Passport Application For a Minor's Passport

Last week I applied for my daughter's passport and learnt a few things while doing so. So I thought it would be quiet useful to put it in a blog for people to refer to.

My daughter is just 2.5 years old and so I was applying for a fresh minor's passport. Although the points mentioned are keeping in mind this and the fact that I am applying in Hyderabad, it should give a rough idea to people in other states also.

• Passport Website has an online form for download. But I think it cannot be used for submitting the application , as it does not have the serial number. This was the feedback I got from the people who have applied before me and it seems logical due to the next points.
• Passport form has to be procured from the passport office or any big E-Seva office. (The nearest E-Seva in Cyber Gateway , Hitec City did not have passport applications). It costs 10 Rs.
• There is a serial number in the passport application. It needs to be filled up in a ball pen fully. No Signature / Thumb Impression should be done till this point.
• 2 Copies should be taken of the filled up form. And then on all 3 sets ( 1 Original and 2 Copies ) , thumb impression or sign should be done. So basically they would have to verify that you have taken copies using the Serial Number which is not possible in Online Form. So it is logical to assume that the online application would not be accepted. But in case it is accepted , good for you. J
• 6 Photos are required. (Additional 2 required during police verification). 2 photos in each set. (This is true if you have stayed in the same location for the past year). Else additional sets of copies are required apart from the 3 sets.
• An Affidavit (Annexure-H) has to be submitted for minors. So this needs to be obtained from a notary on a stamp paper (notarized) and then signed by both parents.
• Other than that, Copies of Birth Certificate and Address proof is required.
• Copies of Both Parent's passport is required. Husband's name should have attested in wife's passport. (This is very important). Copy of this page should also be submitted.
• All originals should be shown for verification during submission. Especially birth certificate, Both Parents passport and Address Proof.
• If renewing a passport for a minor (5 years validity having expired) , then the old passport should be fully xeroxed. Not just the first 4 and last 4 pages. All pages including blank pages should be xeroxed.
• All Copies should be self attested by the parents.

The following points are perhaps most useful in Hyderabad.

• The Hyderabad passport office (very near to the Secunderabad Railway Station) actually opens counters at 10 am. The queue starts from 7:30 itself.
• Either the father or mother , needs to take the kid into the counter.
• But it's a good idea for the mother to do it as the ladies have a separate queue and it's a bit shorter.
• When we went around 8:30 am , there were about 200 guys in queue outside and about 6 ladies.
• So my wife joined the queue as the 7^th person.
• This was the outer queue. They let limited people inside into the inner queue.
• At 9:45 am , the queue was let in for ladies into the inner queue inside the building. By this time the gents queue had probably crossed 500.
• By 10:20 or so my wife had finished applying and had come out.
• One of my friend had come with his wife at 10:00 am. But he could not get it that day , due to the counter closing at 1:00 pm and they were still in queue by that time. So its best to be there by 8:00 am to avoid trouble.
• Another friend of mine had sent his wife and was waiting with me outside. She called him in mobile and told him that they needed an additional xerox. So from behind the Line she was able to pass on the original and my friend took the xerox and gave it to her so that she did not have to stand in the queue again. So its ideal if you have 2 mobiles in case your wife needs to contact you.
• There are ex-service men who sit outside and take 20 rs to help you fill up the form and verify your documents. They are helpful , but not 100 % accurate. So do not take their word as the benchmark.

Some of the finer points.

• School Certificate is NOT a replacement for Birth Certificate. Birth Certificate is mandatory.
• Both parent's original passport is required.
• Wife's passport should have husband's name attested.
• Passport office is not open on weekends.
• Application can be submitted in ESeva Centers also , but the verification done at the Passport office may not be done and so in case there is an issue, you do not have a faster resolution and have to repeat the whole process.
  

Follow-up : Police Verification.

Within a week, I got a call from the local police station. The constable told me he will come home that weekend. I was under the impression , minor's don't need police verification. But it seems even babies need Police Verification.

He came , collected 2 passport photos , took thumb impression again from my daughter in another form. Asked for copies of Birth Certificate, My passport, My Wife's passport and Address Proof. He did not accept Ration Card and wanted one of these documents. (An old electricity bill , Old Gas Bill / Gas Registration Document , Sale Deed. So be careful in arranging this . 2 witness signatures are required.

Now I have a small concern. The passport status shows , passport will be despatched after 7-12-2006. Not sure if this is DD-MM-YYYY or MM-DD-YYYY. L

I hope this is helpful for everyone who is going to apply in the future. I would be answer any more queries if posted in the comments.

Disclaimer : This is not an official website. The points stated are based on my experience and other's experience I have seen. So this should not be taken as the final word. Your experience might vary based on several other factors. Also I have left some nittigritties which cannot be blogged..