How to Apply for Passport Using mPassport Seva app

Applying for a passport in India has become fast-track and transparent nowadays, all thanks to the current External Affairs Ministry of India. Now you can receive your passport within fifteen days if you follow the entire process correctly. Owing to the online passport portal, scheduling an appointment and status-tracking has become a breeze. It wasn't so earlier when one had to stand in queue for several hours to wait for an appointment or had to depend on an agent, who might play foul. The whole process of passport application was a vicious cycle of corruption, where getting through the bottleneck was difficult and expensive. 

Let's discuss it with an example - Rani had applied for her passport through an agent in 2009 when the online portal wasn't in the scene. There was no passport center in her tiny hometown in Uttar Pradesh. So, she applied for a passport through an agent who told her that he would take care of the entire process, and that she did not need to get into the hassle of visiting the Passport Seva Kendra, which was located far away in Ghaziabad (another city).

Rani was oblivious to the fact that the agent could not give an interview on her behalf. He took money from her and made a mess of the address and supporting documents, due to which her passport issuance was put on hold. The case stretched for a year and cost her father several visits to the Passport Seva Kendra. However, the authorities did not apprise him of anything about the list of documents that were missing and redirected him to another Kendra telling him that the case file was not registered with them. The agent had no answers to her questions, and Rani couldn’t take any action due to the lack of evidence. She was left with no option but to cancel the application. Long story short, Rani had spent around Rs.3000, and yet she did not receive her passport because she couldn’t trace the exact issue.

A few years later, with the advent of the online process and the elimination of middlemen, Rani applied for her passport again; this time she checked all the required documents herself and scheduled the appointment through the online portal. Rani received her passport within a week of completing the process.

Passport Application System in India

An Indian passport is issued to the citizens of India for international travel by order of the President of India. It enables people to travel internationally and serves as proof of Indian citizenship under the Passports Act (1967). The Passport Seva Unit of the Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, functions as the primary passport-issuing organization and is responsible for printing Indian passports for all eligible applicants. Indian passports are issued at 93 offices in India and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

mPassport Seva App

The passport application process has reached a pocket-friendly stage with the launch of the mPassport Seva App. Through the app, you can apply for a passport in India without time and place constraints, and it is available for both Android and iOS users. The interface of the app is user-friendly, and you can easily register on it even as a first-time user. The popularity of this app is evident from the fact that it had hit more than one million downloads within the first day of its launch. So, if you have the right set of documents available with you, then applying for a passport will take no more than ten minutes. 

A Step-by-step Guide to Using the mPassport Seva App

• Download the app from the google store on your mobile.

• Open the main menu on the app and click on 'New User Register' if you are a new user, or else click on 'Existing User Login.'

• Clicking on 'New User Register' will lead you to a user registration form.

• On the form, select the nearest passport office, enter your name, surname, date of birth and e-mail id.

• If you want your mail id to serve as your login id as well, then select 'Yes' or else 'No.'

• If you select 'Yes,' your e-mail id will automatically get filled in the login id space. Otherwise, you will have to create a new login id. In case you create a unique login id, check its availability first.

• Before entering the password, you can check the policy by clicking on the link given below the designated space for password, so that you may create your password accordingly.

• Confirm the password by entering it again.

• Select a hint question and answer it respectively.

• Enter the captcha characters as displayed on the screen and click on 'Submit' for completion.

• An activation link will be sent to your mail id, clicking on which will lead you to the mPassport Seva Portal and your account will get activated.

• Once you are registered, you will have three options on the page that you can select as per your requirements: 

1. Apply for a new passport/re-issue passport. 

2. Apply for a police clearance certificate (PCC).

3. View saved/submitted applications.

• On the main menu of mPassport Seva, there are some other functions for you to use:

1. Status tracker: It can be used to track your application status.

2. Appointment availability: You can schedule an appointment through this option.

3. Documents advisor: Check all the required documents here.

4. Fee calculator: To check the fee needed for the interview.

5. Locate center: Locate the nearest Passport Seva Kendra.

6. Contact us: You can contact the executive through this tab if you need any help.

In a Nutshell

With the advent of mobiles and the internet, applying for a passport in India is no longer a cumbersome issue, and the mPassport Seva app is the cherry on the cake. So don't wait for the moment when you would require a passport for need-based travel. Instead, download the app now, become a registered user, and apply for your passport. Happy Traveling!