INSTRUCTIONS ON MISCELLANEOUS PASSPORT AND CONSULAR SERVICES

 

1.      GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

a.       Your passport is a valuable document. It should always be either in your own custody or in the custody of a person duly authorized by you. It must not be altered or mutilated in any way. If lost or destroyed, the fact and circumstances should be immediately reported to the nearest Indian Mission and to the local police.

b.      It is an offense under the Passports Act 1967 to give false information in the Application. Passport facilities can be denied on grounds of suppression of factual information, submission of false particulars, willful damage of passport and for making unauthorized changes in the passports.

c.       Please keep a photocopy of your passport in a safe place. Without these relevant issuance of a duplicate passport in case of loss/damage/theft may be delayed.

d.      Please check the expiry date of your Passport on receiving it for the first time and remember to get your passport renewed well in advance of the expiry date.

Note: Indian Citizenship Law Does Not Provide For Dual Citizenship and, accordingly, it is illegal for a person to possess an Indian Passport once he/she has become a citizen of another country. The holder of an Indian passport should therefore return his/her Indian passport to the nearest Indian Consulate/Embassy on becoming citizen of any other country (including the US).

2.      JURISDICTION of the Consulate General of India, New York extends to the following states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and the Virgin Islands. If you are resident in a state outside this area, you are requested to apply for your passport/consular services either to the Embassy of India, 2107 Massachusetts Ave., Washington DC 20008, Tel. 202-939-7000 or the Consulate General of India, 455 N, Cityfront Plaza Drive, Suite 850, NBC Tower, Chicago, Illinois � 60611, Tel. 312-595-0405, or the Consulate General of India, 540 Arguello Boulevard, San Francisco, CA -94118 Tel. 415-668-0662, or the Consulate General of India, Suite 600, 6th floor, 3 Post Oak Central, 1990 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas - 77056, Tel. 713-626-2148, depending on the location of your residence.

3.      TIMING: Applications for all passports/consular services (Like miscellaneous services on passports, legalization/attestation of documents) are accepted between 9.15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. For applications received up to 11:00 a.m., services are rendered on the same day. No application is received after 12:15 p.m. except in case of emergencies, such as death or illness in the family. Passports and other documents, irrespective of date or time of submission, are delivered only between 4:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on working days. This time schedule does not apply to services where prior approval is required from the authorities in India.

4.      MAILING SERVICE: Outstation applicants may send their application for passport/consular service by certified/ registered/over night mail. Fee should be paid by Money Order / Bank Draft / Certified check in the name of the Consulate General of India, New York. Cash is accepted only at the counter. For return of passport by mail, US$ 15 for Express Mail or US$ 5 for Certified Mail may be sent along with application. Please do not send pre-paid envelopes such as FedEx, UPS, AirBorne, etc., as they are not accepted by us. Please note that it is possible to send one check or money order for the passport service as well as for mail service. Applications in straightforward cases received by mail normally take two days to process. This is in addition to the time taken in mail (one to two weeks in case of certified mail). This time schedule does not apply for services for which REFERENCE HAS TO BE MADE TO COMPETENT AUTHORITIES IN INDIA. Please refrain from making telephonic or written enquiries in such cases about the status of your application, as it takes about 45 days to complete enquiries. The Consulate will get in touch with applicants in cases where the applications are incomplete / incorrect, the fees sent are not adequate or not paid in the acceptable manner or where there are other deficiencies. THE CONSULATE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DOCUMENTS LOST IN MAIL. A PASSPORT SHOULD NOT BE SENT OUT OF ANY COUNTRY BY POST.

5.      IMPORTANT NOTE ON PAYMENT OF FEE: Fee has to be paid in cash, (only at the counter) certified checks or money orders payable to the Consulate General of India, New York. Please note that we do not accept any personal checks. Cash when applying by mail is also not accepted. Applicants may include $15 for Express Mail or $5 for Certified Mail if delivery of documents is requested by mail. It is possible to send one combined check for the consular service and mailing service. Kindly note that money once paid is not refunded on refusal of service or delay in service. We regret our inability to accept currency notes of denomination higher than $50.00. Please insist on a receipt for any money paid at the counter and present the same for collection of documents between 4:30 - 5:15 p.m. Kindly note that the Consulate has the right to ask for any necessary original documents at any stage and these documents are required to be presented for scrutiny and satisfaction of the Consular officer before rendering any service.

6.      MISCELLANEOUS PASSPORT AND CONSULAR SERVICES

a.       Change of Address: Application in the form for Miscellaneous services along with a Fee of $10.00 and Original Passport is required.

b.      ECNR: Application in the form for Miscellaneous services along with a fee of $10.00, Original Passport, and submission of documents that entitles him to the endorsement

c.       Deletion of child's name: Application in the form for Miscellaneous services, a fee of $ 10.00 and Original Passport

d.      BIRTH CERTIFICATE: To be applied for in the �Application form for Miscellaneous Services�. Passport in original is required. Fee of $20.

e.       MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE: In case the spouse�s name is endorsed on the passport, to be applied for in the �Application form for Miscellaneous Services�, along with applicant�s and spouse�s passport in original and a fee of US $ 20. In case the spouse�s name is not endorsed on the passport, to apply for endorsement of the name of spouse first.

f.        LIFE CERTIFICATE: To be applied for in the �Application form for Miscellaneous Services�. Signature on the form has to be affixed at the counter. In addition, one recent photograph and passport in original to be submitted. This service is provided gratis to pensioners.

g.       POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE: Application in the form for miscellaneous services, Fee of $20.00, and Original Passport needs to be submitted.

h.       ATTESTATION OF TRUE COPIES: Documents in original along with two sets of photocopies of the documents and original passport and a fee of $10/- has to be submitted.

i.         DEATH CERTIFICATE: For transportation of human remains (body of the deceased) following is required: (1) passport of the deceased; (2) Certified copy of the Death Certificate (by registrar of birth & death, or vital statistics); Embalmer�s Certificate (Funeral Home Certificate stating that the body has been embalmed in accordance with the international shipping and that the body has been placed in a hermetically sealed container with zinc liner and wooden outer container) duly notarized; (3) no communicable disease certificate from the Department of Health stating that the deceased do not have any communicable diseases/contagious diseases; (4) Burial/Transit permit ; and (5) a Fee of $20 for the certificate and additional fee of $ 40 for attestation of four certificates. For transportation of human remains (ashes) following is required in: (1) Passport of the deceased; (2) Certified copy of the Death Certificate (by registrar of birth & death, or vital statistics); (3) Cremation certificate; and (4) a Fee of $20 and an additional fee of $20 for attestation of two certificates. All Documents must be submitted in original along with a set of photo- copy.

j.        SPONSORSHIP DECLARATION FORM: The form in prescribed proforma has to be submitted in duplicate. Signature on the form is to be made at the counter. In addition, passport in original of the applicant and a fee of $ 10/- is required.

k.      ADOPTION DOCUMENTS: The documents should be certified by the Department of State of the concerned State Government and submitted in duplicate. No passport is required. Fee is $ 10/- for each document.

l.         ATTESTATION OF AN AFFIDAVIT FOR ISSUE OF CHILD�S PASSPORT: This is required when one of the parent of the child is staying abroad and passport is to be issued to the child in India afresh or after deletion of the child�s name in the passport of the parent resident in India. The affidavit in the prescribed proforma has to be submitted in duplicate along with the passport of the parent staying abroad. Fee is US $10/-.

m.     ATTESTATION OF DOCUMENTS OR POWER OF ATTORNEY (not related to property matters): To be submitted in duplicate duly notarized or the person can come and sign at the counter in which case notarization is not necessary. Original passport is required. Fee is $ 10/.

n.       ATTESTATION OF DOCUMENTS OR POWER OF ATTORNEY (related to property matters): To be submitted in duplicate duly notarized or the person can come and sign at the counter in which case notarization is not necessary. Passport in original is required. Fee is $ 20/-.

o.      ATTESTATION OF DOCUMENTS OR POWER OF ATTORNEY (related to commercial matters): To be submitted in duplicate after certification by the Authentication Division of the Department of the State of the concerned State. Original Passport is not required. Fee is $ 50/-.

7.      EMERGENCY SERVICES An additional amount of $35 is charged for rendering emergency service. This service is available only in cases of genuine emergency such as death or serious illness in the family and cases not falling under prior approval categories form India. Applications for emergency services can be submitted from 9:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on all working days. Such service is also provided on Saturdays and holidays between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

8.      INCOMPLETE / FALSE INFORMATION Application forms should be filled in fully, legibly (in BLOCK CAPITAL LETTERS) and accurately. Misrepresentation of the facts may result in denial of passport/Consular service. Applications received with incomplete details would remain unprocessed causing unnecessary delays.

9.      NO REFUNDS Fees, once received, cannot be refunded, even if the application is withdrawn or service cannot be rendered.

10.  GENERAL INQUIRIES OR SUPPLY OF FORMS Please write to the Information Desk, Passport and Visa Wing, Consulate General of India, 3 East 64th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021. You can call us at: 212-774-0600, 212-774-0610, 212-774-0662 or send fax at 212-570-9581 or e-mail at [email protected]. Other telephone numbers are: Miscellaneous service inquiries :-212-774-0606, Legalization/Attestation of documents:-���� 212-774-0667.

11.  APPEAL The Consulate earnestly appeals to the members of the Indian community not to pay more than the prescribed amount of Consular fee to anyone or encourage any middlemen or agents as it spoils the reputation of the community. In any event, public should not make any payment for which receipt is not given by the Consulate. The community should take every precaution against accepting forged/counterfeit travel document from unscrupulous elements.