Passport Application Forms: Compulsory on-line filling.

1. The Passport Seva Program has brought in a huge transformation towards delivery of Passport Services in India. More than one crore passports are being issued every year through the Passport Seva system. The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, took many significant steps to improve the service delivery experience for the citizens. Not only did the work of simplifying Passport rules and procedures has been achieved but passport services have also been taken closer to the doorsteps of the citizens. In recent years, considerable improvement both in terms of procedure and timelines have been implemented, which has enabled faster delivery of passport services to applicants in India and abroad.

2. (i) The Ministry has initiated the integration of Passport Seva Program at all Indian Embassies and Consulates across the globe.

(ii) As part of worldwide implementation of Passport Seva Project, the Global Passport Seva Program has been rolled out for the Indian Diaspora living in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.

(iii)The new system will help in easy and convenient application submission process, will usher in standardisation, digital overhauling, end-to-end status tracking, enhance security and make passport services more accessible and user friendly.

3. Indian citizens living in the jurisdiction of Embassy of India, Dakar are advised to use the new portal https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/ henceforth for availing Passport Services viz. Reissue of Passport, Fresh Passport, Police Clearance Certificate, Emergency Certificate and Surrender of Indian Passport.

4. All applications are required to be completed online. Procedure is as follows:

(i) Applicants are required to do onetime registration at https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/ (Passport Seva at Indian Embassies and Consulates) and create a USER ID.

(ii) Login using the newly created USER ID and fill in the user-friendly application form online at the same portal.

(iii) After submitting the form online, take a print out of the application.

(iv) Affix photo and sign at the designated place.

(v) In the case of fresh passport for new born child, born in Senegal, The Gambia or Guinea Bissau, it is also necessary to formally register the birth of the child within 1 year of the birth, in addition to applying for fresh passport. The registration is to be done online on the portal of MHA, Govt of India at https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/  (under the tab "Section 4- Registration of birth of a minor child at an Indian Consulate Under Section 4(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955).  The signed print-out of the form is also to be submitted.

(vi) Assemble all the documents / papers necessary to fill the online google form. Documents required for passport services are:

1. Copy of either resident permit, or, in case you are only a temporary visitor then immigration stamp on your passport on the day you arrived here.
2. Copy of fee payment bank receipt in PDF format.
3. Passport Application form
4. Copy of first and last page of current passport (Not required in case of application for fresh passport).
5. Copy of FIR in local police station for loss/theft of Passport (only for the applicants applying for reissue of passport due to loss/theft of previous passport).
6. Copy of Passport of both the parents in PDF format - at least one of the parents should have spouse's name endorsed in the passport (Only required for the passport application for minors)

(vii) Fill the online form here: click here, Please note that as part of the scrutiny, if it comes to the notice of the Embassy, at any stage, that some crucial information was withheld / suppressed at the time of making online application, processing of the application would be affected negatively.

(viii) The Embassy will send an acknowledgement by email and process your application subject to completion of documents. Please check your emails regularly for further information.

Once your reissued/fresh passport is received by the Embassy or your PCC is ready for collection, you will be given an appointment to collect the same by email. Please note that timings for collection would be from 1530 hours to 1630 hours on the day given by the Embassy.

Important note:

1. As soon as Embassy receives new passport of the applicant, Embassy would inform the applicant to send / bring their old valid passport to the Embassy for cancellation. Please note that new passport can be dispatched by the Embassy only when the old passport is received and cancelled by the Embassy.

2. Exception to the above is provided in respect of Indians in Gambia, G.Bissau and C.Verde who may, however, get their passport cancelled at the offices of respective Honorary Consul of India and also collect their new passport from the Honorary Consul. This can be arranged on the basis of explicit message from the applicant to the Embassy with a copy repeated to the Honorary Consul).

3. An application for reissue of passport can be submitted anytime within one year before the expiry of the validity or after the expiry of the validity. However, if the passport is expired for more than three years, the application should be supported by Sworn Affidavit explaining the circumstances and the reasons for the late renewal.

Postal service

If sending your application by post / seeking return of the serviced documents by post, please note that:

1. Embassy is not responsible for any loss of documents in post.

2. If requesting Embassy to return the serviced documents by post, applicant needs to include:

1. signed letter indemnifying Embassy from any loss of documents in post,
2. self-addressed envelope (the envelop must be strong enough for the safe dispatch of the documents), and,
3. postal charges (these postal charges for return by post must be added to the other relevant fees as applicable e.g.:

1. 1. Consular / Visa / passport service fee
   2. ICFW fee
   3. Banking commission, if any, for transferring the fee into Embassy's bank account

Frequent Errors in applications leading to delays and at times rejections:

Following listing of frequent errors in applications is given to forewarn the applicants so that they avoid these usual pitfalls that cause delays and at times outright rejection of service:

1. Entering wrong name in the GoogleForm (thus instead of entering the name of the applicant, some agents fill their names; parents instead of entering the names of their minor children who are the applicants, parents fill their own names). This makes locating the application very difficult, causes avoidable delays and wastes precious time of all)

2. Missing photo (that has to be pasted on the duly filled in application form)

3. Faded or low quality photos

4. Missing signature (in the designated box in the duly filled application form; generally on the first page and also on the last page);

5. Illegible scans

6. Inconsistent details (e.g. different name / surname / spouse name/ residential address etc in the application form compared to that in the in the present passport)

7. Missing fee (when the fee receipt submitted is of amount less than what is due in respect of relevant application. Typical gaps occur due to non-deposit of the DHL fee for returning the documents mostly observed from applicants from Guinea Bissau and The Gambia)

8. Invalid / incomplete / inaccurate documents (e.g. expired Residence permit copy; outdated bank statements / invitation letters from Indian company / medical certificates; incomplete university fee deposit proof etc)

9. Old application forms

10. Wrong selection of ECR/ECNR field

11. Uploading scans of wrong documents (for example, in instead of passport application form, many applicants upload their passport copy; instead of "Residence permit", the upload passport copy; instead of proper receipt of payment in embassy's bank account, uploading irrelevant / blank paper etc.)

Please avoid making the above errors and fill the application carefully to ensure prompt hassle-free service.