Passport holders to receive SMS alert before expiry date

All valid Indian passport holders will henceforth receive SMS alerts to their registered mobile numbers before the export of their passports.

The SMS alerts will be sent twice, nine months before expiry of passport and another six months before its expiry, R. Anand, Passport Officer, Tiruchi, said in a press release.

All passports (except minor passports) are generally issued for 10 years and on expiry of 10 years, the passport holders have to renew their passports further. In order to remind and facilitate the applicants to renew their passport in time, the Ministry of External Affairs has come up with the idea of sending SMS alerts to the registered mobile number of the applicants, the release said.

‘Prevent loss of time’

The facility will enable the citizens to renew their passport in time and avoid any loss of valuable opportunities in foreign countries, if any, as most of the countries require passport validity of minimum six months for granting visas.

All valid passport holders can renew the document one year before the actual expiry date, the release added.