Procedure for applying a Passport - Tatkal Scheme - Very Informative

First of all, I would like to thank all my blog visitors who showered comments, queries and appreciations to few of my useful posts... I appreciate all those people who spend some their valuable time on replying back to my posts with comments. As a response to it, I would like to share something very important and useful post today! Yes, it is about applying passport through tatkal scheme.

Preface: All of us know that we need movie tickets to enter a cinema and watch a specific movie, but most of us reach theatres only at last minute and never hesitate to spend 2 to 5 times of the ticket price to purchase the same at black. Similar is the case with planning a trip (booking flight or train tickets), thank god there is an option of purchasing train tickets through tatkal at a minimal extra charge. 

We have an option of going for an advance booking or prior purchasing, but very few will opt for it. Reasons may be many but I would strongly suggest all my friends and blog visitors to follow - precaution is better than cure - policy. I mean plan well in advance for everything!

Coming to the current topic, if someone wants to apply a passport through general scheme - with all the required documents (Valid Address Proof, Valid DOB Proof, Educational Certificates for ECNR) readily available - then it will hardly take two months time for him/her to get the passport delivered to his/her door step. Thanks to the government initiative called Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), which is making it reality. 

Note: In case of genuine and knowledgeable citizen's application the time required to process and dispatch the passport is less than a month's time - under speedy process (with sincere passport authorities and police verification officers donning their jobs). Practical Example is my mother-in-law's application, she got her passport within 20 days from her final submission. 

However, if one wants to get the passport in less than 15 days from submission, with all the basic necessary documents (apart from the crucial Verification Certificate from IAS/IPS/....) then the below information is most valuable and of great use....

Case 1: - If the applicant's spouse is already holding a valid passport with the same address on it (Valid Address Proof) then, following enclosures would suffice for this purpose:- the marriage certificate (or Notarized Marriage Affidavit), Annexure I (Notarized), Verification Certificate (or Annexure F issued by a rank of IAS, IPS or equivalent) and the latest educational certificate.

Case 2: - If the applicant is minor then his/her parent's passport along with an affidavit, certificate issued by school/college (if any) would suffice for this purpose.

Case 3: - If the applicant is major (but not married) then same is the case - as mentioned above in the Case 1, but in place of Valid Address Proof - he/she should submit any of the below:

Proof of Address You are required to submit at least 1 of the documents listed below.
1	Water Bill
2	Telephone (landline or postpaid mobile bill)
3	Electricity bill
4	One year statement (with transactions)/ Passbook of running bank account (Scheduled Commercial bank excluding Regional Rural banks and local area banks)
5	Income Tax Assessment Order
6	Election Commission Photo ID card
7	Proof of Gas Connection
8	Certificate from Employer of reputed companies on letter head
9	Spouse's passport copy (First and last page including family details), (provided the applicant's present address matches the address mentioned in the spouses passport)
10	Applicant's current and valid ration card
11	Parent's passport copy, in case of minors(First and last page)
Note (For Document No. 1, 2, and 3): At least 2 bills are required - One bill should be of last year and the other bill of current year.
Note (For Document No. 8): Only public limited companies can give address proof on company letter head along with seal. Computerized print-outs shall not be entertained.
Note (For Document No. 10): If any applicant submits only ration card as proof of address, it should be accompanied by one more proof of address out of the given categories.

Notarized Annexure I is very simple to obtain, with basic information. But to get the Verification Certificate (Annexure F) one has to follow a very lengthy process, which is explained below:

Let us assume if one wants to obtain the Verificate Certificate (Annexure F) from the Collector (IAS) of his/her District, then the applicant should either known to the officer personally or needs to be referred by a Minister/M.P./M.L.A. for this purpose. In either case, the applicant should approach the camp officer at collector office with all the necessary documents and certificates along with the Police Clearance Certificate. 

Now, to obtain this - Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) the applicant / citizen should visit the concerned Police Station - few police stations will provide it directly upon a basic investigation there itself without demanding any challan. But for few police stations (based on the jurisdiction/constituency) it is necessary/mandatory for an applicant to take a challan from eSeva (by paying Rs. 500/-) for the purpose of PCC. 

Once the citizen has all his/her proofs and documents (certificates) along with the police clearance certificate, then he/she should meet the Collector (IAS Officer) personally and request him/her for the Verification Certificate by producing all these documents and explaining the need for applying passport through Tatkal. That's all if he/she gets convinced, the officer directs his/her team to take care of preparing the Verification Certificate.

Upon verifying all the necessary certificates and proofs, Administration Department people at Collector office would be preparing two original Verification Certificates (Annexure F) and asks for two latest photographs to past on those documents. They will retain one for their internal purpose and will finally issue the second one to the passport applicant.

Now carrying all these documents the applicant / citizen should visit the passport office for applying passport through tatkal! By filling all the details in the application form without any mistakes and submitting under smooth process - he/she can expect his/her passport in less than 2 weeks.........

All the best and I welcome your comments and queries.