Passport for Minors

Passport for Children: Key Highlights

In India, anyone under 18 years of age is considered a minor. Earlier, children could be endorsed on their father's passport for international travel, and there was no need to apply for an individual passport. However, this facility is no longer available, and all children below 18 years need a valid Indian passport to travel abroad.

Children, including newborn babies and older ones under 18, must apply for passport for minors. There is no minimum passport age limit; even if your child is less than a year old, you must apply for one.

Passport requirement for minors differs from normal passport procedures in India as it requires parents or legal guardians to apply. Let's learn some of the key features of passport for children in India:

* Fee will vary with the service opted and is subject to change with time and government regulations.

As you prepare for your upcoming journey and apply for your kid's passport, don't forget to secure your trip with a travel insurance plan. Many international travel insurance plans also come with passport loss or theft coverage. Other than medical or flight-related financial emergencies, it will safeguard you from losses caused by passport theft or loss while travelling.

Passport Fees for Minor in India

The cost of passport fees for children applying from India will vary with their age, validity and number of pages in their passport booklets. Passport fees for minors will be different for fresh passport applicants and reissues.

Minor Passport Fees (Fresh)

Minor Passport Fees (Under 15 years)

Indians below 15 years of age are only issued a 36-page booklet. The validity of Indian passport for minors is restricted to 5 years or until they reach the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier. The passport fee for minors will depend on the scheme opted for.

Minor Passport Renewal Fee (15-18 years)

There's a separate category of minor applicants aged between 15-18 years. These children can apply for a reissue of Indian passport with both 5-year validity and 10-year validity passport. The fee details are shared in the next section below.

Procedure to Apply for an Indian Passport for Minors

A child's parents or legal guardians can apply for a passport for minor. Without the consent of the minor's parents or legal guardians, a minor can't apply for a minor passport in India. The following are the steps to apply for a minor passport in India:

• Step 1: Go to the official Passport Seva Portal and create the minor's login ID and password.
• Step 2: Log in to the account and click on the online application passport.
• Step 3: Click on Apply for Fresh Passport/Re-issue of Passport and start a fresh application.
  Choose the alternative you want to fill out the passport form for minors: online or by downloading the form.
• Step 4: Carefully fill in all the details accurately. Avoid any mistakes or omissions.
• Step 5: Pay the required application fee. The fee will be higher if you have applied for a Tatkal passport for child.

Documents Required for Minor Passport in India

The following are the minor passport documents required during a regular passport application for kids:

• Proof of date of birth (birth certificate issued by the concerned municipal corporation)
• Proof of present address
• Declaration confirming the particulars furnished in the application as per Annexure D
• Passport copy of the parent/parents applying
• Present proof of address of parents
• Passport-size photograph of the minor and parents (both or either) applying. The photo should be in the size 4.5 cm in length x 3.5 cm in width.

Please note that passport requirements for minors will vary for special cases.

Passport for Minors: Additional Documents

Other than the proof of birth and residence, there may be additional documents required for minor passport in India. This depends on the category opted for by the applicant. These are some extra requirements for a kids passport documents:

• Declaration confirming the particulars furnished in the application as per Annexure D/Annexure C/Annexure I as per the requirement
• A standard affidavit, according to Annexure E
• Original identity certificate according to Annexure A
• Attested photocopy of either or both parents' passport(s)
• A valid court-attested deed of adoption of the child
• CARA No Objection certificate, court decree and copy of guarantee executed by the court in case of minor children adopted by foreigners
• Certified copy of the child's custody in favour of the applicant parent (for children of legally divorced parents)
• Death certificate of the spouse (for children with one deceased parent)
• Student ID card issued by any government-recognised educational institute if the applicant is a student
• A bonafide letter from the authorised signatory of UGC UGC-recognised college on official letterhead

Child passport documents also vary with special cases, such as single parents or minors who have stayed at an orphanage.

Minor Indian Passport Eligibility

A passport for minors in India is valid for five years or until the child turns 18 years old, whichever is earlier. While applying for a passport for children, there are options to apply for two age groups:

• Minors below 15 years of age
• Minors aged between 15 and 18 years

For children below 15 years, the passport booklet issued is 36 pages. However, the validity can be of 5 years or 10 years.

Minor children falling under one or more of the following cases are eligible to apply for passport for kids in India:

• Minors aged 15-18 years
• Minors from Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir
• Minors whose parents are employees of the government/PSU/SU/Statutory body
• Minors whose parents hold an Indian passport with their spouse's name endorsed
• Minors whose parents reside abroad
• Adopted minors
• Children of divorced parents
• Children of separated parents who have not divorced legally
• Children of single parents
• Minors who have the consent of one parent but not the other
• Passport applied for by a legal guardian when one or both parents are not consenting to the child's passport
• Passport applied for by the legal guardian
• Minor students staying in a different residence from their parents'
• Minor children who have been born through surrogacy
• Minor dependents of Diplomatic/Official passport holders
• Minors who have had a change of name

Minor Passport Renewal Requirements

If your child's passport is about to expire or needs to be renewed for some reason, you can do this through the Passport Seva Portal website. All you need to do is

• Select the 'Reissue of passport' option when selecting the application type.

• During passport renewal for kids, proceed according to the age requirement and select the reason for applying for the re-issue.
• You can choose between the normal and tatkal scheme depending on your needs.
• Once you have completed the passport renewal form for minors online, you can proceed to pay your children's passport fee.

One thing to note is that minor passports in India are issued in two categories:

• Applicants below 15 years of age
• Applicants between 15-18 years of age

For those between 15 and 18 years, passport renewal for minors can be opted for either a 5-year validity or until the applicant turns 18 years, whichever is earlier.

You can also opt for a passport with 10-year validity. If opting for 10 10-year validity passport, then the applicant can choose between a 36-page booklet and 60 60-page booklet. Documents required for minor passport renewal in India are similar to the ones required for a fresh passport, with additional documents depending on a case-by-case basis.

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Annexures for Minor Passport

Several special cases may require additional minor passport requirements due to a lack of regular documents. Given below are the annexures under which the applicant can provide an affidavit to provide documents required for minor passport:

• Annexure D: For minor passport applicants who are living with a single parent
• Annexure C: For minor passport applicants who can't obtain consent from one of their parents
• Annexure E: Standard affidavit affirming that all the details provided for the passport application are true
• Annexure G: For minor passport applicants who can't obtain consent from both parents
• Annexure H: For those minor children who live with their legal guardian

Mode of Payment for Minor Passports

There are multiple modes available for paying minor passport fees in India. You can choose any of the given options below:

• Pay via the SBI payment portal on the Passport Seva Kendra
• Pay via credit cards/debit cards/wallets
• Payment through the SBI bank challan
• Tatkal passport fees for minor require regular fee payment online and the remaining amount in cash when you visit the passport seva kendra

Please note that apart from SBI internet banking and SBI bank challan, an additional 1.5% + service charges will be applicable.

Documents Required for Minor Passport in India: Special Cases

Be it a fresh one or a renewal, a kids passport application may have different conditions requiring extra documents or steps. For instance, if you are a single parent planning to move abroad with your child, then you may need additional paperwork. If you're wondering how to apply for passport for minors who have different requirements, you can get some clarity:

For a Passport of a Minor in Single Parent Custody

• The online form now allows providing only one parent's name.
• This enables single parents to get passports where the name of either parent is not required to be printed at the request of the applicant.

For Minor Children of an Unwed Single Parent

• The name of the father or mother is not to be mentioned in the passport application or in the passport.
• If unwed parents submit Appendix-12, both names are mentioned.

For Divorce Pending Cases

• Get permission from the court or,
• Provide a declaration in the form of Annexure-C with the applicable reason.

For a Child of an Unwed Mother

• Furnish a declaration in Annexure' C' and 'D'.
• The name of the father should be left blank.

Children of Married Parents, Abandoned by the other Parent

• Declaration in Annexure 'C' must be submitted by the parent with custody
• The procedure for a single mother applies mutatis mutandis for a single father claiming the mother abandoned child.

Child who has stayed in a Child Care Home or/Orphanage

• A declaration by the Head of the orphanage or child care home on official letterhead confirming DOB.