New Delhi: In response to question raised by Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill over ‘waiting period for passports’, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a written reply, informed the Lok Sabha about the duration of issuance of passports and the steps taken to curb the backlog created by the COVID pandemic. He said that the average time that the Ministry takes for issuing the passport is 7 10 days and 1-3 days for Tatkaal passports. “The average time taken for the issuance of passports (excluding police verification time) is 7 10 days for normal passports and 1-3 days for Tatkaal passports,” Jaishankar stated in the written reply.
Notably, the normal passport is issued to citizens, while the Tatkal passport is issued to people for urgent travel needs. The standard processing time that a normal passport takes is 30-45 days from the date of application. While a Tatkaal passport takes one working day standard processing time without police verification,. The EAM also informed the House that police verification also plays a crucial role in the timely dispatch of passports.
