A passport is a significant document that proves that you are a legal citizen of your country, especially when you are on foreign soil. It is evidence of both your nationality and identity, which is why the government of India takes many precautionary measures before issuing it. This, in turn, results in the follow up of a stretched procedure that takes a long time to complete. Usually, two months long.
However, in many cases, people face an emergency and hence are required to travel immediately to abroad. They do not have much time on their hands as a result of some work or education-related restrictions. But what is the solution in such a scenario? Is there anything that could be done to hurry things up? If there is, then how much it costs? Well, in case you are interested in finding answers to these questions then read further!
What is a tatkal passport?
Tatkal is a Hindi word that translates into immediate. So basically, a tatkal passport can be understood as a passport that is issued promptly, in less time than the normal one. However, one has to pay some extra charges and to carry out a few extra formalities in order to get this service.
What is the difference between the two?
Both type of passport, the tatkal passport and the normal passports are issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. On the surface level, both these passports are the same except on the grounds of time that is required for their processing.
The tatkal passport takes much less time as compared to the normal passport as its application is processed much quicker. So where a person gets his passport issued in between 30 to 60 days if he follows the normal scheme, under the tatkal scheme his application takes less than a week. Hence, if you have to urgently reach somewhere, then applying for the tatkal passport should be your move.
In how much time the tatkal passport gets dispatched?
The time taken for the issuance of the tatkal passport varies on the basis of police verification. So in case, you have opted for the tatkal scheme and you do not require police verification then your passport will get issued within one working day after you have submitted your application. While in a case where the verification is needed, the passport will get dispatched on the third working day, after the submission of the application.
What are the cost variations?
For getting a tatkal passport one needs to pay some extra charges. So where in order to get a fresh passport under the normal scheme it costs 1500 bucks for 36 pages and 2000 bucks for 60 pages, under the tatkal scheme the charges are as high as 3500 bucks for 36 pages and 4000 bucks for 60 pages.
What documents are required for a tatkal passport?
While applying for a tatkal passport one needs to submit some extra documents apart from the ones that are required for when applying through the normal mode. The list of documents required under the tatkal scheme is as under-
- Verification certificate as per Annexure F.
- Proof of address and date of birth.
(For this you can present any 3 of the following documents-
Election card, arms license, ration card, property documents, pension documents, driving license, bank passport, student identity card from a recognized institution, PAN card, railway photo identity card, certification of SC/ST/OBC, identity card of freedom fighter, birth certificate, gas connection bill. )
Hence, the issuance time is the only major ground on which the tatkal and normal passports can be differentiated.
