Fresh passports to be issued without police verification

NEW DELHI:The passport issuance process just got faster and easier with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) deciding to accept post-issuance police verification even for fresh applicants applying through normal category. Till now, only tatkal applicants who produced Annexure F verification certificate issued by a Class I officer with the central services or All India services could have the benefit of post-issuance verification.

The waiver, however, would not be applicable for those applying for re-issue of passport. The applicant will have to produce Aadhar card, voter ID card and PAN card, and the Aadhar data should be validated online for the applicant to enjoy the benefit.

To render faster and more secure passport services for the benefit of citizens, the Ministry of External Affairs has decided to implement a new procedure for issuing fresh passports. There would be no additional fee, and three documents and an affidavit about the criminal record would be enough to issue the passports. Police verification would take place post issuance, said Atul Gotsurve, Regional Passport Officer, Pune.

Gotsurve said that this would speed up passport issuance to candidates opting for normal category as the delay happens mostly due to lengthy police verification. This will be most beneficial for passport aspirants in Maharashtra because police verification here takes 21 to 40 days, while in states like Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, its only 14 days, said Gotsurve.

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