Your Step-by-Step Guide to Completing your Passport Application Form

If you are looking forward to traveling abroad then you must have a passport as it is one of the most vital documents that you need to carry. Government issues this official document which allows people to travel abroad hassle-free. It helps in identifying the individual and their nationality during international travel. A passport works perfectly as your identity and address proof. You need to arrange for all the required documents and fill out the passport application form if you do not have a passport. Even though passport applications have become seamless, some passport applications could be rejected for various reasons. Hence people must be aware of online passport application procedures before they submit the documents.

The seamless passport application process

Some rules must be followed while filling out the passport application form. They apply to the supplementary and primary forms. As the passport application forms are machine-readable, if they are not filled correctly, they will be misread, and there are chances for them to get rejected. Therefore, one needs to ensure that they provide clear and accurate information about personal and professional details in the form.

Basics about the online process

• Applicants need to visit the online passport Seva website and register themselves.
• You need to use your registered login ID as you have to login to the Passport Seva portal.
• Applicants have to choose from 2 options that are fresh issue or reissue of the passport.
• They need to enter the required details on the application form and click the option to submit.
• They need to pay and schedule appointments.
• Online payment is compulsory to proceed with the booking appointment. You can use any payment mode that you like including debit card credit card or Internet banking to make the online payment. 
• Choose the option to print your application receipt once the payment is complete. There is no need to carry any printout as SMS works as proof while you are visiting the passport office for your appointment.
• You need to book your passport appointment and visit the Passport Seva Kendra in your locality.

Offline procedure what you must know?

• Capital letters are a must for all details. Ensure each box has only one letter.
• Applicants need to fill the form with a blue or black ballpoint pen.
• Leave the nonapplicable sections and fill in only the required parts. They should not strike how to mark as nonavoidable in case of field doesn’t apply to them.
• Ensure that the form is not folded.

Guidelines to fill the form column-wise

 1- Services required

• Applicants must specify that the application is a new passport or a re-issue passport.
• In case one is applying for reissue of the passport for reasons like lost or damaged passport exhausted pages expiry etc. It must be mentioned here.
• People need to specify the change and mention the reason if they want to modify the existing passport’s personal information.
• Applicants need to mention whether they want a normal or a tatkal passport. This section decides the application fees.
• Applicants have to mention the number of pages by choosing the option available on the form.
• Guardians need to specify the requirement for validity in case of applying for a minor.

2- Details of the applicant

• Applicants need to enter their full name as they want to appear on the passport. The given name mainly includes the first name and middle name. The surname is a separate space. If one doesn’t have a surname, they must leave the space blank.
• It is compulsory to enter birth information that includes the date and birthplace.
• It is important to select the gender category including transgender males or females.
• Applicants have to select their medical status from the five options available single, divorced, married, widowed, or separated.
• Applicants must submit the nature of citizenship from three options available citizenship by birth, naturalization, or registration.
• It is mandatory to enter the PIN and leave this section blank if it is unavailable. Then, select the type or nature of the employment from the twelve options available.

3- Details of the applicant’s family

• The applicant needs to enter their father’s full name and mother’s full name in this section.
• It is mandatory to put the full name first name or the middle name of the legal guardian, especially for minor applicants.
• The full name of the applicant’s spouse has to be mentioned.
• If a legal guardian or a parent is applying for a minor they need to enter their passport number also.

4- Current residence details

• While filling out the online passport application, the applicant needs to enter the year, and the month they have been residing at the current address. It is mandatory to fill out the supplementary form if the applicant is staying in a house for not more than one year and with other details, the current address has to be entered.
•  If the permanent and present addresses are the same, then applicants need to choose yes, and if they are different, then they need to choose no.

5- Emergency contacts details

• Applicants have to mention some emergency contact details so if there is any urgency or emergency this person can be reached. They need to enter the name, address, and phone number besides the e-mail ID of the emergency contact person. 

6- References

• Firstly people need to name the first reference that is residing in the same village, city, or town beside the address and phone number.
• Applicants need to name the second reference, address, and phone number.

7- Details of old passport held previously

• Applicants must submit details of their old and current passports. It will include passport number, date of issue, expiration date, etc.

8- Other details

• The applicants need to provide supporting details in the supplementary form after choosing the yes or no option if the applicant has ever been charged with a criminal offense.
• They need to provide supporting details if they have been convicted and imprisoned for two or more years in the past five years.

9. Details of the passport fees

• Applicants need to enter the amount of the passport fee to be paid in numbers.
• Applicants could enter the details of the fee that were paid through a demand draft. It can be done during the passport appointment time. 

Some of the special applications for passports 

Senior citizen’s passport application

As per the passport laws of India, a senior citizen is any citizen who is over 65 years of age. The age criterion is different in the case of men and women if the applicant is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir. A person president of Jammu and Kashmir is applicable for a senior citizen passport when a man turns 65 years old, and a woman turns 60 years old. It is only confined to the cases of residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

The passport application for senior citizens needs to be accompanied by a different set list of documents that are required in order to be completed and then show the legibility of the applicant. The documents basically include all the KYC documents and are listed on the website of the online passport application portal.

The rules and guidelines for passport applications for senior citizens are that there is no need to make any prior appointment. All other rules and procedures of the passport application will remain the same. The applicant needs to apply for the passport by creating an online appointment. Not just relevant documents the applicants have to fill out the form. They need to visit the passport Seva Kendra physically after submitting the online form and documents. Biometrics is also mandatory for passport applications.

Passports for government employees

As per the external affairs ministry, the passport issue is eligible for all the residents of the country provided the applicant is above 18 years old. 

Government employees can easily apply for a visa to the country. The government mainly includes central government employees, state government employees of autonomous bodies, and designated universities like the Indian Academy of Sciences. Just like any other normal citizen, the applicants can apply for a passport but they have to also provide some extra documents. 

The main documents that they need to submit are pre-police and post-police verification besides no police verification. Recently the use of a prior intimation letter has been introduced. this letter makes the process less time-consuming which is otherwise lengthy for other citizens.

Passport application requirements for minors

Minor is ideally a child who is below 18 years as per the Indian laws. The legal guardians or the parents can complete the passport applications. The laws governing the passport claim that the parents or guardians can apply for the passport even if the child is newborn. In case one parent is absent due to death or any other reason another parent has all the rights to apply for the passport of their minor child.

A legal guardian can apply for a passport in case of the absence of both parents. The validity of any passport issued in India is around ten years, but for miners, the validity is about five years.

One needs to be quite careful and follow the instructions while filing the passport application form. Any error in the form will be reflected in the passport. Additionally, while submitting the manually filled hardcopy forms, one must be aware that the forms are read and processed by machines. Illegible handwriting or scribbles can lead to the rejection of the application. One must fill all the document information accurately.