A Passport is an important travel document issued to Indian citizens to visit other countries across the world. Emergency Certificate is issued to people who are residing in a foreign country and willing to return to India on emergency basis. People who are not aware of this Emergency certificate can learn more about it through this guide. In this post, we provided the complete details about the Emergency Certificate, application procedure, required documents to apply for an emergency certificate, etc. Have a look!
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What is Emergency Passport?
An Emergency Passport is a one-way travel document issued to Indian citizens in specific situations. One such situation is the validity of the Indian passport has expired and the applicant doesn’t have a legal visa status or valid visa status to reside in any foreign country. The concerned authorities will issue the Emergency Certificate to the citizens only upon the formal request of the person. An Emergency Certificate is a compulsory document issued for an individual that must be applied in person at the Consulate. There is no provision of mailing for issuing Emergency Certificate.
The key objective of issuing the emergency certificate to the applicant is to make sure that the applicant will return to India in an emergency situation. However, the final decision will be made by the Consular Officer in respect to the issuance of EC. An Emergency Certificate will be issued to the individuals with a validity of 1 month. Within 1 month, the individuals must return to India at any cost. Some other cases include the following:
- The applicant is under orders of deportation by foreign country officials and doesn’t have a travel document to go back to India.
- When the applicant’s passport is stolen, damaged, lost, or not traceable. If the applicant doesn’t have a valid visa status in any foreign country and is willing to return to India on emergency grounds.
- The validity of the Indian passport has expired and if there is no validity and legal visa status for the applicant to reside in any other country.
Documents Required for Emergency Certificate
To apply for the Emergency Travel Document, the applicants need to arrange some essential documents. In this post, we provided the complete list of documents required for the applicant to submit alongside the application form. The applicant must carry the originals of all the documents to the Consular Officer in person. The photocopies of the same must be attached with the application. If you can’t submit the original documents at the office, just make sure you carry the notarized copy of the documents along with the application. Make sure that the notarized copies are legal. If they are not legal, the consulate may ask you to bring the original documents. Check the list of documents required for emergency passport:
- Filled Emergency Certificate Form
- 1 Self-attested copy of the residence proof
- If the passport is stolen, lost, or misplaced, submit a copy of the police report in the name of the applicant
- 3 recent passport size photographs
- A copy of the Airline ticket
How to Apply for an Emergency Certificate?
The applicants can apply for an emergency certificate only by visiting the Indian Consulate office. The concerned authorities at the office will conduct a personal interview to decide whether to issue the certificate to the applicant. There is no provision to apply for an emergency certificate via online mode, mail, or any other modes. The emergency certificate will be issued only through a personal interview at the Indian consulate. Follow the simple steps given below that helps the applicants to apply for Emergency Certificate. Here is the in-depth guide that explains the emergency passport procedure. Check it out!
- At first, visit the Indian Consulate office in person.
- The current Indian address of the applicant will be printed on the passport. On the application form, you need to mention your current Indian address.
- Fill in the vital details in the application form.
- A total of 6 photographs will be required. One must be pasted in the box and the remaining photos must be pasted in specific places as suggested.
- After completely filling in the form, attach the aforesaid documents with the application form.
- Later, the authorities at the consulate will conduct a personal interview.
That’s all! This is the detailed emergency passport procedure.
After submitting the documents to the Consulate office, it takes 10 working days to deliver the passport from the date of application. In some situations, there could be delayed due to the passport processing improvements. However, the processing time will depend on the individual’s circumstances. If there are any issues with the passport particulars and the Indian nationality of the applicant at the level of the Embassy, the issuance of EC may get delayed. Such issues will be referred to the respective authorities in India.
The applicants need to pay a non-refundable fee of US$ 15 and US$ 2 towards the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF). The applicant can pay the fee in cash or by money orders or cheques drawn in the name of the Consulate General of India. Keep in mind that the validity of this Emergency certificate is only 30 days.
This is everything you need to know about the emergency passport. We hope this guide has given enough details about the emergency passport procedure and fee details. For more details, ask us in the comments section. Stay tuned to MoneyCompass for more details about the Passport, and more.