Fast Forward : Passport Application

The last station for the quest which started with the loss of passport was the application for a new one which was the most fierce part. "Why?". You would never ask that question if you have even the slightest idea of how things work in India. 

I asked a number of questions to the officials at Indian Consulate, Sydney, when they issued an emergency certificate to me. He accepted that he was not 100% sure of the process in India after a while. One thing he did tell me, time and again, was to not forget to submit back the EC, which looks identical to a normal passport. I had to submit an affidavit and self declaration regarding the same. 

I have been seeing this since childhood that my father would take a copy of every letter/document he signs, every form he fills/submits etc. for future reference. Having seen this for so many years inculcated the same habit in me. The person at the consulate initially said that they do not normally provide this to anybody. But I asked him a few times. So, he agreed to help me provide that all to pacify me. So, do I have a copy of all the documents I did submit/fill/sign. This one thing surely did help me a lot during the whole process. 

I had no idea of where to start with the complex process of passport issue(in lieu of loss) application(once I reached India). It's much easier when you're a student and if it's a fresh passport application. I remember my first application which hardly required a 10 minutes visit to passport office, Jaipur. 

Apparently, nobody knows the actual process. People(passport agents, concierge service desk & Passport Seva Kendra guys etc.) give you advice based on assumptions, not facts. I reached out to the national call center for assistance a couple of times for information but in vain. A passport agent demanded INR 15,000 to get a new one in 15 days. That was inquisitive and challenging for me. If he could, why can't I.  A well-wisher suggested me to take a week's off to figure out the process and navigate through it. So, did I do. 

I try to be well prepared for anything I take up. So, I looked for information on the web and read almost every single web pade which contains any useful information. I started doing this during my extended stay at Sydney. The information they had put up was contradictory. I decided to not get swayed away with that and only trust the information on the website of Ministry of External Affairs. A few things to keep in mind are:

1. There is no way you may expedite your application processing in case of re-issue in lieu of loss/damage. Only printing and dispatch of the passport can be speeded up. This means only application under normal category is allowed.

2. There is a provision for out-of-turn walk-in for educational, medical, job purposes etc. For this, you need a letter of urgency from employer, doctor etc. 

3. Once you submit your documents at PSK(Passport Seva Kendra), your application would be put "On Hold". This is because application in case of loss/damage, followed by travel on EC falls under complex case category. You would just get a receipt which indicates the need to visit Regional Passport Office. Nobody would ever tell you the reason and you might get worried about the cause.

4. At this time police verification will be triggered but even if it's done your application will stay 'On Hold'. While the online status would say that your passport is being processed, it would not until you visit the Regional Passport Office.

5. Be prepared for dealing with a long & tiring queue there. But it was an enriching experience for me. My experience with the police station had been really good, really nice/helpful people, who did not even expect/ask for any bribe, completed the verification process in less than 2 days. I met a few people who were frustrated about the process. A girl for whom, an adverse police verification report was submitted. A professor from Bangalore University who applied for reissue of passport. He had made an application in 80's about which he did not mention. The RPO guys found this out after webification of all the information. Another person who just submitted an application in 70's but did not remember receiving one ever but his application was stuck too because he missed to put this information in his application form. And many others, with variety of reasons.

6. You would have to run across the multistorey building to fetch the files, get papers uploaded/signed, pay the fees etc. and above all to find the room where each of these things are done.

7. Address proof was a big trouble for every single person I met. I had been fortunate enough in this case. I had applied for electoral's card for my current residence long back, submitted the documents, looked for status a couple of times, lost hope and never checked back. But, it's a matter of sheer luck that I checked back again (since that was the only hope), status was 'Granted' this time. So, I received my  voter's ID card as soon as I reached back home(India).

Moral of the Story: Don't trust assumptions, people will give you many, lots of reason to support them, based on their gut (underline the word gut again, because they are still assumptions, not facts). More than often, they will be proved false on the face of truth. And above all, keep trying, that has helped me every single time, believe it or not.