Passport is a document issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, which grants the eligibility for international travel to an Indian citizen. Besides this, the passport acts as an important proof of identity as well as the nationality of the passport holder. According to the Passports Act (1967), the Passport also functions as a proof of Citizenship.
Any Indian citizen, irrespective of his/her age, can apply for a passport. If the applicant is a minor, one of his/her parents will have to apply for the passport with the consent of the other parent. However, whether the applicant is a minor or major, the passport is issued by the concerned authority if and only if the documents submitted by the applicant are legally valid and if the applicant passes the verification conducted by the police. With that mentioned, now it is obvious to discuss about which documents are required to apply for a passport in India.
One major question that haunts most passport applicants is about which documents they have to enclose while applying for passport. Below is a checklist of all the documents required for getting a passport in India. Please note that the applicants have to produce original documents along with their self-attested photocopies.
Documents Required For First-time Applicants
1. Address Proof Document For Passport
The passport applicants are required to submit at least one of the below listed address proof documents-
- Rental Agreement (registered)
- Ration card (only current and valid) – Should be accompanied with one more proof of address mentioned in this list
- Election Commission Photo ID card
- Aadhaar Card (also accepted as proof of identity for passport related services)
- Income Tax Assessment Order
- Employer’s certificate on company’s letterhead with company seal (Only public limited companies) – Computerised printouts are not accepted
- Utility Bill (water/gas connection/telephone/electricity)
- Spouse’s passport copy (for married) (First and last page)
- Parent’s passport copy (for minor)
- Photo passbook of running bank account only if the bank (as authorised by the RBI) belongs to any of these categories-
a. Scheduled Public Sector Banks
b. Scheduled Private Sector Indian Banks
c. Regional Rural Banks
Before deciding which document to submit as your address proof, please bear in mind that the address proof should be of your present address only. Irrespective of how long you have been staying at your current address, you are required to submit proof of your current address only. But you will have to mention all the addresses where you have stayed in the past one year in the application form. It is recommended that you produce two or more different address proof documents (with exactly same address mentioned) to avoid the risk of being rejected.
In case you are submitting the application on behalf of a minor, then you can submit an address proof document in the name of parent(s). If parents possess passports, it is advisable to produce a copy along with the originals at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). However in future, when the applicant becomes a major and applies for renewal of passport, then he/she will be asked to produce a new set of documents.
2. Date of Birth Proof For Passport
Birth Certificate- For applicants born on or after 26th Jan 1989, Birth Certificate issued by the Municipal Authority or the Office of the Registrar of Births & Deaths is acceptable.
In the case of applicants born before 26th Jan 1989, any one of these three documents can be considered as a valid proof of date of birth-
- Birth Certificate issued by the Municipal Authority or the Office of the Registrar of Births & Deaths
- School leaving certificate or Date of birth certificate issued by any recognized educational institute last attended by the applicant.
- An Affidavit stating the date and place of birth sworn before a Magistrate or a Notary Public (as per the specimen in Annexure-A). This applies to illiterate persons or semi-illiterate applicants (Less than 5th class) .
3. Proof to affirm that you belong to Non-ECR Category
ECR refers to Emigration Check Required and Non-ECR refers to Emigration Check Not Required. As per Emigration Act, 1983, no citizen of India can migrate to any other country until he/she gets emigration clearance from the Protector of Emigrants. Some countries have strict rules with regard to emigration clearance while others may not follow strict rules in order to control the entry of foreign nationals.
Documentary proof for any one of the Non-ECR (Emigration Check Required) categories: Any Indian citizen having educational qualifications of Matriculation & above, is aged below 18 years to above 50 years, pays income tax or holds a professional degree falls under the Non-ECR (previously ECNR) category. The various non-ECR categories and the corresponding documents required are listed below, any one or more can be enclosed with the passport application form.
- Matriculation Pass Certificate (10th or SSC/SSLC Certificate)
- Proof of Income-Tax assessment/payment (for individuals only)
- Degree certificate, if you are a professional Degree holder (e.g. Doctors, Teachers, Lecturers, Advocates, Scientists, etc) should submit certificate of the professional degree held
- Passing Certificate issued by recognized institutions for diploma, Polytechnic or equivalent degree holders
- Nursing Certificate, in case of Nurses possessing qualifications recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947
- Persons with Permanent Immigration Visa can submit a Copy of Immigration Visa or the Permanent Resident card of the country of stay
Documents Required For Tatkaal Passport
A Tatkaal passport is issued within two to three working days of your appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and the police verification is conducted within a week from the appointment.
All the documents mentioned above are required to be submitted to apply for a Tatkaal passport too. Apart from those, you may have to submit few more additional documents which are listed as under:
- Passport Annexure I
- Passport Annexure F – Verification Certificate Or any three of the below listed documents-
-
- Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC)
- Ration Card
- Aadhaar Card
- Birth Certificate issued under the RBD Act
- SC/ST/ OBC Certificate
- Freedom Fighter Identity Card
- Arms License
- Service Photo Identity Card issued by the State or Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU’s), Public Ltd. Companies or local bodies
- Driving License (within the jurisdiction of State of submission of application)
- Railway Identity Card
- Income Tax Identity (PAN) Card
- Bank/ Kisan/ Post Office Passbook
- Pension Document – An ex-servicemen’s Pension Book or a Pension Payment order, an ex-servicemen’s Widow Certificate or Dependent Certificates, Old Age Pension Order, Widow Pension Order, etc.
- Student Photo Identity Card issued by any Govt.-recognized educational institution
- Property Documents such as Pattas, Registered Deeds, etc.
Passport Documents For Minor Applicants
For minor applicants, it is mandatory to get the consent of either both parents or the legal guardian of the minor. One of the following documents have to be submitted as per the case, along with other documents listed earlier in this article.
| Specific Case of the Minor Applicant | Documents to be submitted |
| Minor applicant with consent of both parents | Annexure ‘H’ |
| Application by Legal Guardian | Annexure ‘H’ |
| Minors with a single parent (One parent deceased) | Annexure ‘H’ |
| Applied by one of the parents/guardian when consent of one or both parents is not obtainable |
Annexure ‘G’ |
| Parents living separately but not divorced | Annexure ‘C’ |
| Application by the Single parent of the child born out of wedlock | Annexure ‘C’ |
Other than the documents listed above, in some cases, you might be asked to provide additional documents such as Marriage Certificate or a letter from MLA/MP etc or any other document for various reasons. In order to skip the last minute rush, it is advised that you keep all your documents ready even before you submit your application for a fresh passport.
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