Online passport portal to remain shut till September 2; here's why

The Passport Seva portal is used by people to book appointments at designated centres across the country in order to apply for a new passport or renew one

The online portal for passport application will be shut for the next five days for a maintenance exercise, the government has said. No new appointments can be scheduled during this period and the appointments booked earlier for August 30 will be rescheduled.

"Passport Seva portal will be down for technical maintenance from 29th August 2024, Thursday 20:00 hrs IST to 2nd September, Monday 06:00 hrs IST. System will not be available during this period for citizens and for all MEA/RPO/BOI/ISP/DoP/Police Authorities. The already booked appointments for 30th August 2024 will be suitably rescheduled and informed to applicants," a note on the Passport Seva portal said.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the maintenance is part of routine procedures. A source within the ministry told NDTV, "For rescheduling of appointments, we always have contingency plans. The maintenance activity for a public centric service (like Passport Seva Kendras) is always planned in advance so that no inconvenience is meted out to public. So rescheduling an appointment will not be a challenge."

The Passport Seva portal is used by people to book appointments at designated centres across the country in order to apply for a new passport or renew one.

Applicants, on the day of their appointment, must reach the passport centres and provide their documents for verification. Following this, there's a police verification stage and finally the passport reaches the applicant's address.

There are two modes that applicants can go for -- the regular mode in which the passport reaches the applicant within 30-45 working days or the tatkaal mode in which it reaches within a few days.