GETTING A PASSPORT
You need to get the Form No 1, available at the passport office. It's free, but there's a long wait since the department believes in distributing these at only one place. The wait can be a few hours on bad days, just to get a form. And the great news is that this is just the beginning of a process that can be excruciatingly frustrating. This is the place:
Plot No 414, Beside Prashant
Cinema
Kummariguda
Secunderabad
Ph: 7704089/ 7704646/ 7704747
You need the following documents to submit there:
- A photocopy of your SSC
- Proof of Residence - one of
the following
- Ration Card Copy
- Electricity Bill
- Certificate of residence from the local municipal office
- 6 self-attested passport photographs (4 to be affixed to the application, 2 to be given separately)
- Originals of SSC and proof of residence, to be produced at the time of the submission (long wait usually, a few hours sometimes)
- If < 18 years, an affidavit from an advocate for proof of age
A registration fee of Rs. 300 (if you're applying for a passport valid for 10 years) or Rs. 600 (20 years) - this is payable in cash at the office. The timings for submission of the documents and payment of money at the cash counter are 1030-1400 hrs. The applicant must submit the documents in person. The office is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Within a week of applying, a cop will come to your address to verify if you are indeed there. Some of them ask for Chai Pani (a better way of putting it is that some of them don't). He's not asking you for tea and water, he's asking for monetary assistance. And no, he doesn't give a bill. If you refuse, the process can inexplicably slow down. Under normal circumstances your passport will be issued in 1 month after the submission of the forms, ethical people can find it tougher.
