Under what conditions can you apply for a Normal or Tatkal Passport

By smita , 17 May 2025

Generally, an Indian Passport can be applied under the Normal/Tatkal scheme. However, some conditions determine eligibility under this scheme. Below, we have shared such conditions under which you can apply for an Indian Passport.

Applying under Normal (General) Category

Individuals who can submit a Passport application under the General Scheme are given as: -

Fresh/Renewal Passport
Renewal (Additional) Booklet (due to exhaustion of visa pages)
  • Expiry of Old Passport.
  • Within one year before the passport expires and up to three years once it's expired.
  • After three years of expiry of the old passport.
  • Renewal of SVP (Short Validity Period) Passport.
  • Government/ Public Sector/ Statutory Body Employees (Currently Serving)
  • Retired Government Officials.
  • Students going abroad for higher studies within 2 years of passport expiry.
  • Damaged Passport (Passport Number and name are legible, and photo is intact)
  • Stolen/Lost/beyond recognition passport
Change in Details
  • A woman applying to change their name/surname in the current passport due to marriage.
  • Divorced/ separated individuals applying to change or delete their spouse's name from their current passport.
  • Re-married individuals applying to change their spouse's name on their current passport.
  • Name change.
  • Government/ Public Sector/ Statutory Body Employees' name change.
  • Gender change.
  • Change in appearance.
  • Change/Correction in Birth Date.
  • Change/Correction in Birth Place.
  • Change in present address.
  • Change in Signature.
  • Add spouse's name.
  • Change Mother/Father name.
  • ECR deletion.
  • Surname addition due to marriage.
  • Note 1: Minor Passport (Both Mother and Father passports have valid passports, or a single parent passport is sufficient)
  • Note 2: A second passport always comes under the renewal category; it will never be treated as a fresh passport regardless of the conditions.

Tatkal Scheme

Tatkal Passport application can be submitted under the following conditions only. Any cases other than those given here will not be treated under the Tatkal scheme.

New/Renewal Category
  • Passport expiring within 3 years/ about to expire.
  • Normal Cases (Indian citizens by birth)
  • Passport for minors (if both parents have a valid passport)
  • Exhaustion of visa pages.
  • Change in Address.
  • Add spouse's name.
  • Government/ Public Sector/ Statutory Body Employees (Currently Serving)
  • Retired Government Employees
  • Must have three identical IDs (have the same name/DoB/Parent's name)

Cannot apply under Tatkal Scheme

There are certain cases when an individual cannot apply for a passport under the Tatkal scheme, and such cases are: -

New/Renewal Category
Renewal (Additional) Booklet (due to exhaustion of visa pages)
  • Old Passport expired more than three years ago.
  • Damaged Passport (any major damage)
  • Lost/Stolen/Beyond recognition passport
Change in Details
  • A woman applying to change their name/surname in the current passport due to marriage.
  • Divorced/ separated individuals applying to change or delete their spouse's name from their current passport.
  • Re-married individuals applying to change their spouse's name in their current passport.
  • Name change.
  • Government/ Public Sector/ Statutory Body Employees' name change.
  • Change in gender
  • Change in appearance.
  • Change/Correction in Birth Date.
  • Change/Correction in Birth Place.
  • Change in present address.
  • Change in Signature.
  • Change Mother/Father name.
  • ECR deletion
  • Surname addition due to marriage.
  • Spouse's name change.
  • Minor to Major (when the minor attains adulthood)
  • A citizen of Indian origin born outside Indian to Indian Parents.
  • Citizenship by registration/naturalisation granted by MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs)
  • Applicants returned or repatriated from abroad on government expenses.
  • Deportee/ Emergency Certificate (EC) cases.
  • Residents of Nagaland.
  • Naga-origin people residing outside Nagaland.
  • Residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Passport issued outside India.
  • Tibetan passport holders.
     
Also See
Tatkal Passport Seva

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