Glossary of Passport Related Terms
A passport is a crucial document that verifies your identity and nationality for international travel. It contains personal details like your name, photo, and passport number. Ensure your passport is valid for at least six months beyond your travel date and use online services to track applications or check visa requirements.
- Annexure: Â An additional form which must be submitted with a supporting attachment during the passport application process.
- Annexure A: This passport application annexure is the Affidavit of Date of Birth which is to be submitted by Illiterate Applicants.
- Annexure B: This passport application annexure is the Identity Certificate.
- Annexure C: This passport application annexure is the Affidavit for a Passport of a Minor Child by either one of the parents who are currently separated, but not legally or formally divorced.
- Annexure D: This passport application annexure is the Affidavit for Female Applicants to change their names on the passport after marriage.
- Annexure E: This passport application annexure is the Sworn Affidavit / Change in Name / Deed Poll.
- Annexure F: This passport application annexure is the Verification Certificate for applications received through the Tatkaal scheme.
- Annexure G: This passport application annexure is the Declaration by the parent or legal guardian for the issuance of a minor passport, where one parent's consent is not available.
- Annexure H: This passport application annexure is the Declaration by parents for a minor passport.
- Annexure I: This passport application annexure is the Standard Affidavit.
- Annexure J: This passport application annexure is the Specimen Verification Certificate.
- Annexure K: This passport application annexure is the Specimen Affidavit used for the (re)issue of passports which were obtained before marriage, by married applicants who cannot furnish the marriage certificate, or a joint affidavit with their spouses because of any reason related to marital disharmony, separation without formal divorce, desertion by spouse, etc.
- Annexure L:This passport application annexure is the Specimen Affidavit for passports in lieu of lost / stolen / damaged passports.
- Annexure M: This passport application annexure is the NOC, or No Objection Certificate.
- Annexure N: This passport application annexure is the PI, or Prior Intimation letter.
- CPO: The abbreviation CPO stands for Central Passport Organization. A CPOs primary functions involve the governance and execution of all processes related to issuing passports to Indian citizens. It is a part of the CPV division of the MoEA, and governs the efforts of RPOs, PSKs, Indian Missions, Posts, etc. in disbursing passport, Visa, and consular services to Indian citizens in India and abroad.
- CPIO: The abbreviation CPIO stands for Central Public Information Officer. The CPIO is the point of contact for RTI (Right to Information) applicants. There is a specific person assigned to the post of CPIO, and the list has been made available online along with their contact details.
- CPV: The abbreviation CPV stands for Consulate, Passport, and Visa it is the division of the Ministry of External Affairs which handles all matters related to consulates, passports, and Visas. It is the authority that governs the CPO.
- Diplomatic: This term is generally used to refer to the Diplomatic Passport, or to refer to the official, ambassadorial, consular, or political aspects or attributes of a passport holder, policy, or circumstance.
- DOB: The abbreviation DOB stands for Date Of Birth.
- Dual Nationality: Some people have citizenship in more than one country, and hold more than one passport. These passengers can travel on either one of their passports if they are acceptable by the destination country.
- ECNR: The abbreviation ECNR stands for Emigration Check Not Required. The ECNR is a stamp on passports that exempts them from having to go through an emigration check. The ECNR may or may not be stamped on the passport. Passports issued on or after January 2007 having no notation regarding ECR are treated as ECNR. But, passports issued before January 2007 require an ECNR stamp, or they will be treated as ECR.
- ECR: The abbreviation ECR stands for Emigration Check Required. The ECR is a stamp on passports that informs officials to conduct an Emigration Check. The ECR may or may not be stamped on the passport. Passports issued on or after January 2007 having no notation regarding ECR are treated as ECNR. But, passports issued before January 2007 require an ECNR stamp, or they will be treated as ECR.
- Fresh Passport: A fresh passport is only issued once to every Indian Citizen. If any Indian citizen has held a passport in the past under his / her name, no matter how long ago it was, they will be issued a passport under Passport Re-Issue.
- Grievance: Any complaint or problem faced by the public that has to be brought forward for resolution by the CPV through any of the prescribed means.
- LOC Permit: The abbreviation LOC stands for Line of Control and LOC Permit refers to the permits that are issued only by the RPO of Jammu and Kashmir and RPO of Srinagar to residents who wish to visit relatives that live across the border in Pakistan.
- NOC: The abbreviation NOC stands for No Objection Certificate. NOCs from various parties are required for different reasons during passport application depending on the case. It's basically a document that confirms that a party of authoritative, official, or legal standing has no objection to the applicant being granted a passport.
- Official: This term is generally used to refer to the Official Passport, or to refer to the governmental, political, corporate, or official aspects or attributes of a passport holder, policy, or circumstance.
- Passport: A passport is an official document that's issued by a country's government that certifies one of its citizens for international travel and certifies that the passport holder has registered with the government. It also serves as a proof of identity.
- PI: The abbreviation PI stands for Prior Intimation, and refers to the Prior Intimation Letter that is given to applicants of Diplomatic / Official Passports as an attachment to be submitted with Annexure N.
- PSP: The abbreviation PSP stands for Passport Seva Project which is an effort by the MoEA to optimize the efficiency and maximise the scale on which passports were being issued to Indian citizens.
- Passport Validity: This is a timeframe within which the Passport can be used for the purposes of identification and international travel. After the given date of expiration, the Passport will not be considered valid by any authority.
- Postal dispatch : This is the term given to refer to when the passport has been given to the Indian Postal service to be delivered to the applicant.
- Re-Issue: A re-issue of a passport is when the RPO issues another passport to a person who at some point was a passport holder, when his / her passport:
- Expires.
- Is reported lost / stolen.
- Is damaged.
- Requires updating for change in name, address, appearance, etc.
- Is destroyed.
- Is misprinted / of an inferior quality, etc.
- RPO: The abbreviation RPO stands for Regional Passport Office. RPOs are present all over the country, and house the passport issuing authorities for a specific region. Regional Passport Offices are a point of contact between the government and the public. It's where passport applications are submitted for the government to perform its due diligence and verification in each individual case. Applicants bring grievances before the RPO in all passport related matters.
- PSK: The abbreviation PSK stands for Passport Seva Kendra. PSKs are smaller service desks or offices that act as branches of the RPOs and disburse passport related services to the public. The PSKs are governed and controlled by the RPO.
- PCC: The abbreviation PCC stands for Police Clearance Certificate. The PCC is obtained only after a successful PV, and reflects a positive PVR. The PCC is submitted to the RPO and the RPO clears the PV status for that applicant.
- PIA: The abbreviation PIA stands for Passport Issuing Authority. The India PIA is the CPO.
- PV: The abbreviation PV stands for Police Verification. The PV is the process by which the local police station in the area mentioned under Address in the passport application conducts its investigation. The PV involves a police officer physically visiting the applicant at the address mentioned in the application, and conducting and identity verification. At the police station, the records are checked to determine whether the applicant has any pending court case from past criminal / illegal activity. If the verification is successful, and the applicant has no history of misdemeanour or pending legal recourse, the police station generates a positive PVR.
- PVR: The abbreviation PVR stands for Police Verification Report. The PVR is generated by the police station depending on the individual case assessment by the investigating officer and past records, if any, of criminal history or any pending legal recourse involving the applicant. The PVR can be positive, or adverse.
- PVR Adverse: This means that at some point during the assessment or BGC phase of the PV, the assessing officer, or records checker, or officer in charge saw fit to inform to the RPO that the applicant has not fulfilled some criteria in the PV process. This can be due to a number of reasons like the applicant not being present or reachable for contact at the address, or there was some record of criminal activity or pending legal action / court case against the applicant. In these cases it's advised to contact the police station and the RPO.
- PVR Incomplete: This means that the investigating officer determines that the applicant has resided in the current address for less than a period of one year, and that the applicant could not furnish sufficient proof of residence for the last one year.
- It could also mean that the police station was responsible in some way for the PVR being submitted incomplete, or with some inadequacies.
- Pre Police Verification : This is when the RPO instructs the police department to conduct a background check, identity verification, etc. on an applicant before issuing him / her the passport.
- Post-Police Verification: This is when the RPO issues the passport to the applicant, and the police department is instructed to conduct background checks, identity verification, etc. after the issuance of the passport.
- No Police Verification: There are some cases in which police verification is not required for the issuance of a passport to an applicant. This refers to the times when applicants do not require police verification for the RPO to issue the passport because they've submitted certain documents with certain Annexures, etc.
- Photograph:
- Refers to the passport photo to be submitted according to the following specifications:
- Size should be 2 inch x 2 inch.
- Background should be white.
- The face should be expressionless and in its resting phase no smiling, frowning, etc.
- Both sides of the face should be clearly visible.
- Ears should be visible.
- Head must not be covered except for religious reasons, and even so, not in a way that would obscure any facial features.
- Photograph should not be over or under exposed.
- No hair must obscure the face.
- Eyes must be open.
- Photograph must not be blurred, scratched, or damaged.
- Photograph must have no shadows on the face, or in the background.
- Types of Visas issued to foreign nationals: Depending on the purpose of the visit, foreign nationals are issued Visas with the following abbreviations:
- D: Diplomat.
- O: Official.
- UD: United Nations Official.
- TR: Transit.
- X: Entry.
- T: Tourist.
- E: Employment.
- P: Project.
- S: Student.
- J: Journalist.
- B: Business.
- M: Missionary.
- X: Mountaineering.
- C: Conference, Seminar, Meeting.
- R: Research.
- MED: Medical.
- MEDX: Medical Attendant.
- U: Universal.
- RTI: The abbreviation RTI stands for Right To Information and refers to the RTI Act,
- Ministry of External Affairs (MoEA / MEA): This is a Ministry of the Government of India, and is responsible for carrying out all functions related to governing all matters in the of official, governmental, diplomatic, ambassadorial, and consular, that related in any way to the Indian International Policy, or otherwise concerning India. It governs the CPV division, which governs the CPO, which is responsible for all passport related matters.
Read More About Other Passport Related Pages
- Indian Passport
- Apply for Passport Online
- Apply for Passport Offline
- Passport Forms
- Fill Passport Application Form
- Track Passport Application Status
- ECR ECNR Status
- OCI and PIO Card
- Passport Grievance and Feedback
- RTI and Passport
- Police Verification
- PSK Locations and Appointment
- Diplomatic Passport
- Passport Glossary Terms
- Dual Citizenship
- Police Clearance Certificate
- Passport Renewal, Changes, Reissue
- Change of Address in Passport
- Minor Passport
- Passport for Senior citizen
- Passport for Government Employee
- Tatkal Passport
- Student Passport
- Passport Renewal
- Passport Reissue
- Duplicate Passport
- Documents Required for Indian Passport
- Converting PIO card Into OCI card
- Fees and Charges
FAQs on Glossary of Passport Related Terms
- What is P and D in passport?
In Passport, ‘P’ stands for Personal, and ‘D’ stands for ‘Diplomatic’.
- What is PP in passport?
PP in passport is Personal Particulars Form.
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