Ooh I love traveling and one of the most important things you need to travel internationally is Passport (obviously!). Due to lockdown, there are a lot of us who didn’t travel as much as we wanted to and as much as we did before the lockdown. I’m sure like me, there are many people whose passports expired during this year and a half of COVID lockdown. So for all of us, I’m trying to make your passport renewal process easy and effortless. 

I just got my passport renewed in record time (48 hours!). So using that as reference (and benchmark too) here I’m listing all the steps to renew your passport within days and with minimal effort. Read on to renew.

Fill the Online Form 

Visit https://portal1.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink# and use ‘New User Registration’ to create your account. Fill in the necessary details to sign up. 

Login using your credentials and select Apply for Fresh Passport/ Re-issue of Passport. 

The site gives you two options- 

  1. Fill the form online (you need active internet connection) 
  2. Download the form, fill it and then upload it 

I would recommend the first option. The form filling doesn’t take more than 10-15 minutes. 

Do keep your Aadhaar card and old passport handy while filling the form. 

Make the Payment 

After filling the form, the site will give you an option to make the payment using 

  1. Online modes – credit card/ debit card/ internet banking/ UPI
  2. Offline mode – challan payment at the nearest SBI branch 

For ease of the process, go with any one of the online modes. The fee for the 36 pages passport is Rs. 1500 and for 60 pages its Rs. 2000. When you make the payment with credit card it charges you an additional ~2% as a credit card transaction fee.

Schedule an Appointment 

Payment is mandatory to be able to schedule an appointment at PSK – Passport Seva Kendra. Post payment, come to your account, from the side bar select ‘View saved/ submitted applications –> under Payment and Appointment tab select –> Schedule Appointment for Application Submission. The site will show you the PSK offices in the city that you’d selected in your form along with the available appointment dates. Select the PSK convenient for you from the list and the appointment day and time from the available slots. Confirm. You’ll get the SMS with the appointment details and reporting time (15 minutes earlier than the appointment time). Make a note of this and put a reminder. 

Visit the PSK 

Report to the PSK on/ before reporting time. Check the Document Advisor on the same site to understand the documents that you need to carry. It may differ slightly basis the reason for the renewal – change in name/ change of address/ validity expired/ others. In my case, my passport had expired and I had carried the following documents.  

1) Old passport + self attested copy of the first 4 pages and last 2 pages. 

2) Aadhaar card + self attested copy 

3) As a precaution I had also carried my marriage certificate, PAN card and driving license. 

The PSK representative only asked for the original passport and Aadhaar card with their self attested copies. 

Process at the PSK 

It may differ from PSK to PSK but my experience at the Malad, Mumbai PSK was swift and efficient. The security guard checked my appointment SMS (you don’t have to take any printout, appointment SMS was enough to show at the entrance). I was then led to the first counter, where the lady checked my Passport and Aadhaar card and gave me a token number which will be used inside when I go from counter A to B to C.

  • Counter A – Here I was asked to cross check the details I had filled in my online form. My photo was captured and added in the form, and biometrics was done here. You can pay additional Rs. 50 here for the SMS services offered by the PSK to track your passport application status. I was given the print out of the form, duly filled with my photo scanned on it. 
  • Counter B (for verification) – Here the guy re-checked everything against my original passport and Aadhaar card. And sent me to counter C. 
  • Counter C (for granting) – Details were checked again, fed in the system. The guy punched a hole in my old passport and asked me to go home. 

It took me exactly 60 minutes inside the PSK.

I had entered at 11.51 am (my appointment was at 12 noon) and left at 12.51 pm. I was also asked to fill the feedback form for the PSK. 

Passport Delivery via Speed post 

You can check the status of your passport online. From the side bar select ‘View saved/ submitted applications –> under Application tab select –> Track Application Status. I got my passport in record 48 hours of visiting the PSK at home via speed post. I had not opted for Tatkal. This was the ‘Normal’ category of application. 

This was so much better than the process 10 years back when I had gotten my passport. Do try it and let me know how it goes for you. Also, if any one wants a step-by-step guide for applying for a new passport, comment below so I can write a blog on that as well. 

Happy travels!