Recent experience in obtaining passport for our daughter

As advertised by the Government, Passport services have been improved to great extent. Recently we have obtained passport for our daughter and experience is quite good.

We have filled in application form online Passport portal. Scheduled the appointment (dates are just available; we got it for very next day). Printed application form and fee receipt. Since our daughter is minor, we have signed on all forms and address proof which is our passports, copies of our daughter’s birth certificate. As a safe side, we have also included her her Aadhar card. One tip to get work done at Passport office is that ensure you have all required documents in place.

Our daughter and I have reached Passport office, by showing our appointment receipt, we were directed to a counter where personnel inspected if all documents (not the content) are in place, issued us a token and guided to the Counter A – where all the details are confirmed and documents were scanned. they have taken thumb impression of our daughter and sent us to Counter B. At that counter, all the documents were checked with verification of original documents. Then sent us to Counter C which is final step who decides if Passport should be granted. Then we are proceeded to exit gate which issues an acknowledgement.

Though personnel were very helpful, a few things would make experience more accessible. At all of the counters, token numbers were displayed but it would be good to have them announced too. It would be good to to have one or two counters dedicated to proces applications of children, people with disabilities and elderly. Specially it’s important to have such counters for very small kids. At least there should be a mechanism to attend to these cases exactly at the time printed on the appointment. Exit gate could be a little bigger and have better lighting.

By the time we came out of the Passport office (which is not even 10 minutes), received a text message saying passport has been granted and within just four days, we have received our daughters passport.

Really appreciate the great experience!

2 responses to “Recent experience in obtaining passport for our daughter”

  1. Steve Sawczyn Avatar

    I am so glad the process went so smoothly for you. It’s interesting to me to see how the process is different in different countries. Here, the application process is quite lengthy and often (not always) you have to go to one place to get pictures taken and another to get application approved. Then, documents and application are mailed away and it takes four to six weeks to get the passport and other documents back. Every time I’ve applied for a passport, I’ve always feared that my other documents would get lost in the mail and I wouldn’t get them back. You would think with all our technology the documents could be scanned, but no, they require originals to be sent by postal service. You can track the status of your passport, but only after six weeks if you haven’t received it. You do not know until then if it has been approved or not. If not approved, you get documents back with a letter explaining the reason and you have to start all over again. Oh and the forms, they cannot be filled out online. They can be downloaded, but not completed. So in many ways, while accessibility can be improved in your process, it sounds like the Indian process is far more accessible than the US one. 🙂

  2. Srinivasu Chakravarthula Avatar

    Quite true, Steve. Here in India, we don’t have to send any original documents via mail. We just need to carry with us during our visit and they will return us immediately. Hope things will change in the US too.

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