Is Police Verification Required for Reissue of Passport

A Passport is an official document which is issued by the government of the country where he/she is residing. Passport is documentary evidence of the identity, citizenship, and residence of an individual holding the same. This passport also entitles the holder to travel across the physical boundaries of countries and back to the country of origin. This document gains importance primarily during international travel and international stay.

What is a Reissue of Passport?

A passport is documentary evidence issued by the government of the country an individual stays. However, this document has a validity period, which means that the document has a specified lifetime. The passport thus needs to be renewed prior to getting expired. The renewal process of a passport merely extends the validity of the passport without changing the passport number and the passport booklet.

However, there are times and situations when an individual needs to change some basic details mentioned in the passport such as changes in the name and changes in the address of the individual. In such a scenario, the individual needs to apply for a re-issue of a passport. The process of re-issue of a passport is different from that of renewal since, in case of a re-issue, the passport number changes along with the passport booklet, unlike that in the case of a renewal.

Why Do You Require Police Verification for Passport Reissue?

According to a written statement issued by the then Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. V. K. Singh, there is no need for undergoing the procedure of police verification in case a passport is being reissued in case the first passport has been issued duly after a valid police verification process. Police Verification is also not required while applying for a renewal of passport. However, there are certain conditions when the police verification is required and not required for renewal or re-issue of passport. These include:

• Police Verification is not required is submitted before the expiry of the passport or within three years of expiry of the passport and the passport office system does not show any adverse comment or any other issue with the police verification.
• Police Verification is not required in case of government employees who are applying for a renewal or re-issue of passport in case they submit such application along with requisite No Objection Certificate and other prescribed documents including valid proof of stay.
• Police Verification is required if in case the application for re-issue of passport
• Is made within three years after the passport has expired and the police verification column in case of earlier issuance has been found to be incomplete or blank
• Is made by a minor after attaining the age of 18 years
• Is made for such passports which have either been lost or fully damaged but the particulars of the individual along with his/her photograph are available in the system of the passport office and such particulars match the particulars of the applicant individual. Police verification, in this case, is required even though the previous records of police verification are available and clear.

In fact, police verification is also not required for fresh applicants of a passport when such passport application is submitted along with a valid Aadhar card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), PAN Card and a self-declaratory affidavit of non-criminality in the prescribed format by the individual applicant. This process also helps in fastening the process of issuance of passport since particulars are easily verified through the Aadhar details.

Documents Required for Police Verification

Though Police Verification is no more a mandatory requirement for the process of a reissue of passport normally, however, documents required for police verification in some of the cases where it is still a mandatory procedure include:

• Documents which can be furnished as a Proof of age
• Documents which can be furnished as a valid Proof of residence

Police Verification for Passport Process

• Usually, such police verification happens only on the basis of appointment. Such appointments can mention that either the police officer in charge needs to meet the individual at his office or the police officer can visit the residence mentioned for such verification.
• In any scenario, the individual is supposed to possess a copy of all the documents submitted at the passport office along with their original during the verification procedure. Some other documents such as the tax receipt of the individual and a copy of the electricity bill should also be ready with the individual so that they can be furnished as and when required.
• Sometimes, the police verification procedure is also conducted over a call and thus, the concerned individual should be alert. Once this step is completed smoothly, the police officer would send back the documents to the passport office so that the passport can be issued to the individual.

Police Verification for Passport Status

With the advent of technology, it is easier to track the status of an individual’s passport merely by visiting the website of the passport department of the government of India. Even the status of police verification and the result of such verification are easily tracked on this official site. This is in case the individual applicant is unable to find the corresponding mail response from the passport office stating the status of the passport application of the individual. The passport office usually sends a regular update about the status of the passport application to the individual’s email.