New Delhi: Starting from today (Thursday), the Passport Seva portal will be temporarily unavailable for next five days (From August 29 to September 2), due to a scheduled technical maintenance.
As per the reports, during this period, citizens will not be able to book new appointments, and all the appointments already booked during this period will be either be rescheduled.
Why is Passport Tatkal Seva Portal shut down?
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the maintenance is part of routine procedures and contingency plans are already in place to minimise inconvenience to the general public.
The Passport Seva portal is used for booking appointments for new passport applications or renewals. The process of the application involves document verification, police verification, and finally, passport delivery.
During this period, the portal would also be unavailable for all the agencies including MEA, RPO, BOI, ISP, DoP, and police.
How much it takes for regular and tatkal passports?
In general, people have two options- Regular, Tatkal- to apply for new passports. While applying via regular mode one gets passport within 30-45 days, in Tatkal mode one get passport within a week.
As per the MEA, the such routine maintenances are aimed to ensure a smooth and efficient application process.
What to do in case of emergency during this period?
During the period of maintenance shutdown of the passport portal, those in need of urgent assistance and any other emergency situation, must contact the the Regional Passport Office or reach out to the relevant offices for guidance and support.