MEA makes passport process easier for sadhus, sanyasis

Revising its passport application rules, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday allowed "sadhus and sanyasis" to apply for the travel document by giving their "spiritual guru's" name instead of their biological parents, to make a smooth process for them to get the important document to travel abroad.

The holy men have been allowed to fill out their passport forms with the names of their spiritual gurus instead of parents, provided these match with those on at least one document such as voter, PAN or Aadhar cards.

Till now, applicants born on or after January 21, 1989, couldn't be issued passports without a birth certificate.

Another key step aimed at simplifying the process is that attestation by a magistrate or notary will no longer be necessary. Self-declaration on plain paper will do.

Earlier, all applicants had to mandatorily submit their birth certificates as proof of date of birth. The latest revision in the rules now includes the Aadhar card as acceptable proof of DOB.

The MEA also introduced certain policy changes which would be welcome to single parents and divorced applicants.

The passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of father or mother or legal guardian, that is, only one parent and not both.

The form no longer requires the applicant to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons. Such applicants for passports would not be required to provide even the Divorce Decree. Married applicants do not need to provide any marriage certificate.