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EMBASSY
OF INDIA JAKARTA
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E
M B A S S Y O F I N D I A
S-1, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Kuningan
J A K A R T A
Tel.
: 5204150, 52, 57
Fax. : 5204160
E-mail address
Information Wing :
eoiisi@indo.net.id
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Revised Passport Fee
The present passport fee regime has
been in operation since July 1993. Since then, the total
expenditure incurred by the Government on the issue of passports has
gone up considerably. Substantial sums have already been
invested in modernisation of Passport Offices and additional funds are
required to transfer all the records on CD-ROMs to fully computerize
all the 28 Passport Offices and connect them with satellite linkage
for instantaneous exchange of information.
For the facility of the applicants, the Central Government has
requested the State Governments to accept passport applications at the
District level itself in a designated office which would either be
that of the District Magistrate or Superintendent of Police. It
is proposed to create District Passport Cells with computer links
with the concerned Passport Office, so that a passport applicant could
follow up the progress of the police verification at the District
level itself. The State Governments have to be reimbursed the
cost of manpower, computer equipment and office space for this new
facility. This decentralisation has already been launched in
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and Nagaland.
The Passport Offices
are in the midst of a major technological up gradation.
Machine-writing of passports – to bring our passports to international
standards - has already been implemented in six Passport Offices and
would commence in eight more Passport Offices shortly. A
massive project to scan and computerize all the records of the Passport
Offices is under implementation. New security features are being
added to the passport booklets. All these measures require
substantial additional investment.
The Government has
been spending considerable sums of money for upgrading the existing
Passport Offices and constructing as well as renting new and spacious
Passport Offices for the facility of passport applicants. In the
last two years, the Passport Offices at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad,
Thane and Bhubaneswar have moved into modern and spacious premises.
The Passport Offices at Patna and Panaji would shift to new
locations shortly. Projects for construction of Passport Offices
are in various stages of implementation in six other cities.
The Government also
has embarked on a project for computerisation of Consular Wings in the
Missions and Posts abroad and the Consular Wings at High Commission of
India, Colombo and Consulate General of India, Dubai would soon be
computerised. After testing and stabilising the software and
standardising the hardware, this system would be replicated in other
major Missions and Posts abroad. This would enable our Consulates
to issues visas within a few hours and also provide passport services to
Non-Resident Indians on the same day.
To meet the rising
costs of issue of passports and the present and projected costs of
modernisation of offices, computerisation of processes, construction and
renting of new and modern office premises and for reimbursing the cost
to the State Governments for expediting passport application forms as
well as the cost involved in police verification, the Government has
been compelled to enhance the passport application fee w.e.f. April 1,
2002. The revised passport fee schedule for all passport
applications presented at the Passport Office or District Passport
Application Collection Centres or Speed Post Centres on or after April
1, 2002 would be as follows:
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In
India (Rs.)
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Abroad
(US $)
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i)
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Ordinary
passport (fresh or in lieu of an expired passport) of 36
pages.
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1000
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40
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ii)
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Jumbo
passport (fresh or in lieu of an expired passport) of 60
pages.
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1500
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50
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iii)
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India-Bangladesh
and India-Sri Lanka passport.
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500
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20
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iv)
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Observations/Endorsements
in the passport e.g. change in address, ECNR endorsement, name
of spouse etc.
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300
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10
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v)
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Miscellaneous
service requiring a new passport booklet of 36 pages.
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500
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20
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vi)
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Miscellaneous
service requiring issue of a new passport booklet of 60 pages.
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700
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25
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vii)
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Ordinary
passport booklet containing 36 pages with a maximum validity
of five years for minor children below the age of 18 years.
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600
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25
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viii)
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Duplicate
passport of 36 pages in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen
passport.
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2500
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125
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ix)
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Duplicate
India-Bangladesh or India-Sri Lanka passport in lieu of lost,
damaged or stolen passport.
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1000
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30
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For the passport
applications which have been sent by Registered Post/Speed Post/Under
Certificate of Posting to the Passport Offices with the date of
handing over to the Post Office prior to Friday, March 28, 2002,
the present i.e. the old passport fee would be applicable.
As the ongoing ‘Tatkaal
Scheme’ has been very successful in meeting the genuine demands of
applicants for the urgent issue of passports, the fee for Tatkaal
service is not being increased.
Even after this
increase in passport fee, the fee regime compares favourably with the
passport fee in the neighboring countries which in Indian Rupees is
about Rs.1,500 in Pakistan, Rs.1,560 in Nepal, Rs.1,300 in Sri Lanka,
Rs.800 in Bhutan and Rs.3,800 in Malaysia.
The Passport
Offices are striving to radically improve the quality of services
provided to the passport applicants. In the year 2001, the 28
Passport Offices issued 27.80 lakh passports which reflects an increase
of 24% over the passports issued in the year 2000. The number of
passport applications has also been growing at a rapid rate. The
Passport Offices received 28.89 lakh applications in the year 2001 which
is an increase of 11.6% over the 25.88 lakh applications received in
2000. The Government has also taken several measures to streamline
the issue of passports and the requirement of police verification has
been relaxed in cases involving additional booklet, re-issue of
passports after expiry of original passport as well as for Government
servants and officials of public sector undertakings.
The
Government is committed to provide efficient and expeditious service to
the passport applicants from its offices in India and abroad.
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