The Ministry of External Affairs is an authoritative government agency that issues an Indian Passport to Indian citizens for the need of traveling abroad. A Passport works as an identity of the individual that enables them to travel worldwide alongside a valid Visa. Every Indian citizen who travels to different countries for business purposes or family-related requirements must have this important document.
The passport serves as a travel document and an identity proof to the citizens that allow them to visit different places worldwide under the safe hands of the Indian Government. An individual can apply for a passport in two different ways i.e., online and offline. People can procure a passport by applying at the official website of Passport Seva Portal or the Passport Seva Kendra office. An applicant must fill in an application form with their vital personal details, address information, and other credentials.
Besides the application form, individuals need to submit some of the crucial documents such as address proof, identity proof, etc., to the concerned authorities of the passport office on the selected appointment date. After the verification of all the documents and proofs, the passport authorities will issue a passport to the applicant. Before applying for an Indian Passport, the applicants, as well as the passport holders, need to know the important guidelines.
Here is a curated list of the most important Indian Passport Guidelines furnished below. Take a look!
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Guidelines for Indian Passport Holders
A Passport is a highly essential travel document that an individual must have to travel to any country without any restrictions. If you are planning to apply for a new passport or already holding a passport, you need to keep in mind some of the crucial Guidelines for Indian Passport Holders. All these guidelines are set by the Indian Passport authorities who issue a passport to the individuals now and then. In this post, we furnished some of the vital Passport Guidelines. Check it out!
- Indian Citizens’ Passport is a highly significant travel document that should be in the safe hands of the passport holder all the time. In case, if the passport of the individual isn’t in personal custody, the passport holder can place the passport in the hands of a duly authorized person.
- Whenever an individual travels abroad or to some other country, the passport is the only document that aids in identifying the person as a citizen of India.
- No individual is permitted to send his/her passport out of India through post or any other means of transport.
- As a passport is an important travel document and identity proof, passport holders cannot visit or leave India without an up-to-date passport.
- Passport holders need to be always aware of their respective passport’s validity. Individuals need to maintain an up-to-date passport and make sure it is valid.
- Before the expiry, an Indian Passport can be renewed for about 1 year.
- If a person loses his/her passport, destroyed, misplaced, or stolen, a police report must be registered immediately at the nearby police station without fail. The person must inform the passport issuing authority and the closest Indian Mission abroad regarding the lost, destroyed, or misplaced passport.
- The passport holders need to maintain a photocopy of the passport besides having the original passport in personal custody for safety purposes. In case, the passport is damaged, stolen, or misplaced, a copy of the passport will be helpful.
- Some of the passport-specific provisions will be denied in the following circumstances:
- Intentional passport damage
- Providing Incorrect Information
- Hiding or suppressing the information and facts
- Altering the information in the passport without the official’s authorization
- Manipulating the information in the passport without the approval of passport officials
- If in case, an individual wishes to procure the citizenship of some other country, he/she will no longer be the citizen of India. In such a case, that individual must immediately cancel their Indian Passport. Also, the cancelled passport must be preserved cautiously for future purposes.
- Indian Passports Act of 1967 will be violated if the passport holder indulges in any of the following acts:
- Providing incorrect details on the passport application form intentionally
- Visiting other countries without a valid passport
- Trying to alter entries in the passport
- Permitting another person to access the specific holder’s passport or travel document purposefully
- Not producing passport for inspection purpose
- Preserving more than 1 valid passport at a given time point
- Accessing another person’s travel document or passport deliberately
- If the applicant isn’t an Indian citizen, still applies for an Indian Passport by not revealing the information about their nationality or if the person has a forged passport, such individuals will be locked up for a period of 5 years alongside a fine.
- The vital consular services won’t be offered to dependents, refugees, and others in case they leave India illegitimately.
If any of the aforementioned rules and Passport Guidelines aren’t followed by the individual strictly will lead the individual to imprisonment for 2 years or a fine or sometimes both. The Indian Passport Authority has the right to cancel the individual’s passport in the above-said cases.
Final Words
That’s all! These are some of the important Guidelines for Indian Passport Holders that an Indian citizen must be aware of. The aforementioned guidelines are not just important for the individuals who are planning to apply for an Indian Passport but also essential for those who have been using an Indian Passport for a long time. Stay tuned to MoneyCompass to get more updates.