For many of us our Indian Passport is a document that is most important and there are a few critical pieces of information that we need to be aware of about Indian Passport:

  • A regular passport is valid up to 10 years from the date of issue.
  • It is illegal to hold more than one passport at a time.
  • Under Passport Act 1967, it is illegal to provide false information at the time of application.
  • All minors require a separate passport that will be issued up to 5 years or till they attain the age of 18, whichever comes earlier.
  • After becoming a US citizen, you have to submit your passport for cancellation to the nearest Consulate/ Embassy. You will need a visa in order to travel to India.
  • Persons having visa in B1/B2 Category cannot apply for renewal of passport without the approval of the Consulate.
  • Applicants who wish to apply for services like Emergency Passport, Attestation, Transportation of ashes, and Life Certificate will need to contact Embassy of India/ Consulate General of India directly.
  • AS6, AS7, and AS8 visa holders cannot apply for passport renewal in the US.
  • IR 6 category applicants have to add spouse's name in the passport.

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Tips for Indian Passport Holders

There are certain things you can do as Indian Passport holder to make the process of applying easy:

  • Your passport can be submitted for re-issue a year before it expires. Submit it for re-issue as early as you can to avoid expiry of the passport.
  • As soon as you get the passport in hand, check it for errors.
  • If your Indian Passport is lost or destroyed, the matter has to be reported to the nearest Indian Mission and Police Station immediately.
  • You should always keep photocopies of all the relevant pages of your current passport in a safe place away from where you keep the original passport. This will be helpful in case your passport is lost/stolen/damaged.