Now, applying for passport from anywhere in India is possible

As per an official press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), you can now apply for passport from anywhere in India. Recently, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that a new scheme has been launched to facilitate applicants to apply for passport from anywhere irrespective of their residential address. On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Passport Seva Divas, Sushma Swaraj also launched a mobile application, the mPassport Seva App, which is compatible with both Android and iOS.
Here are five pointers to keep in mind about the new passport scheme

1. As per the new scheme, an applicant will be able to choose the Regional Passport Office (RPO) and the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) for submitting the application. This is irrespective of the applicant’s permanent residential address.For example, if a person is a permanent resident of Delhi but is temporarily living in Kolkata, he can apply for passport at a PSK/POPSK under RPO, Kolkata, and won’t have to go to Delhi to apply for passport.

2. Police verification, if required, will be conducted at the permanent address, which the applicant has mentioned in the application form.
For example, if police verification is required, it will be conducted for a Delhi native living in Kolkata at the permanent address mentioned in the form.
3. The passport will be issued and dispatched by the RPO selected by the applicant. It will be further delivered to the address mentioned in the form by the applicant.
For example, RPO Kolkata will dispatch the passport of a Delhi applicant, who opted to submit the application in Kolkata, despite being a permanent resident of Delhi.

4. The newly launched mPassport Seva is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. As per the press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, an individual will not even require a computer or printer to apply for passport services if he used the app.

5. The mPassport service will facilitate new applicants to register, track their application, check appointment availability, locate nearest PSK/POPSK, get assistance with documents and even calculate the fee charged for the passport services.