THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) (i) With the implementation of the Passport Seva Project, the procedure of passport issuance has become very transparent and easy. Under this system, the applicants are required to apply for their passports online, upload relevant documents, make the payment online through debit/credit card or SBI net-banking/SBI Challan, schedule an appointment and then visit the designated Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). A user friendly portal has been made available. When an applicant visits the PSK, an Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) working on the principle of First-in First-out is available at all PSKs to monitor the flow of applicants. After completing the non-sovereign activities by the staff of the Service Provider, applicants move to the Passport Office Staff for verification of documents and granting of passports. The shortcoming(s), if any, in the documentation, is conveyed to the applicant there itself. Exit letter giving position of the application ensuring fairness is provided to the applicant at the time of exit. The applicants can track the status of their applications themselves through portal and also SMS services. In the current system of passport issuance, there is no manual intervention at any stage, and the complete process is digitally flown with re-engineered process through a single visit clearance.
(ii) The Ministry endeavours to issue passports within the following timeframe provided in the “Citizen’s Charter of Central Passport Organisation of the Ministry of External Affairs for Issuance and Delivery of Passport Services 2016”. Timeframe as per Citizen Charter is given below:-
Nature of Service Indicative Timelines Remarks
Fresh (First Time) Passport
(Police Verification required before issuance) Up to 30 working days [PV period excluded] From the date of receipt of complete documentation and enrolment and subject to the satisfaction of PIA and receipt of clear Police Verification Report
Fresh (First Time) Passport
{PV required after issuance or where PV is not required}
Tatkaal
Government/
PSU employees etc. Up to 7 working days From the date of receipt of complete documentation and enrolment and subject to confirmation of authenticity of Verification Certificate/Identity Certificate/No Objection Certificate and satisfaction of PIA
Re-issue of passport on expiry or on exhaustion of Visa pages Up to 7 working days
(In cases where pre-police verification is not required) From the date of receipt of complete documentation and enrolment and subject to the satisfaction of PIA provided there is no change in personal particulars
Re-issue of passport due to (a) change in personal particulars, and/or (b) in lieu of lost/stolen/damaged/mutilated passport Up to 7 working days in cases where pre-police verification is not required and up to 30 working days in cases where PV is required [PV period excluded] From the date of receipt of complete documentation and enrolment and subject to the satisfaction of PIA and requisite verification/clearances
Miscellaneous Services like Police Clearance Certificate, Surrender Certificate or any miscellaneous certificate based on passport Up to 3 working days (In cases where police verification is not required) From the date of receipt of complete documentation and enrolment and subject to the satisfaction of PIA and requisite verification/clearances
(b) The year-wise and Passport Office-wise number of passports issued by passport offices in the country during the last three years is given at Annexure.
(c) The time taken for issue of passports has been progressively reduced in recent years. There has also been considerable improvement in the last two years in getting appointments at the PSKs. However, the process for issuance of passports sometimes becomes longer due to the following reasons:
- Late receipt of police verification reports beyond the stipulated time of 21 days;
- Receipt of incomplete police reports; and
- Late submission of requisite documents by the applicants.
(d) & (e) (i) The Ministry has taken various measures to reduce the time taken in completion of Police Verification Report (PVR) for expeditious issuance of Passports. The number of days taken in PVR submission is continuously improving and constant efforts are being made to meet the desired timeline of 21 days. During the calendar year 2016, the average time taken by State/Union Territories for submission of Police Verification Report (PVR) to issue fresh passports has reduced to 29 days from 34 days in 2015 and 42 days in 2014 . During 2016, some of the State/UT Police completed the police verification within two weeks like Telangana (5 days), Andhra Pradesh (10 days), Chandigarh (12 days), Goa (13 days), and Delhi (14 days).
(ii) The Ministry engages closely with the Police Departments across States/UTs to speed up police verification. To encourage the State/UT police for expeditious submission of PVR related to Passport Services, the Ministry has made provision for reimbursement of a fixed amount to the State/UT Police authorities. Before, 1st July 2014, the PV reports received within 21 days were reimbursed at the rate of Rs.100/- per application which has since been enhanced to Rs.150/- with effect from 1st July, 2014. In order to further ease and expedite the issuance of the PVR, the number of questions asked in the questionnaire has also been reduced from 12 to 9 for police verification.
(iii) The Ministry has launched mPassport Police App in January 2016 for speedy submission of Police Verification Report. The application has facilitated the field level verification officers to directly capture the PVR into the system digitally. With the launch of this Application, the need to download and print the physical Personal Particular Form and Questionnaire is no longer required resulting in paperless end-to-end digital flow of the PVR process, resulting in further reduction in the time required for completion of PVR, within the desired time limit of 21 days.
These measures have simplified the process of passport issuance and reduced the difficulties faced by the applicants.
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