The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has amended passport rules governing children below 15 years, specifying that an ordinary 36-page passport issued to them will be valid for five years from the date of issue or until they turn 18, whichever is earlier. The change forms part of the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified in the Official Gazette and amending the Passports Rules, 1980. The latest notification also aligns application fees with the revised fee schedule introduced earlier this year.
Validity clarified
Under the amended Rule 12(1A), the validity of an ordinary passport issued to a child below 15 will depend on the holder’s age at the time of issuance. While the maximum validity will be five years, the passport will cease to be valid once the holder turns 18 if that happens before completion of the five-year period. The provision applies to ordinary 36-page passports issued to children in this age group.
The notification also amends Rule 8, which governs passport application fees, specifying that applicants will pay the amounts prescribed for the relevant category in Schedule IV of the Passport Rules. The revised fee structure had come into effect from July 1 following an earlier amendment notified by the government in June.
Passport fees increased
Under the revised structure, the normal fee for a fresh or reissued 36-page passport for adults has increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500, while a 60-page passport now costs Rs 3,500, up from Rs 2,000. Under the Tatkaal scheme, the total charge for a 36-page adult passport has risen from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000, while the corresponding charge for a 60-page passport has increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000.
Passport services for minors have also become more expensive. A normal 36-page fresh or reissued passport for applicants below 18 now costs Rs 1,750, compared with Rs 1,000 earlier. Under the Tatkaal category, the charge has increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,250. Replacement of a lost or damaged 36-page passport for a minor costs Rs 4,250 under the normal category and Rs 6,750 under Tatkaal.
Discount continues
The revised rules retain a 10 per cent discount on passport fees for fresh applications by children up to eight years of age. The same concession continues for senior citizens above 60. However, the discount is not available for reissue applications.
Fees for several other passport-related services have also been revised. A Police Clearance Certificate, Surrender Certificate, Global Entry Program verification or other specified miscellaneous passport-based certificates now carries a fee of Rs 750.
The government has said the broader revision of passport fees was necessitated by increased costs associated with Passport Seva services, higher production costs for chip-based e-passport booklets, personalisation and other operational expenses.