Want to travel the world? Well, just like the driving license which is needed for driving across the country, the passport is mandatory to travel across the globe. Getting a passport made earlier was quite a tedious process, and required all the documents to be accurate. As per the passport rules of 1980, for all the applicants who were born after 26th January 1989, had to provide the birth certificate as the proof for date of birth, along with documents required for a passport.
But, considering the trouble the citizens had to face due to minor errors in the birth certificate, the then minister of external affairs introduced several changes in the documents needed for a passport in December 2016, the most important being the eradication of the requirement for a birth certificate mandatory for a passport.
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Passport documents that can be submitted as a substitute for the birth certificate
As a proof and substitute for the date of birth and birth certificate, the various passport documents that can be submitted with the application of the passport include the following:
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Transfer certificate/ matriculation/school-leaving/ university certificate:
Among the documents required for passport, this one plays an important role, as it holds the complete identity and details of an individual, especially the DOB.
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Aadhar Card:
With the Aadhar card being used for every other legal purpose, it is also one of the documents needed for the passport as it contains both the biometrics and the DOB, furnishing all the details required for the passport.
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PAN card:
The PAN card obtained under the IT department can be used for DOB, instead of the birth certificate mandatory for the passport.
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Service/ pension records:
For all the individuals being employed in government, they can produce a copy of the pension and service records as DOB proof for the documents required for a passport.
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Voter ID:
The Election Commission issues the Election Photo Identity Card, which is also among the documents needed for passport, but it must contain the DOB to be applicable along with passport application.
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Driving License:
It is issued by the Transport Authority of the state and can be used in the list of documents required for a passport.
The above-mentioned list of passport documents can be used for both the application of a new passport and the re-issue of passport, unlike earlier times when the birth certificate was mandatory for the passport.
New passport rules
From June 2018, new passport rules were brought into effect which includes the change in some details along with the documents required for a passport. The new rules are as follows:
- No residential information on the last page: A barcode is provided on the last page of the passport, as such, this eliminates the need to provide and print all the details on the passport.
- Colour change in passport: To differentiate among the citizens of the country, depending on the positions, the passports are printed in three different colours, namely, red, white and blue. The blue passport is given to the ECR (Emigration Check Required) and ECNR (Emigration Check Not Required) citizens. According to the change introduced, instead of blue, the passport will be of orange colour.
- No printing of parent’s name: Unlike the earlier procedure of passport documents, the parent’s name was printed on the last page. But, now, this will not be done.
- Physical verification to online verification: In order to reduce the verification time taken for passport documents and the completion of the procedure, a new tracking system will be introduced, and the physical police verification might be transferred to online verification.
Additionally, a concession in the passport fees is also been introduced for children below 8 years and adults above 60 years of age.
Rules that have already been brought into effect
To make the verification of the documents needed for passports easier and quicker, various rules have already been taken into action by the government. These include:
- Removal of birth certificate mandatory for passport
- Post police verification for the passport documents
- Removing the need for providing the name of both parents
- Reduction in annexures from 15 to 9 to reduce the pressure of collating the documents needed for passports
- Submission of self-declaration in case of requirement of urgent issue passports for jobs.
Conclusion
As such, unlike earlier times when the birth certificate was mandatory for passports, a lot of provisions for the ease of citizens have been made by the government to simplify all the legal processes, especially, the passports. So, what are waiting for? Go, get that passport and travel to the place you like!