of the passport. It contains information like passport holder’s address, name of the spouse, father and mother.

When do you need to apply for a Passport

The following circumstances necessitate getting a passport issued:

Application for new passport in case of International travel

Expiry of old passport

Loss of or damage to old passport. In case of loss, an FIR needs to be lodged to this effect.

When all the leaflets for Visa stamping are exhausted.

Procedure for Passport Application

Now let us proceed to the actual procedure for online passport application.

Visit the page “Passport Seva Online Portal” on www.passportindia.gov.in. Register your details on the portal or you could go to http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/user/RegistrationBaseAction directly for registration.

Here you have to give information like passport office, Name, surname, Date of Birth, e-mail id, login id preference, login id, password, hint question and hint answer. Then click on register. Now login to passport Seva portal with the login id and password made as per the above step. Click on apply for Fresh passport or Re-issue passport. Fill in the details requested and submit the form online. Now click on “Pay and Schedule appointment” link on “Submitted Applications” link. You need to have internet banking and Credit/ Debit card for making the payment as it is mandatory to make online payments. After the above step, click on “Print Application Receipt” and take the printout of receipt which mentions Application Reference Number also known as appointment number. On the day and time appointed, report at the passport office.

An automatic electronic queuing system generates the appointment time and number. In case the applicant is not able to go through the entire process for lack of documents then he or she can walk-in without an appointment next time. Additional passport sized photographs are taken along with application and supporting documents at the passport office. Biometrics are also recorded during the verification process.

If the applicant does not appear within 90 days of the form submission then re-submission has to be done. In a year only two resubmissions or reschedule shall be allowed. For Tatkaal service there is no special application procedure, however one can report at the Tatkaal appointment time that is allotted in every passport office. The information of timing is available on

http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/appointment.

Other Services

The Passport Seva Portal offers various services like Passport Act and Rules, Locate Passport Seva or laghu seva Kendra, Locate common service centres, fee calculator, know your police station, quick guides, instructions booklets etc. All these services and guides make it really convenient for an individual to carry out the entire process by himself or herself. Earlier engaging an agent used to be a norm but with digitization of the entire system, there is no need of a middleman. The passport applied for under Tatkaal scheme arrives within three days and normal services can be expected between 7-10 days.

These were the important points and entire procedure when applying for passport online. Do read our other article which is a complete guide on Indian passports. Passport is a vital document and therefore it makes sense to keep its soft copy in a e-document locker provided by www.letzbank.com. You will have access to your passport from anywhere in the world. The E-document locker is completely safe and can be opened only with the help of password that is with you. So from now on, unless you are on an international travel, you don’t have to carry passport or even other sensitive documents along with you!