The Government of India is set to implement a substantial upward revision in passport application and service fees, spiking rates by up to 75 per cent across diverse categories. The comprehensive changes were made official following a gazette notification issued on June 20 by the country’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under the newly enacted Passports (Amendment) Rules. The modified processing architecture is slated to legally take effect starting July 1, 2026.
According to verified diplomatic and MEA sources, the revised administrative pricing parameters will apply uniformly to passport applicants residing inside India as well as the Indian non-resident diaspora across the United Arab Emirates and globally. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate General in Dubai historically operate under immense structural load, handling a highly significant volume of consular tasks. Official data indicates that over 1.58 million civic services and consular transactions were successfully closed over a cumulative three-year cycle spanning from January 2022 to December 2024, equating to an average of 1,760 transactions every single working day. Out of the 561,000 consular solutions delivered in 2024 alone, more than 364,000 instances were explicitly recorded as passport-related updates.
This institutional overhaul marks the first aggressive fee inflation observed in several fiscal years, as widely tracked by national media publications. Structurally, under the updated framework, a normal, fresh, or reissued 36-page standard passport for adult citizens will scale to Rs 2,500 from the baseline rate of Rs 1,500, yielding a sharp 67 per cent surge. Meanwhile, a regular 60-page jumbo passport handled via the normal administrative pipeline will touch Rs 3,500, up from its legacy value of Rs 2,000—registering the maximum 75 per cent hike. Citizens choosing the expedited Tatkal fast-track service scheme will have to pay Rs 5,000 for a 36-page booklet and Rs 6,000 for a 60-page alternative.
Despite the publication of the official central document, Indian diplomatic missions established inside the UAE have not yet officially published the precisely calibrated local currency (AED) fee charts for applicants operating locally. Institutional insiders reported to reporters that the customized local pricing protocols would be explicitly made public within a matter of days. As noted by the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Dr. Deepak Mittal, the United Arab Emirates currently serves as a permanent residence for over 4.5 million Indian passport holders, solidifying its place as one of the single most populous and critical Indian diaspora demographics found anywhere globally.
ലഘു വിവരണം
വരുന്ന ജൂലൈ 1 മുതൽ പ്രാബല്യത്തിൽ വരുന്ന രീതിയിൽ ഇന്ത്യൻ പാസ്പോർട്ട് അപേക്ഷാ ഫീസുകൾ കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ 75 ശതമാനം വരെ വർദ്ധിപ്പിച്ചു. വിദേശകാര്യ മന്ത്രാലയത്തിന്റെ പുതിയ ഭേദഗതി പ്രകാരം പ്രവാസി ഇന്ത്യക്കാർക്കും ഈ വർദ്ധനവ് ബാധകമാണ്. ഇതനുസരിച്ച് സാധാരണ ഗണത്തിലുള്ള 36 പേജ് പാസ്പോർട്ട് നിരക്ക് 1,500 രൂപയിൽ നിന്ന് 2,500 രൂപയായും, 60 പേജിന്റേത് 2,000 രൂപയിൽ നിന്ന് 3,500 രൂപയായും ഉയരും. തത്കാൽ നിരക്കുകൾ യഥാക്രമം 5,000 രൂപയും 6,000 രൂപയുമായി നിശ്ചയിച്ചു. 45 ലക്ഷത്തോളം ഇന്ത്യൻ പ്രവാസികളുള്ള യുഎഇയിലെ പുതുക്കിയ ദിർഹം നിരക്കുകൾ വരും ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ ഇന്ത്യൻ എംബസി പുറത്തുവിടും.
(With inputs from Gulf News)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com