I submitted an application to re-issue my passport, which is expiring in January 2023, on 1 September 2022. On applying to re-issue, I was given the appointment availability for 27 September, a wait of almost one full month time. However as there was no other option I had to agree to wait for the month.
After this, I went to my local PSK on the 27th of September and submitted my documentation. At this time I was told by several of the PSK staff that the whole process takes approximately 10-15 days, and I would receive my passport very soon after the police verification was complete. This was very important to me as I am travelling in mid-November and I expected that I would have my passport returned by 12-15 October at latest.
However I did not receive my passport back and the online status only showed "your police verification report is being cleared at the passport office."
Finally on the 15 of October as it had already been 18 days, I decided to try to contact them to find what was wrong. After I finally managed to speak to a person and not the automated system, I was redirected to contact the police station where I had submitted my documents. They then asked me to visit them in person but assured me that they had done their side and had done my verification, so it was not in their hands or their delay.
After this I tried to contact the passport office again on, and was redirected this time first to Vadodara PSK, and they told me to contact Ahmedabad RPO, and told to call between 10 AM and 3 PM only (it was 5PM at the time). This was on Monday 17 of October. After this I tried to contact Ahmedabad RPO on Tuesday, calling repeatedly from 12 PM but I kept receiving the busy tone or nobody would pick up my call. Finally I managed to connect with them at almost 3 PM.
Here the person on the phone informed me that my passport, which was previously issued by the Indian Embassy in the UAE, was not found on the system of the Vadodara PSK, so it had been transferred to Ahmedabad, and become a "complex case." This makes no sense, as my brother and mother's passport renewal was also done recently and did not take any time, when their previous passports were also issued by the Indian Embassy in the UAE!
I asked when I would receive my passport, and was told it would take upto 2-3 months. How can any person who is frequently required to travel for work reasons, as I am, possibly accept that? That is too long a delay for something that is no fault of my own! I have supplied all of my documents, followed all of their procedures, and if there is any error in their system that doesn't recognise validated and long-term passports just because they were issued in a different country by their own embassy, why should I suffer for that? I have re-issued my passport several times in the UAE before this, and have always received it within 10-15 days with no problem.
After I explained that I need to travel for work in November, they informed me that I could get an appointment for an enquiry at the passport office in Ahmedabad, and request that my process be sped up as I was travelling, but the first available appointment itself is on 3 November. How can I be sure that my passport will be returned to me by 11 November in time for my flight?
During this whole process, I was not informed at all about why there is a block in receiving my passport back from the RPO. As they have all of my contact information, it should have been clarified if there was some reason for the delay. I would not have found out any of this if I had not been trying to contact them - for almost a week!
I am very upset by this treatment and the constant back and forth. I have no way to travel now as far as I can see and will have to cancel my flight tickets at some cost to myself and my employers. This is very careless of Ahmedabad RPO and I am very upset at the way this has been processed.
Passport Office Ahmedabad customer support has been notified about the posted complaint.
