[ascertain]

Originally Posted by Nicky

I have taken appointment of 8th Jan for my 3.5 yrs old son's fresh passport application.
is it must to have spouse's name endorsed in my passport? it's not there yet in my case.
as my current address proof (i am here since 1st april 2012), i'll be carrying my income tax return acknowledgement received from Income tax office. it was there in valid documents list on passport website.

@ Nicky
Hope you got your Kids passport without any hassles.
No spouse name endorsement is not a must- but it makes the process wasier.
Documents listed in the website and handbook are sufficient.

[Arunshek]

Originally Posted by ascertain

@ Nicky
Documents listed in the website and handbook are sufficient.

Hi,

I'm applying for my 5 month old daughter, they are asking whether it should be 36 pages or 60 pages. what should it be?

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by Arunshek

Hi,

I'm applying for my 5 month old daughter, they are asking whether it should be 36 pages or 60 pages. what should it be?

Well, if your baby (along with you) would be a frequent traveller, then it should contain 60 pages otherwise, 36 will do just fine.

[champ27]

Originally Posted by Arunshek

Hi,

I'm applying for my 5 month old daughter, they are asking whether it should be 36 pages or 60 pages. what should it be?

Even I got the passport done for my 5 month old daughter last week. The passport was delivered within 3 days.

If my understanding is correct, infants by default gets a 36 page passport . There is no provision of providing 60 page passport to an infant. This is what the PSK call center told me and I also validated it at the PSK.

[champ27]

Originally Posted by ascertain

The Application Form

... My son is 11 months old- but the form wouldn't accept the period of stay (in his case 11 months), because it is programmed to accept an input of 1 year or more. Me and my wife had stayed in the present location for over 8 years- so what was I to enter in that field?. I called the Passport helpline- and after a 12 minute wait, was able to talk to an assistant. I asked my query, and was told that it would be enough to put the 'PARENT's period of stay in the present address (and not the baby's age). After I got that cleared up- it was easy to fill the form...

That's exactly where I got stuck as well. Thanks to their helpline, the doubt got cleared. Though I spent a lot of time on net clarifying this query. Even the website doesn't talk about this anywhere.

Originally Posted by ascertain

Getting an appointment

On the first try, me and my wife logged on using 2 separate laptops at 5:45 PM.
We went to the link 'manage appointments', and started practicing our speeds at entering the 'captcha codes'. This did come in handy. The 'captcha's are alphaneumeric, and ALWAYS in CAPS- so turn ON your CAPS LOCK for faster typing, and avoiding mistakes. Do make sure you have selected the right PSK location. We opted for the Sai Arcade PSK in Bangalore.

I think this much of effort was not required. For minors, you don't need any appointment. I also went to Sai arcade psk. At the entrance, I told the security person that I have come for a minor's passport, he promptly let me in. May be, since you were coming from Mysore, you didn't want to take any chances. Else appointment is not required as confirmed by the psk helpline and even by the guys at psk.

Originally Posted by ascertain

...It is a good idea to get your spouse's name endorsed on each couple's passport- since that saves a lot of hassles...

Can't agree more on this one. It makes life so much simpler if the names are endorsed on each other's passport. If not then you are in for a lot of running and frustration.

Originally Posted by ascertain

...For My son's fresh passport- I required only the birth certificate, passport of both parents (spouses names endorsed) and our voter IDs...

In my kid's case, I submitted the following documents:
1. Birth certificate (attested by parents)
2. Marriage certificate (attested by parents)
3. Our passports (self attested)
4. One Photograph (Though they returned it after taking a scan)
5. Annex H

Originally Posted by ascertain

DO NOT forget to take a print of the Appointment form. You HAVE to show this at the entry point to be allowed inside.

Wasn't required in my case. You can take appointment just as a safety measure.

Originally Posted by ascertain

Photographs on a white background (passport size) should be taken if the child is below 4 years old. I would suggest going to a studio and getting it clicked professionally .

There's a studio very close to the Sai arcade psk. Just in case you are not able to / missed out on taking a passport size photograph of your kid (read infant), you may visit that studio which is just 5 min away from the psk.

Originally Posted by ascertain

All payments for the passports to be done in CASH at the PSK- no cheques or demand drafts.

For normal passport, you need to pay 1500. For tatkaal, it's 3000

Originally Posted by ascertain

Be careful to spot the section which says 'Tatkal' and head for it if you are applying via tatkal, otherwise go to the 'general' queue. The tatkal queue was one fifth the size of the general one in our case.

You don't need to stand in the general queue even if you are applying for a normal passport for an infant/ senior citizen. There's a separate queue for Minors and senior citizens.

Originally Posted by ascertain

So all together- 15 minutes for a child's application- not bad at all!

Yes. If have all the documents in order, the whole process is real quick.

For me following was the sequence:

1. Parked my car behind the psk building. There's a huge pay parking area for people visiting the psk. So you don't need to bother about parking.

2. Told the security guy that we have come for a minor's passport. He promptly let us in. Didn't ask for any appointment letter. We were carrying our kid along.

3. Straight away stood in the queue for minor/ senior citizen. Our turn came after 5 min and after a quick document check, we were handed our token number.

4. As soon as we entered the waiting area, our turn came at the A counter.

5. All verification were done at A Counter in 5 min.

6. We moved to B counter. Another 5 min and we were asked to proceed towards C counter.

7. We had to wait for around 10 min before our turn came. At C counter, it just took 20 seconds or so. we were told passport will arrive within 5 working days.

8. Filled the feedback form, got the exit token and we were out of the office.

The entire exercise was effortless. A big to the passport guys.

[Nicky]

Originally Posted by champ27

Wasn't required in my case. You can take appointment just as a safety measure.

i am also in process of re-issue of my passport and then apply for my 3.5 yrs old son.

i called up passport helpline and came to know that if i apply in Normal quota for minor then there is no need of appointment. but if i want tatkaal for minor (i am really in hurry) then appointment is must.

it's for pune location.

[quadra]

FYI -Now the passport website allows you to fill the form online.

However the educational qual doesnt have option for minors & its not allowing to go next without filling the details. Should i download the form, leave the education details blank?

Options available:
Graduate And Above
5th Pass Or Less
Between 6th And 9th Standard
10th Pass And Above

[Arunshek]

Originally Posted by quadra

FYI -Now the passport website allows you to fill the form online.

However the educational qual doesnt have option for minors & its not allowing to go next without filling the details. Should i download the form, leave the education details blank?

Options available:
Graduate And Above
5th Pass Or Less
Between 6th And 9th Standard
10th Pass And Above

You can mention 5th pass or less

[anandtheleo]

Originally Posted by ascertain

So My tips for parents are-

1)Apply on time, using a fast internet connection
2)Enter 'captcha' codes correctly- have the CAPS lock ON.
3)Check the dates on the left hand side carefully before clicking on the time slot.
4)Reach ahead of time- add one hour for traffic congestion in cities.
5)If in doubt over the location, scour the net for directions using google, or use a GPS- it really helps.
6)Take photos (passport size with white background and dark clothes) of your infant or child below 4 years- carry sufficient copies (just in case)
7)Take water/ infant feeds as required.
8)Have all documents in correct order and clipped together.
9)Have Annexure H ready- one for each application.
10)Carry all documents in original.
11)Good idea to get your spouse's name endorsed in both your passports (no need for police verification then), and with same address.
12) Be poilte to the officers and thank them once you are done.
13) Make sure you have the application receipt and payment receipt.
14) Remember to self- attest (one parent) all photocopies.
15) Remember to carry sufficient cash for payment at the PSK.
16) Do not rely solely on travel agents- do try yourself.

Thanks for the valuable advice, I applied for the passport for my 6 months old daughter on Wednesday, got the passport in hand today (TAT - 3 days). Was a hassle-free experience in the PSK. I followed your advice to the T. Thanks.

[ascertain]

Originally Posted by anandtheleo

Thanks for the valuable advice, I applied for the passport for my 6 months old daughter on Wednesday, got the passport in hand today (TAT - 3 days). Was a hassle-free experience in the PSK. I followed your advice to the T. Thanks.

Ah!- glad to see that this thread is coming into use frequently. Do keep updating your experiences.

[Nicky]

Monday, 11.02.13, i applied for fresh passport of my 3.5 yrs old son under normal quota in pune.
today, 13.02.13 i checked and it says, application is under processing.
i am afraid if i'll get it with in next 1 week.
before applying for my son, i had to get my passport re-issued for getting my wife's name on my passport (during this i also got my current address changed).
i got my passport under tatkaal quota within 4 days.

[Arunshek]

Originally Posted by anandtheleo

Thanks for the valuable advice, I applied for the passport for my 6 months old daughter on Wednesday, got the passport in hand today (TAT - 3 days). Was a hassle-free experience in the PSK. I followed your advice to the T. Thanks.

Hi Anand, That was fast issuance. Cool. One query: you took an appointment or went directly to PSK as advised by fellow bhpians?

Originally Posted by ascertain

Ah!- glad to see that this thread is coming into use frequently. Do keep updating your experiences.

Thanks for the initiative, ascertain

[anandtheleo]

Originally Posted by Arunshek

Hi Anand, That was fast issuance. Cool. One query: you took an appointment or went directly to PSK as advised by fellow bhpians?

Hi,

I took the appointment for safety and then went to the PSK a week before the appointment and was able get the passport as a walk-in.

In Chennai the Tambaram PSK can be used for minors below 15 years as walk-in.

I cancelled the appointment as soon as the process was completed so that others could use the blocked date/time.

[ndinesh]

Hi, I had visited Saligramam PSK last friday (15th) for re-issue of my daughter's passport. She is in 2nd std. I wanted to add couple of points that were not highlighted in this forum so far.
I had both parents passport and annexure H with me. During the documents verification process, the TCS person asked for a bonafide certificate from school. I said I do not have one, as it was not mentioned in the website. Then he asked for her school ID card. I did not carry that also with me. I asked him why are these needed? He answered that in some cases student may be in hostel and not staying with parents. He further said that passport officer may ask for it.
And the other point was he asked to mention the parent's passport number under the signature in annexure H.
Later in counter B, the officer asked for her school ID card. I answered that we did not bring it. The office said fine and approved.
Yesterday I got a SMS mentioning that passport has been dispatched.

Though it is not mandatory, looks it is safe to carry the school ID card if the minor is school-going.
Rgds
Dinesh

[anandtheleo]

Originally Posted by ndinesh

Hi, I had visited Saligramam PSK last friday (15th) for re-issue of my daughter's passport. She is in 2nd std. I wanted to add couple of points that were not highlighted in this forum so far.
I had both parents passport and annexure H with me. During the documents verification process, the TCS person asked for a bonafide certificate from school. I said I do not have one, as it was not mentioned in the website. Then he asked for her school ID card. I did not carry that also with me. I asked him why are these needed? He answered that in some cases student may be in hostel and not staying with parents. He further said that passport officer may ask for it.
And the other point was he asked to mention the parent's passport number under the signature in annexure H.
Later in counter B, the officer asked for her school ID card. I answered that we did not bring it. The office said fine and approved.
Yesterday I got a SMS mentioning that passport has been dispatched.

Though it is not mandatory, looks it is safe to carry the school ID card if the minor is school-going.
Rgds
Dinesh

Same was asked of me in the Tambaram PSK in the first counter for my daughter (UKG). I told them I don't have it since it is not mentioned in the document checklist. No problem at all in all succeeding counters, got the passport in 3 days flat.

I think the people in the counter are used to applicants bringing all documents, I saw some people bring suitcase full of identity papers which were just unwanted/not needed.