Delivery of passports only to the address of passport applicants.

 

To,

1. The Chief Post Master General Maharashtra Circle GPO Building, Opp. Malhotra House S.B. Road, Mumbai-400 001.

2. The Chief Post Master General Gujarat Circle Ahmedabad - 380001.

Subject: Delivery of passports only to the address of passport applicants.

Dear Sirs,

The Ministry of External Affairs regularly receives intelligence on Fraudulently Obtained Indian Passports (FOIPs). One of the modus operandi in FOIP cases is that the applicants collect passports directly from the post offices, instead of the passports being delivered by DoP at the given address. The physical delivery at the doorstep of the applicants is an intrinsic part of the passport issuance process, and serves to double-check the address of applicants, in addition to the verification conducted by the police.

2. It is requested that all Post Offices be advised to strictly adhere to the procedure of delivering the passport only on the address of the applicant, preferably to the satisfaction of the Postman that the passport applicant generally resides at the given address. Further, hand delivery of passports at Post Offices may be strictly discouraged.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr. Rajesh Gawande