The Indian passport is one of the most reliable forms of identification issued by the Consular Passport and Visa Division (CPV) of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This irrefutable proof of identification is difficult to forge and can be used to prove citizenship as per the Passport Act of 1967, when and where necessary. The Indian passport serves as a travel pass when going on an international trip. Each page is stamped with the travel details, including the country name, date of travel, making it a competent travel tracking tool and serves as a reminder of where you are yet to go. The passport also helps you procure legal assistance when stuck in another country.
The government of India has categorized the issued passports into three types. Regular Passport, with a navy blue color, used for ordinary travel such as vacations and business trips. Diplomatic Passports, in a maroon cover, are dispensed to the diplomats and high-ranked officials of the government. The Official Passport has a white cover and is issued by the CPV to individuals representing the Indian government on official business.
There are two ways to apply for an Indian passport. You can start by submitting an online application and get a prior appointment for personal appearance. The applicant is required to bring along the necessary documents. The second way is to obtain a form from the designated Passport Seva Kendra. The application form has to be filled and then submitted, along with the proof of address, documents of ECNR, photographs, proof for date of birth, etc. The documents are checked against the originals at the designated Passport office during the form submission.
A new passport takes five to six weeks to get issued. In case of an emergency, the applicant can seek a fresh or duplicate passport under the Tatkal scheme. The emergency passport service is applicable when police verification is not required, such as in the case of a minor who is less than fifteen years of age. Tatkal passports can also be issued on post police verification basis, such as a duplicate passport, re-issuance of passport without any address changes, passports to government servants with NOC and their spouses, etc.
For those who have grievances, the Consular Passport and Visa (CPV) department of the Ministry of External Affairs has facilitated many user-friendly and intuitive set-ups to track passport related grievances from citizens. Below are listed some of them.
Browse the Passport Seva portal
A screen grab of the Passport Seva portal
One of the best and fastest ways to register a complaint is via the passport India portal. You can visit the grievance registration section to get started. CPV has authorized the portal to address issues related to the delay in application submission, delay in the processing of the passport, passport booklet related issues, postal related issues, portal related issues, police-related issues, or passport Kendra call center related issues. You can also post your feedback related to the services. You will be asked details like a reference number, name, address, DOB, email Id, and category of the grievance. You can add a description of your problem on the same page and click submit. A request number will be allotted to you, and you can track the same to monitor the real-time grievance redressal process.
National call center
If you are not comfortable with the online processes, and you want to take an offline route, you can get it done with the toll-free National Call Center. The call center is available round the clock, every day of the week. The services are available in seventeen languages, and most of the information can be accessed through the IVR facility. You can also choose to make a direct conversation with the customer care executive. The call center number is dedicated to addressing all kinds of grievances related to Indian passports. If the call center is not able to help you through, or you have complaints regarding the provided services, you can complain about it in the Passport Seva portal. The toll-free number for the National Call center is 1800-258-1800.
mPassport Seva app
CPV has also facilitated the citizens with a smartphone application. The app is available for all the major platforms, including iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, and Windows OS. This app covers all of your information needs. You can find out about the process involved in applying for a passport along with other services like information on passport related services, grievance registration and redressal, information about Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), and the District Passport cells (DPC). The app also allows you to track the status of your passport application along with the progress made so far.
Passport Adalats
If you have a grievance that has been pending for long, and you have not found a solution so far, you can contact the passport Adalat to get it resolved at the earliest. They specifically deal with unresolved complaints and help the citizens escalate them further. Passport offices organize the Adalats after periodic intervals. You can get the necessary information from your nearest Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). A complaint number allotted to you can be used to track the status of the grievance and follow through.
Public grievance cell
Register your complaint via Public Grievance Cell, which is structured by the CPV. The Chief Passport Officer is in charge of the grievance redressal here. You can send your grievance or feedback via telephone, post, or emails. All of these registrations are dealt with directly by the department. You can email your problems to passport.pg@mea.gov.in to contact the public grievance cell directly. You can get all the information regarding this from the official CPV website. The details there are accurate, and you will be safe from fraudsters or potential data theft. You can also opt for a direct public interface, which means you can visit the nearest passport office to enquire or complain about passport related issues from 10am to 1pm.
