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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Getting your Passports

Recently many have been asking instructions on how and where to obtain a Passport.

I am answering this question exclusively to Indian Citizens. The nearest Passport Office to the College is at Tiruchirappalli - often aliased as Trichy. A

However, all the forms required for applying for a Passport are available online, at this location: http://passport.gov.in/cpv/Forms.htm

Just visit the URL cited above and download the requisite Passport forms. Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3 are the three main forms. Instructions on which forms should be filled is clear on the Government website.

To reduce travel for those who stay a little further away from Trichy, the Government has introduced new Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) which began their operations from yesterday.

You can get some preliminary information on where the Passport Seva Kendras are available from this article which was published on The Hindu. (Please read http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/28/stories/2011062854970300.htm for an online archive of the article.)

Further, students who are from a different part of India, preferably another state or over 300km away from Trichy can still file their Passport request at Trichy. Once they receive a docket number, they will be approached or called for a date on which they can provide the original documents to the Passport Clerk for verification. This process usually takes only one day. Students may take their certificates from college with the permission of the A.O. after intimating the Director of Placement and getting his approval.

The second part of Passport application is an Address Verification conducted by the District Police (of the District where you have permanent residence.) The Police authorities, upon confirming that the permanent residence details are accurate will permit the Passport Department to continue their process of issuing the Passport.

A newly issued Passport can be collected from the Passport Office once they announce its availability. The Passport can also be sent by registered post or special post addressed to the individual at their Permanent address (or in rare cases, the address of communication.) This will have be collected and countersigned in person by the applicant. Once the Passport is received, please ensure that all photographs and signatures provided are accurate.

Those who do not have your Graduate Degree certificate may not be eligible for "Emigration Clearance Not Required" (ECNR). Please talk to the Passport Office to find for the procedure to obtain while you have not yet received your Graduate Degree Document. This will be essential before applying for "work" in other countries. Studying abroad will not be affected by the lack of 'ECNR' for most countries we can travel to.

If you intend to take the services of a Travel Agent, please take extreme care to ensure that none of your documents are misplaced and your identity is not stolen or forged for someone else. It is better that we have this completed by our own selves and not by agents to avoid fraud and forgery.




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