Acquiring passports to be easier from today

Acquiring of passports will be easier from tomorrow with the government revising guidelines for the purpose, which include doing away with the requirement of police verification in case of reissue of the document. An applicant will now be required to furnish only three out of 14 documents as proof, including one with a photograph.

A stamp of Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) will also not be needed if an applicant is matriculate. The eligibility criteria for ECNR so far was graduation.

The government has also relaxed rules for obtaining certificate for waiver of police verification by extending the authorisation powers to Under Secretaries, Tehsildars and SHOs in this regard, official sources said.

For re-issue of passports, no police verification would be necessary either before or after issuance unless there is any negative information concerning an applicant, they said. The passports will be required to be re-issued within four days, the sources said.

Changes have also been effected with regard to Tatkal scheme, under which a passport will have to be issued within 14 days, rather than 20 days as per the existing rules. A Tatkal passport may also be issued within seven days, if an applicant shells out Rs 500 extra.

Re-issue of passport under the Tatkal scheme will have to be done within three days. As per the changes, an applicant would not be required to cite reasons for applying for a Tatkal passport.

The Ministry of External Affairs's(MEA) intention of doing away with the requirement of address verification of a passport applicant, depending only on individual's identity, has failed to take off because of opposition from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The MEA also intends to do away with the requirement of five-year address proof for people born in Jammu and Kashmir and residing outside the state. However, this proposal has also been shot down by the MHA.

While easing procedures for applying for passport, the government is also examining suitable amendments to the Passports Act to provide for stricter penalties for those obtaining passports by fraudulent means.