Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Passport officials clarify on residence proof

VIJAYAWADA: Officials of the Passport Application Collection Centre here receive a good number of applications for new passports that do not contain necessary documents such as proof of residence or date of birth. This forces them to spend more time on explaining or clarifying as to why certain documents are not being accepted for issue of passports. Applicants mostly bring ration cards towards proof of residence, though it is not accepted as the standalone proof at any passport office in the country. Some other applicants show driving licence for the purpose, despite the fact that it has been made known several times that these documents are not valid.

Proof of residence is the most important document to be submitted along with the application for passport, and the some of the documents that are accepted by the passport offices for the purpose are BSNL bills, voter ID cards or residence certificate issued by the Tahsildar concerned. A ration card, even if submitted, will have to be accompanied again by one of these documents. For the date of birth certificate, the most common document being accepted is SSC certificate. “It is a direction from the apex court that ration cards should not be accepted for proof of residence. There is nothing in our hands except rejecting such cases where only ration card is submitted,” say the officials at the local passport office.

Educational hub

As of now, as many as 35 applications are being received at the local office every day with most of them coming from students and also parents of NRIs. The city and its surrounding areas are known as educational hub, and many students apply for passports while studying as part of their preparations to go abroad for higher studies.

Officials say that in the absence of a valid proof of residence, applicants for passport will do better to get the residence certificate from the revenue authorities. Instead of wasting time by submitting invalid documents, it would be more useful if a certificate is obtained from the Tahsildar concerned and submitted. Officials also expect the number of applications to increase in the coming days with more enquiries pouring in. Some people enquire about submission of tatkal applications, though these are not being accepted locally and have to be submitted only at Hyderabad.

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