Applying for a passport in India is now just a click away

• According to the new scheme announced this Tuesday, Indian citizens can submit their passport application to any Regional Passport Office (RPO), Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) near them.
  
• The application process has been made even more convenient with the launch of an app to facilitate the same.
  
• At least one PSK or POPSK will be set up in all the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies to make the process even more convenient.
  

Applying for a passport has become a lot easier now. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced a new scheme this Tuesday that lets an Indian citizen apply for a passport anywhere in the country irrespective of where his/her residence is.

Earlier, the applicant needed to go to the Regional Passport Office (RPO) under whose jurisdiction the area of the applicant’s residence fell. However, now the citizens can submit the application to any the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) near them.

If police verification is needed for any application, it will be conducted at the residential address provided on the application form. The passport, once made, will also be printed and dispatched to the same address. The scheme is expected to greatly benefit citizens who have temporarily migrated, relocated or transferred away from home.

The application process has been made even more convenient with the launch of an app. The app named mPassport Seva App helps do away with computers and printers that was earlier needed for the process. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms. It lets you log in as a new user or an existing user and supports services like applying, paying and scheduling appointments. Applying for required documents like, a police clearance certificate, will also be a click away.

You can also track the status of your passport application using just your date of birth and file number. Once the passport is dispatched, you can also track its delivery through the app.

Swaraj choose the occasion of the Sixth Passport Seva Divas to announce the schemes, after which she talked about the developments that had already taken place in the process of passport application. She said that there were 77 PSKs made available in 48 years, while 231 more were added in the last 48 months. These add up to make 307 PSKs at present, in India.

Speaking at the event, Swaraj further announced that since these are still not enough, at least one PSK or POPSK will be set up in all the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies to make the process even more convenient. Recalling all the developments made over her time, the minister called it a “passport revolution” as she pointed out that unnecessary requirements for a passport including the marriage certificate, had been scrapped during her tenure.