The central government has amended the Passports Rules, 1980, revising the payment structure for the essential travel document and increasing the fee for both the new passports and the Tatkal service.
The new fee structure will come into effect from July 1.
For a fresh or reissued passport with 36 pages, the fee has been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500. For the Tatkal passport, the fee has been hiked from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000.
The application fee for a fresh passport or a reissued one with 60 pages has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500. For the Tatkal service, applicants will be asked to pay Rs 6,000, as against Rs 4,000 earlier.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Passports Rules, 1980, namely — 1. (1) These rules may be called the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026. (2) They shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of July, 2026,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ notification reads.
Also read: Passport Travel Document, Not Proof of Citizenship: External Affairs Ministry
“The validity of passports issued under serial number I(a) shall not exceed ten years, and the validity of passports issued under serial number I(b) shall be for five years or until the applicant attains the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier,” the MEA said.
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“There shall be a discount of ten per cent in passport fee for fresh applications (and not for re-issue) in respect of minors up to the age of 8 years and senior citizens (persons above the age of 60 years),” it added.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that an Indian passport is strictly a travel document and not conclusive proof of citizenship.
Officials said that the primary purpose of passports is to allow international travel and establish identity abroad.
