Passport Appointment Booking Experience

My situation

Now, before I start, here was my situation: I needed to get a Re-Issue of my passport urgently (ie, in Tatkaal mode) and there was no change in address. I submitted my application to the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) at Aluva as part of Cochin RPO.

General observation

Before going into the details of the actual Passport appointment day, here are some observations which I garnered myself with the help of posts mentioned above:

·         Though the central passport office (www.passportindia.gov.in/) lists down the documents needed, different PSKs seem to implement rules a little differently. For example, every post or comment I saw in internet prior to my Passport appointment booked seemed to indicate that I needed a Verification Certificate from a senior authority, though I was going for a Re-Issue to the same address. It turned out later that I did not need this in Aluva PSK. Also, I had taken close to 8 formal documents, but Aluva PSK insisted on the day of appointment that I needed the SSLC certificate (10th standard), which is not given in any of the websites as a formal document - this, they opined, was more authentic than the Degree Certificate, because of the massive amounts of certificate frauds throughout India (made sense!). Its only after a thorough round of questioning and investigation by the ARO that I managed to submit my appointment without the SSLC certificate. I was a resident of Aluva for close to 15 years, so there were no issues.

So, the ground rule is: if you are in doubt about the list of documents to take, walk in to your local PSK (there is an enquiry section in every PSK) and enquire.

·         There was a Photostat / Xerox booth *inside* the Aluva PSK. I have feeling this could be the same in other PSKs. Only one Photostat copy was needed for me, though I had taken three.

·         I saw several people being asked to make self declarations (for various reasons) on white paper. Make sure you get some when you get to PSK.

·         There is no need to upload documents to the PSK site. They will scan the documents any case on the day of the appointment.

How I submitted the Passport Application

So, once you have done your research and found out the list of documents needed, here is what you do:

1.       Log in to the Passport Seva Portal (www.passportindia.gov.in/).

2.       Click on "New User - Register" link, just under "Online Application Filling" on the top right.

3.       Basic details are asked in Step #2, and one of the inputs you select is the Passport Office location. This is important, since you will be given the list of PSK under this location when you are ready to book the appointment.

Once you have registered, an email will be send to your mail address. If you are ready to login straightaway, do that.

4.       Log in with your username and password, and start filling your application. Apart from the obvious information you need to enter, these are the odd ones (all these details can be changed till you submit the application. You can save the form at any point of time)

a.       Type of application: Normal or Tatkaal

b.      Visible distinguising mark

c.       Present and Permanent Addresses (these need to fall within the Passport Location you selected)

d.      Emergency Contact details

e.      References - Two references are needed, along with address and phone number

5.       Once you have completed the form, verify that all details are correct. You can now submit the form. Till you booking passport appointment slot (see next section), your form is not formally forwarded to the PSK, so ideally you can submit the form as soon as you have entered all your details.

How the book passport appointment

This is the tricky bit, especially since it still remains a grey area. Not much information is present in any of the websites as to when they release the slots and what time they release the slot. It’s compounded by the fact that the website gives errors like "Maximum number of appointments exceeded for the day" even when you have logged in for the first time. This is what I have found out from my limited research:

·         If you are booking under Tatkaal (as on July 2012), the slots are available only for the next 2 days. That is, if I am trying to book a Tatkaal appointment today, I can get slots only for the day after tomorrow. Also, they seem to be releasing the slots for next day, at 6pm every day. Slots for Thursday and Friday are released on Wednesday. Slots for Monday seem to be released on Saturday.

·         Though you can register under 2 IDs and submit 2 different applications, the application slot mechanism is invariably tied to your passport number (clever!). So, while you try to book 2 different slots under 2 different IDs, the system will automatically recognize this and politely tell you to bugger off!

·         NEVER try to log into the website and try to book the appointment slots multiple times before 6pm. There seems to be a limit on the number of times you can click on the "Manage Appointment" link and once this number is crossed, you will get the infamous "Maximum number of appointments exceeded for the day" error message. One way out of this is to log in from another machine and try to book the passport appointment slots.

·         If you are booking under Normal, the appointment slots seem to be free for the next 2-3 weeks.

·         There is an option to cancel or change the appointment to another date / time.

The Documents I took

Based on the information available at the Passport Portal, these were the documents I took in my main file:

·         Existing passport, original

·         Degree Certificate, original (for putting ECNR stamp)

·         Print out of the application form (signatures in 2 places)

·         Print out of appointment confirmation

·         Photostat copies of passport first two and last two pages + pages 3-4 where ECNR information is present. If there are any observations, you need to take Xerox of that too. All the Photostat copies should be self attested (ie, signed) by you.

I had taken these documents and its photocopies, extra. None of these, except the marriage certificate, was needed finally.

·         Election ID Card

·         PAN Card

·         Ration Card
        Birth Certificate

·         Passbook from State Bank of Travancore

·         Drivers License

·         Marriage Certificate (had to show this in my final application and give a Photostat copy)

·         Black and white printout of Address Confirmation from my employer (a reputed Private Ltd company) – this was what convinced the ARO that I am genuine! This was only shown for verification and was not part of the final application.

There was a funny take on marriage certificate – I did not want to enter the details of my wife to avoid extra steps during future visa applications if I need to travel alone, but the PSK insisted that I had to produce my marriage certificate since I had specified that I was married! What this means is that, all future passport Re-Issues and applications will need to have a marriage certificate if you are married, there is no way out! Including the name of your spouse is no more optional.

How to book the appointment slot

Once you have submitted the application and are ready to book the slot, log into PSK portal.

1. Click on your application number and click on the link "Manage appointment".

2. You will need to select your PSK and type of passport application (Normal / Tatkaal).

3. Click on the relevant button which lets you see the free slots.

4. Click on the slot you need and after a confirmation in the next page, voila, you will get the slot!

Once you have booked the slot, you will get a reporting time, normally 15 minutes prior to the appointment time. Needless to say, you need to report to the PSK at this time (to take the token).

How the appointment day went (and details on Aluva PSK)

The Aluva PSK is located on the Aluva – Perumbavoor road, not very far from the Casino theatre. I reached the PSK 10 minutes prior to the reporting time. There is a waiting area before the main PSK door where the general public can sit and wait. I was able to enter the PSK showing the appointment slot.

1.       I was first ushered to the area where there were 3 queues – one for tokens, one for Enquiry (general public seemed to be entertained here) and one for issuing of forms. I was in the first line and took around 25 minutes to reach the front of the queue.

2.       The application, passport and degree certificate + copies were taken. I moved out of the queue and was asked to wait. There were no tokens yet.

3.       In about 10 minutes, a lady called out my name and asked for the SSLC certificate. When I told her that I did not have it, she expressed her apprehension about the application. I asked her whether I can speak to the ARO. I was taken inside the PSK and given an audience with the ARO. I talked about my education and employment history to her, and told her that there was no mention about the SSLC certificate in the Passport Website. Since I had all the extra documents along with the proof that I was brought up in the Aluva town, she gave a written consent on the top of application form that I was safe to go ahead with my degree certificate.

4.       I was now taken back to the waiting area and given a token number and then ushered back to Zone 2.

5.       In 5 minutes, my name was called (I never had to look up at the TV screen token number system even for one second – everything was choreographed so well that they always called out your name and guided to the appropriate place. Very impressive!). I was taken to a booth where I was asked to verify my application (you can see the details on a computer screen as they type). I paid my fees (Rs 1000 + Rs 1500), was taken the photo for the passport and taken prints of fingers of both hands. I was given a receipt for the token and another receipt for the fees paid.

6.       I was now taken to Zone 3, where a lady verified my documents (Existing Passport, Degree Certificate, and Marriage Certificate). I was finally taken to the Granting Officer, who cancelled my existing passport (a stamp each on front and back).

7.       On your way to exit, you can give your feedback (where I entered the confusion on SSLC certificate).

That was pretty much it! I have to say that the PSK have totally changed the way I look at government machinery. With just 24 hours of research and within 48 hours of deciding to go for a Re-Issue application, I had finished my application process. Huge kudos to TCS for placing well groomed, courteous and informative personnel in the PSK – I did not see a single panicky person in the PSK and most of it has something to do with calm demeanor the personnel possess.


Time taken for passport despatch


These were updates as seen on the Passport Seva Portal (by logging into your account and checking the status):


Day 0: I came out of PSK at 4.30pm and this was the update by 6pm - Passport application has been granted to applicant on xx/xx/xxxx. Your application is under processing. You would receive an email/sms once the passport is dispatched.


Day 1: (Saturday): Passport application has been granted to applicant on xx/xx/xxxx. Your application is under processing. You would receive an email/sms once the passport is dispatched.


Day 2: (Sunday): Passport application has been granted to applicant on xx/xx/xxxx. Your application is under processing. You would receive an email/sms once the passport is dispatched.


Day 3: Passport application has been granted to applicant on xx/xx/xxxx. Your application is under processing. You would receive an email/sms once the passport is dispatched.


Day 4: at around 6pm, the status changed to: Passport ******** has been dispatched on xx/xx/xxxx via Speed Post. Speed Post Tracking Number is EL##########.


Day 5: I got the passport at around 10am.

Hope these have been of some help to you. Please post your feedback and experience either in this blog or on the links I placed in the beginning so that others can benefit. Take the knowledge forward!