Current walking in passport costs by 67% followed 14 years: Centre

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The federal government just recently modified the passport cost structure through a change to the Passports Rules, 1980, increasing application charge for a normal fresh passport consisting of 36 pages from 1,500 to 2,500

Passport charges are modified from time to time after detailed evaluation of the expense of offering passport and associated services, functional requirements, and service shipment enhancements, and the current walking in charges by 67 percent, has actually followed 14 years, the Lok Sabha was notified Friday.

The “increase in the cost of various inputs and service delivery” over the 14 years given that the last modification in 2012 “made it necessary to revise the passport fees”Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh stated in a written reaction to a question.

The federal government just recently modified the passport charge structure through a change to the Passports Rules, 1980, increasing application cost for a normal fresh passport including 36 pages from 1,500 to 2,500. The brand-new guidelines entered into force with result from July 1, 2026.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was asked whether the federal government has actually carried out any expense research study, regulative effect evaluation or price evaluation before modifying passport and associated service charge under the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026.

“Passport fees are revised from time to time after a comprehensive review of the cost of providing passport and related services, operational requirements, and service delivery improvements,” Singh stated.

Previously, passport charges have actually been modified in 1971, 1980, 1993, 2002 and 2012, and now in 2026, the MoS stated.

A variety of efforts have actually been considered enhancement of passport services consisting of application of updated Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Version 2.0 and e-Passport, which has actually boosted the quality, security and performance of passport services, while increasing the expense of service shipment, the Centre stated.

“For reference purposes, it was increased 67 per cent over 4 years in 1971; 100 per cent over 9 years in 1980; 500 per cent over 13 years in 1993; 233 per cent over 9 years in 2002 and 50 per cent over 10 years in 2012.

“Arrangements for Passport applications being accompanied by recommended cost remain in Section 5( 1) of the Passports Act 1967 and Rule 8 of the Passports Rules 1980,” Singh said.

Published on August 1, 2026

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