Fresh figures released on 23 January by the Ministry of External Affairs highlight stark regional disparities in how quickly Indian citizens can secure a passport. Applicants in Goa and much of Kerala received their booklets within four to five working days during 2025, while counterparts in Raipur, Chhattisgarh waited up to 40 days.
Officials attribute the gap to uneven e-governance roll-outs under the Passport Seva Programme 2.0. States that embraced end-to-end digitisation and biometric police verification—Kerala, Goa and portions of Karnataka—cleared backlogs swiftly, whereas offices still reliant on manual file movement lagged badly.
![Passport Processing Times Range from 4 to 40 Days, Reveals MEA Data]()
The delay is more than an inconvenience. Business travellers missing last-minute client meetings risk contract penalties, and students can lose foreign university admission slots. Some companies report paying ‘tatkal’ surcharges of ₹2,000 per employee to fast-track applications, costs that add up when rotating project teams overseas.
The MEA says it will deploy additional biometric kits and integrate real-time police databases nationwide by July 2026, a step that could cut average issuance time to under seven days. Until then, mobility teams should factor location-based lead times into travel planning and consider centralising applications through faster-performing passport offices when feasible.
Officials attribute the gap to uneven e-governance roll-outs under the Passport Seva Programme 2.0. States that embraced end-to-end digitisation and biometric police verification—Kerala, Goa and portions of Karnataka—cleared backlogs swiftly, whereas offices still reliant on manual file movement lagged badly.
The delay is more than an inconvenience. Business travellers missing last-minute client meetings risk contract penalties, and students can lose foreign university admission slots. Some companies report paying ‘tatkal’ surcharges of ₹2,000 per employee to fast-track applications, costs that add up when rotating project teams overseas.
The MEA says it will deploy additional biometric kits and integrate real-time police databases nationwide by July 2026, a step that could cut average issuance time to under seven days. Until then, mobility teams should factor location-based lead times into travel planning and consider centralising applications through faster-performing passport offices when feasible.
Source: The Times of India
