Getting a passport in India is quite a bit of a challenge if you want to do it all by yourself. It is similar to the challenge of getting other government ID cards except for two facts:
1. There is money with the people coming for passport (with most of them). At least, they are usually more willing to spend that extra.
2. It is sometimes really urgent for them!
3. The passport office is more finicky or stringent for the documents.
This does not mean that all the usual government office rules don't apply:
1. If you spend on agent, you can get the passport any which way you want in any time frame!
2. If you go by the usual official method, either you shell out a lot more to get it or you wait and wait and eventually may get it.
From outside, it seems the process has simplified with the online submissions of form and documents. More computerization is now involved in the process. But the fact is, there are new avenues for agents and making illicit money:
1. There is no clear cut list of documents needed (on the website).
2. Even though you submit the form online, you may not be able to get an appointment online. You may need to shell out money to get an appointment. There are a bunch of sites and agents who you need to pay between 700/- to 1500/- to get an appointment!
3. Your appointment is your right to be in the queue and nothing else! The queue can last a few hours!
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3. At the end of the queue, when you are submitting documents, they can find a flaw in your documents and ask you to fix it up or start all over again!
Advice for Applicants:
1. Submit the form online. For appointment, there is fixed time at which appointment booking starts for different Passport Seva Kendra's. You need to be logged in and ready to click "book appointment" and take other steps at good speed to be able to book appointment. Typically, all appointments last only 30 seconds or so, after appointment booking starts. So, it is most important to be completely ready to book appointments as soon as the clock says the time for appointment booking has started.
2. Submitting the documents online is not required!
3. Get original documents as well as 2 self-attested copies of the originals.
From my experience, they demanded 12 months bank statement even though we had the PSU bank passbook and it's copy as address proof.
4. No photographs are needed. (Better keep back up photographs).
5. If you don't chase up on your passport application, your passport can take ages to come. Passport is supposed to be delivered within 45 days under normal process. So, you should chase up as soon as 45 days are over from the day you applied. Good ways to chase up:
a. File an RTI for status. (When I went for checking status of my application, the RPO(Regional Passport Officer) himself said this!
(A standard RTI format for Passport is available online)
b. Go to passport office and ask for the application status. Submit company letter OR Submit a letter to RPO requesting for expediting the application due to XYZ reason. In my case, I mentioned the reason: I need the passport urgently as I need to travel to UK asap for official reasons.
c. Police verification: If you have all documents proper, no police case and have been residing for a while at your current residence, then you need not pay them a penny. It seems the general fashion to pay them but it is not the necessity. Last time, I didn't pay a penny and the policeman submitted the correct verification in time!
Bottomline:
1. You can get your passport honestly without paying the agent anything! You will have to be in the queue for 1-2 hours and You will have to chase up once - either by filing RTI or submitting letter at the passport office. You should be able to get the passport in ~2 months timeframe if you chase up.
2. You can pay the agent and get your passport.
3. You can apply for Tatkal passport (pay 3.5k as compared to 1.5k for normal). There is no appointment needed in this case! You are supposed to get the passport in 7 days. I have never done this, so can't quite advise.
