Regional Passport Office — Local services in Bengaluru

I visited the regional passport office at Koramangala in September 2015 to complete my passport renewal. My original application at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) had been escalated here due to an earlier application that had not been closed.

Unlike the PSK which works on an online appointment system, the system at RPO is strictly first-come-first-serve. A counter opens up just next to the building entrance at 9:30AM sharp. You show the lady at the counter the token you received earlier at the PSK along with a photo ID, and she gives you an A4 form with a token number on it.

You fill your name, file number and service required in this form and enter the building. The service required can be as brief as "Fresh Passport" or "Re-issue Passport" or anything. It doesnt matter since they will use your file number to retrieve your data.

In the building on the ground floor, is a large hall with seating and counters at the other end. You wait here until the display system indicates your token number with a counter number next to it. You approach the counter and show the officer your token and your earlier PSK token. He scans it with bar code reader, reviews the data that his computer pulls up and then advises you to approach a room number or a counter number either on the 1st or 2nd floor. He/She will also jot down a few notes in the sheet in a green pen for the reference of the officer at the next counter you have been told to go to.

At most of these counters on the 1st and 2nd floors, you have to hand your papers to the officer, and then be seated for a few minutes before he calls your name, returns your token sheet with more markings and tells you to go back to the ground floor counter you went to earlier. If you are told to meet an officer, you can expect to wait for 2-3 hours in a queue outside his office.

All in all, you can expect to be shuttled between the ground floor counter and the upper floor rooms/counters several times during the day before you complete your work.

Tips?

The first tip to not wasting your whole day here is to come here really, really early.

The counter opens up at 9:30AM, but people line up outside it as early as 7AM. There are about a hundred outdoor seats in front of the token counter which usually get occupied by about 8:30AM, after which there is a standing queue which gets filled with another hundred people by 9:30AM. I reached here at 8:15AM and got token number 72. People who joined the queue at 9:30 got number 250 or something. People who came by 10-10:30AM got something like number 350.

To give you an idea, They started calling out tokens at the ground floor waiting hall at 9:30, and they reached my number (72) by 11:30AM - which was 2 hours of waiting. The person with token 250 could expect to wait until 2-3PM - which can be a looong wait.

Its not just the longer wait at the ground floor hall. Late comers will also end up at the back of more long queues if they have to meet officers like the APO, which will eat up more time.

So if you want token 1, I think you should reach here by 7-7:30 AM. The earlier, the better.

The police officers who run security are pretty vehement about not letting people use cellphones inside the building, so you may not be able to use that to pass the time. Get a book instead.

If you have to join a queue just before lunch, get yourself a snack before you join the queue. The officer you have to meet will be gone during lunch, and you may not be able to leave your queue for lunch while he is gone.

The officers at the RPO are polite and friendly, but will show little patience if you do not have all your documents, or if you do not give concise and clear responses to their questions. So have your stuff in order and come prepared.

All in all, this is a big change from the govt offices I am used to, most of it due to the efforts of PS Karthigeyan, the Regional Passport Officer, who has been at the forefront of reforming the citizen experience at this place. One day, God willing, all govt. offices will be like the RPO...

Honestly speaking I was very scared after reading these reviews. I had applied for passport renewal and I had booked my flight tickets for international travel, but after police verification status didn't change from " Passport application is under review at regional passport office, will be issued subject to clearance of police verification report". I searched everywhere to see why is this status and what are the next steps to get passport at the earliest. One of the post here helped me, so writing my experience so that it will help others as well. Please follow below steps if the status is stuck with above and you know police verification is done and customer care people provide status as the everything looks fine.

Select your application and take an appointment at RPO, you will not get immediately, I tried in March last week and I got my appointment for June month. Still appointment is required.

Write a handwritten letter addressing RPO officer stating the reason for your urgency

If travel plan in place, take flight tickets copy as a proof of urgency

Take a copy of you first and last 2 pages of your old passport

Office opens at 9:30 AM, reach location at the earliest

At the entrance gate police will stop you to enquire about your visit, should convince him why you are here though your appointment is scheduled for later month with letter and other proofs, he will say go inside and talk to inspector over there

I went to inspector and gave him the letter and explained him my status. He asked did any one refered me there, I said no. He collected all the documents and said will get it checked and told me to wait.

It's your patience testing time wait outside for a time of 2-3 hours. As its without appointment they check with officer inside whether they can allow us inside or do they have any other information further so that they communicate there itself and send us back.

After 3 hours of wait time. They send us inside. Inside in 1st floor hall they issue token. Here also you need to wait for good time of 3-4 hours. They scan your documents and tell you to wait, no specific time or token number here once documents is scanned as we dont have appointment.

If we ask multiple time they get frustrated and it will be delayed further, so patience is the only mantra. You don't get anything inside so please carry some snacks and water when you go inside else you will starve.

With the help of a officer who scan documents somehow my file moved to next person who is the decision maker now. She was kind enough to help me out here. She checked my file and submitted my passport for printing queue.

To complete this entire process I entered RPO at 9:30AM and came out at 4:30 PM. My passport got dispatched at 6:30 PM

In RPO itself they have published this letter about process to be followed if appointment is not there.

Walkin is also possible, but be patience when talking to each individual there.

Police officers and other passport officers at location are there to help public, but at the cost of time as its not in their hand and they follow their process.

When I came out I decided that I should write a review about my experience because I see most of neg reviews which...

I came here to surrender my passport. I got the documents needed as per website. That's my first mistake to trust their web page. Total ambiguity. Well, I needed another document that I had to procure from my naturalized country! I came back with all the documents needed, spent almost the entire day for my file to be processed. I had to pay a certain penalty as per their " manual", which, I repeat, which is not made available to public. And somehow, you need to still be carrying a good amount of cash! If you are not carrying a local debit card, you are in trouble. Because, the only mode of payment acceptable here is by cash. Surprise!! Hey but the website says payment can be made by card or cash!! Noooooooo only cash!! Okay! So I don't have a local debit card here, because I don't live here. With great difficulty, within their working hours, I manage to arrange the money. Hey, surprise again!! The person at the cash counter, has closed it for the day! Despite still time left before closing. Apparently, the cash counter closes earlier! Which again is not mentioned! So here I am, stuck since morning(oh yeah, that's day 2), still my work not done. I requested them with all energy, politeness I have( that's my second day of menstrual cycle). But to no use. I ask the head of the office here and the system, would you have done the same, if it were to be a bureaucrat's son/ daughter/ in laws/ niece/nephew???? I was told to come back not the next day, because it's Wednesday and they don't do my kind of work. But the day after. I have a few questions for this system? Why is there total ambiguity in your web page regarding passport surrender? Why is there no clarity? Why don't you make all the information available? What is the problem in accepting card payment? I came here on day 3, spending money for my back and forth commute for 3 days, to finally get my surrender certificate. Yay! I am supposed to be happy, that my work is done by at least the 3rd visit I wouldn't have given a single star, if not for one Mr. Anuj. He really helped me with my file. Very kind and considerate. And there is the cash counter person, Mr. Vikashkumar, I wanted to file a complaint against you! Consider yourself lucky that I didn't and have only left a bad review here. Kindly do your work and keep in my mind the hassles one has to go through to get things done here!! Thank you RPO for taking 2 and half days of my vacation and successfully making my passport surrender a...