Passport Information

» Change of First Name/Full Name : An applicant has to submit (a) a Court Order from a court in India or a notarized affidavit. (b) a newspaper clipping of notice in the city of applicant's domicile in the foreign country. (c) a newspaper cutting of notice in the state of the applicant's domicile in India.

» Change to Married Name : An applicant is required to enclose a copy of the marriage certificate, a sworn affidavit giving maiden and married names duly notarized by a Notary Public and the husband's passport. In case the first name also changes after marriage, additional requirements as indicated in "Change of First Name / Full Name" are to be met.

» Documents for Attestation : These are required to be notarized by a Notary Public and submitted in duplicate (original and a photocopy). The applicant's valid passport should also be submitted. Submission of passports can be exempted in cases of attestation of Adoption papers when applicants do not hold any passports.

» Sending Human Remains : A copy of the death certificate and a letter from the mortuary stating that the body has been embalmed properly and hermetically sealed in a casket is required to be attested by the Consulate. For sending an urn containing human ashes, a copy of the death certificate and a letter from the crematorium stating that the urn contains nothing else but the cremated remains of the deceased and that it has been sealed properly should be authenticated by the Consulate. The Indian passport of the deceased should also be cancelled.

» Time Taken for Consular and Passport Related Services Counter Applications : Except for issuance of New Indian Passports, other services like renewal of a passport, issue of a Birth, Life or a Police Clearance Certificate, endorsement of child's name, etc. can be given the same day if it is otherwise in order and the applicant applies at the counter before 12.00 noon. Processed documents / passports are returned the same day between 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm. New Indian Passports issued on the expiry of old passports which expired recently are given the next working day between 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm.

» Overnight Mail Applications : Applications received through overnight mail are processed on a priority basis and the passports and services documents are returned by overnight mail provided an overnight mailing charge is paid to the Consulate in addition to the normal fee. It normally takes two/three working days to process such cases.

» Certified/Registered Mail Applications : Applications received by certified or registered mail are processed within 7 working days and returned by certified mail only. A self-addressed and stamped certified mail envelope or additional amount (as required) may be enclosed.

» Obtaining Forms : Renewal, Miscellaneous Services and New Passport application forms are distributed free of cost. These forms can also be freely duplicated. The application forms can be downloaded from web sites at the following address:
www.positiveindia.com
www.indianconsulate-sf.org
www.indianembassy.org

Forms can also be obtained from the Consulate by sending a request in writing and enclosing a self-addressed and stamped envelope. These can also be obtained from the Indian Associations and some Travel Agencies.

All fees and mailing charges can be paid by personal checks, cashier's checks, travelers checks or money orders. Cash is accepted only at the Counter.

» Certified Mail cases : Processing such cases take about 7 working days from the day of receipt of an application. Enquiries should be made only if the serviced passports are not received after at least 15 days of despatch keeping 7 days for two-way mail.

» Overnight Mail cases : Enquiries in respect of an application sent by overnight mail and also requesting return by overnight mail should be made at least 6 days after despatch of application and not earlier.

» Emergencies on Working Days : In case of emergency, services are rendered in approximately one hour on payment of an additional charge of $30/- for each service except issuance of a New Passport which takes three hours.

» Emergencies during weekends and holidays : Emergency services except issuance of New Passport booklets are available on weekends and holidays only in cases of genuine emergencies on payment of an additional charge of $30/- for each service.

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