NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday launched a new scheme by which an applicant can apply for passport from anywhere in India as well as a revamped app on the occasion of the Sixth Passport Seva Divas.
Under this new scheme, applicants can now choose the Regional Passport Office and the desired Passport Seva Kendra /Post Office Passport Seva Kendra under the RPO where they wish to submit their application, irrespective of whether the present residential address specified in the application form lies within the jurisdiction of the selected RPO or not. The Police Verification, if required for a specific passport, would be conducted at the address specified in the application form. The passport will be printed and despatched by the RPO selected for application submission by the applicant.
For example, a resident of Jaipur, who is temporarily residing in Kolkata, will now be able to apply at a PSK/POPSK under RPO, Kolkata, and does not have to travel all the way back to Jaipur to submit an application for passport at a PSK/POPSK under RPO, Jaipur. The police verification, if necessary, would be conducted at Jaipur. RPO, Kolkata, would print and despatch the passport at the address specified in the passport application form. This initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs is expected to benefit the applicants who are unable to apply at a PSK/POPSK near their ordinary place of residence.
Swaraj also launched the mPassportSeva Mobile App with additional facilities. Available in Android and iOS platforms, the app allows applicants to apply, pay and schedule appointments for passport services, without needing to access to a computer and printer to apply.
The mPassport Seva App will now support enhanced set of passport services such as:
i. New User Registration
ii. Sign In to Registered User Account
iii. Application form filing to apply for Passport and Police Clearance Certificate
iv. Pay for Passport Services v. Appointment Scheduling
vi. Application Availability Status vii. Document Advisor
viii. Fee Calculator
Applicants are requested to visit the Passport Portal at www.passportIndia.gov.in for further details on this new scheme.