Getting a tatkal passport has never been easier! In India, people are getting a passport within 11 days under normal circumstances, the Central government has stated in the Lok Sabha. It has also said that a tatkal passport is issued within a day’s time. The central government has also described the passport as a tool of empowerment. In its effort to cut down on corruption and delays in obtaining passports, the central government has launched an application in 731 police districts for police verification of applicants, said Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. Muraleedharan said that at present India has 36 passport offices, 412 post office passport seva kendras and 93 passport seva kendras.
While the time-frame for issuing a normal passport has been reduced to 11 days, passports under the ‘tatkal’ category are issued within a day’s time, Muraleedharan told Lok Sabha. Muraleedharan has also said that private entities are not involved in operating the post office passport seva kendras.
All citizens of India, who are planning to travel abroad, must possess a valid passport. As per Passports Act 1967, the central government can issue different categories of passports and travel documents. These are Ordinary Passport, Official Passport, Diplomatic Passport, Emergency Certificate and Certificate of Identity for the purpose.
According to the official website of Passport Seva, Consular, Passport and Visa Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Tatkal Passports, where police verification is not required, can be issued within one working day excluding the date of submission of application. Tatkal passports, where police verification is required on a post-passport issuance basis, can be issued on the third working day excluding the date of submission of application – without waiting for the Police Verification Report.
Applicants, who are using e-form must download the soft copy of the e-form, fill the same offline and then must upload it back. The printed copy of the e-form will not be accepted at the center. Those, who want to download e-form, must visit https://portal2.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/downloadEFormStatic . Individuals must ensure that the desktop or laptop that you are using must have the latest version of Acrobat Reader (9 or above) to open and fill these Forms.
