Pay Rs 2,500 for new passport from July 1, tatkal to cost up to Rs 6,000
Passport fee hike from July 1 brings revised charges for fresh applications and Tatkal services.
Under the law of estoppel, the government cannot deny citizenship to those to whom it had issued a passport or voter ID card, unless the same were obtained fraudulently.
A day after stating that a passport is not a citizenship proof but a travel document, the Ministry of External Affairs has raised the passport fees across categories. While the fee for a new passport is now Rs 2,500, up from Rs 1,500; tatkal passports cost up to Rs 6,000. The new rules will come into force with effect from July 1, 2026.
The passport fee structure has been revised through an amendment to the Passports Rules, 1980.
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According to a notification dated June 20, published by MEA on Thursday, for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of passport containing 36 pages, the normal fee would be Rs 2,500, while for tatkal it would be Rs 5,000 for the same category.
At present, application fee for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of a passport containing 36 pages stands at Rs 1,500, and for tatkal it is Rs 3,500 for the same category.
Similarly, the application fee for an ordinary fresh passport or reissue of a passport containing 60 pages has been hiked from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 and for tatkal, the revised fee will be Rs 6,000 as against Rs 4,000 for the same category.
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In its notification, the government also issued a Schedule which will substitute the “Schedule IV to the Passports Rules, 1980”. The revised schedule mentions two sub-categories — for applicants (18 years of age and above/minors aged between 15 to 18 years, if applied under this category); and minor applicants (below 18 years of age).
Under the law of estoppel, the government cannot deny citizenship to those to whom it had issued a passport or voter ID card, unless the same were obtained fraudulently. 
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