Passport processing drops from 62 to 11 days in Jammu, from 89 to 10 days in Srinagar: MEA

By: Sajid Raina

Srinagar: The time taken to issue passports in Jammu and Kashmir has changed notably over the past five years, with recent years showing a trend towards more consistent processing.

According to data of the Ministry of External Affairs cited by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), in Jammu, passport processing for normal applications took an average of 4 days in 2020. This figure increased sharply to 62 days in 2021. However, the timeline came down significantly to 6 days in 2022, and stabilized at 11 days in both 2023 and 2024.

The data shows no separate Tatkaal category processing times for Jammu in these years.

Srinagar, as per KNO, witnessed a similar trend. The Regional Passport Office there processed normal passport applications in an average of 3 days in 2020. This changed dramatically in 2021 when the average time rose to 89 days, the highest among all RPOs in the country that year.

The timeline was reduced to 9 days in both 2022 and 2023, and stood at 10 days in 2024. Like Jammu, no separate Tatkaal timelines were recorded for Srinagar.

A senior government official said, “If police verification and other procedures go smoothly, applicants can expect to receive their passports within ten days”

These figures are based on the average processing time by Passport Seva Kendras and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras and do not include the duration taken for police verification, which varies by region and can add to the total time a citizen must wait for their passport.

The Ministry of External Affairs also stated that online passport application systems, including the ‘mPassportSeva’ app and Passport Portal, have contributed to easing the process.

A ‘Post Office Passport Seva Kendra’ is operational in every Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu & Kashmir, bringing services closer to applicants in remote regions. —(KNO)