The Ministry of External Affairs has simplified the procedure for issuance of passport to employees of government departments and public sector undertakings.
In a statement, Madurai Regional Passport Officer, S. Maniswara Raja, said that government employees were finding it difficult to obtain identity certificate and no-objection certificate from their departments. Hence, the Passport Office has decided to introduce a new feature – prior intimation letter.
The employees have to submit prior intimation letter along with their application for passport. A copy of the prior intimation would be sent to the controlling/administrative authority of the applicant.
“If the employer has any objection regarding issuance of the passport to the employee, they should appear in person at the RPO concerned mentioning the details of such objections. However, the final decision will be taken by the Passport Issuing Authority,” the statement said.
If prior intimation is submitted by the applicant, passport would be issued on the basis of pre-police verification. However, the police verification in re-issue cases was applicable.
If no-objection certificate is submitted, passport will be issued on post-police verification basis.
However, if identity certificate is issued by the employer for the government employee, the passport would be issued on no-police verification basis.
The spouse of such employees, and dependent children up to the age of 18 years have an option to submit identity certificate for expeditious issue of passport, the statement said.
