Srinagar: The government has revised the passport fee structure through an amendment to the Passports Rules, 1980, increasing application fee for an ordinary fresh passport containing 36 pages from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500.
The new rules will come into force with effect from July 1, 2026.
According to a notification dated June 20, and published by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday, for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of passport containing 36 pages, the normal fee would be Rs 2,500, while for tatkal it would be Rs 5,000 for the same category.
At present, application fee for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of a passport containing 36 pages stands at Rs 1,500, and for tatkal it is Rs 3,500 for the same category.
Similarly, application fee for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of a passport containing 60 pages has been hiked from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 and for tatkal, the revised fee will be Rs 6,000 as against Rs 4,000 for the same category.
For an ordinary passport in lieu of lost or damaged passport containing 36 pages, the normal fee would be Rs 5,000, revised from Rs 3,000 at present, while for tatkal it has been hiked from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500 for the same category.
For an ordinary passport in lieu of lost or damaged passport containing 60 pages, the new normal fee would be Rs 6,000 (Rs 3,500 at present) while for tatkal it would be Rs 8,500 (earlier Rs 5,500) for the same category.
The validity of passports issued under the segment — applicants (18 years of age and above/minors aged between 15 to 18 years, if applied under this category) — shall not exceed 10 years, said the notification.
There will be a discount of 10 per cent in passport fee for fresh applications (and not for re-issue) in respect of minors up to the age of eight years and senior citizens (persons above the age of 60 years), said the notification, issued in the name of B S Mubarak, Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer in the MEA.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Passports Rules, 1980, namely — 1. (1) These rules may be called the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026. (2) They shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of July, 2026,” the notification said.
In its notification, the government also issued a Schedule which will substitute the “Schedule IV to the Passports Rules, 1980”.
The revised schedule mentions two sub-categories — for applicants (18 years of age and above/minors aged between 15 to 18 years, if applied under this category); and minor applicants (below 18 years of age).
In the sub-category — minor applicants (below 18 years of age), for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of passport containing 36 pages, the normal fee would be Rs 1,750, while for tatkal it would be Rs 4,250 for the same category. For an ordinary passport in lieu of lost or damaged passport containing 36 pages, the normal fee would be Rs 4,250 while for tatkal it would be Rs 6,750 for this category, according to the notification.
The validity of passports issued under this segment will be for five years or until the applicant attains the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier, it said.
According to the Schedule IV to the Passports Rules, 1980, for issue of ordinary fresh passport or reissue of passport of 36 pages for minors below 18 years of age with validity of five years or till the minor attains the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier, the normal fee stands at Rs 1,000, while for tatkal it is Rs 3,000 for this category.
The Passport Rules, 1980 were last amended through a notification dated February 24, 2025.(PTI)
