Indian Passport Renewal Abroad 2026: New Passport Seva Steps, VFS Delays and Police Verification

What Changed in 2026 for Passport Renewal Abroad (Quick Answer)

Main changes for Indians renewing abroad, as of September 2026:

• New portal: according to the MEA announcement reported by The Tribune in November 2025, GPSP V2.0 (Global Passport Seva Programme) launched at Indian missions worldwide on 28 October 2025, though individual missions switched on different dates.
• Uploads first: the US GPSP 2.0 notice from the Consulates General of India (CGI) in Houston, San Francisco and New York makes photo, signature and document uploads mandatory before the form goes to VFS.
• New fees: Gazette Notification GSR 516(E) revised passport fees from 1 July 2026, as announced by the Embassy of India in Washington DC.
• UAE: Al Hind Tours & Travels has handled passport services since 22 July 2026 (Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi notice).
• Australia: according to The Indian Sun on 1 July 2026, VFS suspended Indian passport services from 1 July; according to a High Commission of India statement reported by Indian Link on 22 July 2026, they resumed from 23 July.
• E-passports: according to All India Radio in October 2025, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi began issuing chip e-passports on 28 October 2025; no official confirmation was found for the USA, UK, Canada or Australia.

Who Handles Your Application - Embassy, Consulate, VFS or BLS

USA - VFS Global, the Embassy and Consulate Jurisdictions

Since 15 July 2025, the USA has nine jurisdictions, according to the Embassy of India's page (updated 28 August 2026):

• Washington DC (Embassy): Bermuda, DC, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
• Atlanta: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands
• Boston: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin
• Houston: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
• Los Angeles: 10 Southern California counties including San Diego, plus Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico
• New York: Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
• San Francisco: 48 Northern California counties, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Utah, Wyoming
• Seattle: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington

Applicants either book a VFS Global appointment or pay online and courier documents to VFS, according to CGI Seattle and the Embassy (pages updated 28 August 2026).

According to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, portal and VFS menus may not yet match this list: a San Diego applicant's online form offered San Francisco, not Los Angeles, as the consulate. We recommend asking VFS if your options differ.

UK, Canada, UAE and Other Countries

• UK: CGI Edinburgh says passport services are partially outsourced to VFS Global, with the online form on mportal.passportindia.gov.in (updated 16 September 2026).
• Canada: BLS International's official India-Canada website says it is the sole authorized provider of Indian consular services.
• UAE: Al Hind Tours & Travels at 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (Embassy in Abu Dhabi notice, 21 July 2026); older instructions naming BLS are outdated.
• Australia: CGI Sydney says collection and delivery of passport applications is outsourced to VFS (updated 8 September 2026).

Step by Step on the Passport Seva Portal - Photo and Signature Upload

US steps, as of September 2026:

• Account: the Embassy in Washington DC asks for a new Passport Seva account, with a new email address, before any application (updated 28 August 2026).
• Form: CGI Houston says to complete the form on mportal.passportindia.gov.in, then finish on the VFS Global website (updated 15 September 2026).
• Uploads (GPSP 2.0 notice): ICAO-compliant photo, scanned signature and all supporting documents, before the form is mailed or submitted to VFS.

Photos: ICAO guidelines published by CGI New York (file dated 26 November 2025) set the upload at 630x810 pixels, colour, white background, with the face filling 80-85%. On paper, VFS USA's adult checklists want two identical prints on white for the government form and appearance affidavit: 35x45 mm for normal re-issue, 2x2 inches for Tatkal. Printed sizes vary by country.

Signatures: VFS USA's normal adult re-issue checklist wants a digital signature on page 1 and a physical one on the last page; its Tatkal checklist rejects digital signatures and asks for signatures on pages 1 and 4. Yet according to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, a VFS Houston Tatkal applicant's 3-page printout already showed the uploaded signature on page 1. Lacking official Tatkal guidance, we recommend confirming signing and photo placement with VFS.

Documents, Fees and Tatkal Abroad

USA first, as of September 2026. VFS USA's adult checklists, normal and Tatkal, make these mandatory:

• Affidavit for Change in Appearance & Signature, even if nothing has changed
• Annexure E
• Notarized colour copy of valid US immigration status
• Proof of US address

Embassy of India, Washington DC fees for adult re-issue (updated 28 August 2026), with the $2 Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) added:

• 36 pages: $125 + $2 = $127, or Tatkal $250 + $2 = $252
• 60 pages: $175 + $2 = $177, or Tatkal $300 + $2 = $302

CGI San Francisco lists a $19 VFS Global service charge on top (updated 10 September 2026). Added together, these official figures put a normal 36-page adult re-issue at $146 and Tatkal at $271, before courier and card charges. A minor's 36-page passport is $90, or $215 Tatkal (CGI New York, updated 15 August 2026).

Other countries, from 1 July 2026:

• UK (CGI Birmingham, excluding ICWF): adult 36 pages £93 (Tatkal £185), 60 pages £130 (Tatkal £222), minor 36 pages £67 (Tatkal £159)
• UAE (CGI Dubai): 36 pages AED 450 (Tatkal AED 900), 60 pages AED 630 (Tatkal AED 1,080), plus provider fee and ICWF
• Canada, Australia, Europe and elsewhere: not confirmed here; we recommend checking the mission's fee page and BLS or VFS charges before paying

Tatkal (Tatkaal on some mission pages) is not available, according to CGI San Francisco, for lost, stolen or badly damaged passports, short validity passport renewal, a major name change, or changes to sex, appearance, date or place of birth, signature or parents' names.

Processing Times - What Applicants Report

Each mission sets its own times. USA, as of September 2026:

• Embassy, Washington DC: normal 3-4 weeks, Tatkal 3 working days, excluding shipping, complete applications only (updated 28 August 2026)
• CGI Houston: normal 6-8 weeks, Tatkal 8-10 working days (updated 15 September 2026)
• CGI San Francisco: normal 3 weeks, or about 30 days or more excluding VFS time if the police verification report is not clear or pending (updated 10 September 2026)

We found no official 2026 times for the UK, Canada, Australia or the UAE, so we recommend checking your mission's page and holding off on non-refundable bookings. According to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, single cases include:

• USA: a Green Card holder's normal mail-in renewal via VFS San Francisco took 25 calendar days from mailing to delivery (August-September 2026), granted on a "No verification basis" for reasons the applicant could not confirm
• UK: an applicant who applied in July 2026 waited more than 7 weeks, with no meaningful updates and inconsistent answers from VFS
• Australia: a renewal lodged through VFS Australia, stuck at the embassy for over two months; the July VFS suspension is background, not a confirmed cause

Police Verification After Issue - Why Relatives Get Calls

Passport Seva's official instructions say most re-issues need no police verification or only post-issue verification, except re-issue in place of a lost passport or a complete change of name. CGI San Francisco's FAQ adds that re-issue up to 1 year before or within 3 years after expiry needs no fresh verification if personal particulars are unchanged.

The Embassy of India in Washington DC explains the follow-up for its applicants (updated 28 August 2026); we found no official timeline elsewhere:

• Local police visit the address given in India, which may take up to two weeks.
• A relative or acquaintance may visit the nearest police station on the applicant's behalf.
• If police contact the family after the passport arrives, the Embassy advises providing the documents requested; the passport stays valid for travel meanwhile.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, after a father's passport renewed through New York arrived, police in India called the family friend whose address was used, asked about the relationship and requested documents.

One consulate's FAQ, an older undated CGI Edinburgh document, says applicants without their own Indian address can give the address of a relative or known person who can vouch for them; we recommend warning that person and checking your mission's rules.

Travelling While Your Passport Is With the Mission

CGI Birmingham in the UK says the old passport is kept during the re-issue service (updated 16 September 2026); we recommend checking your mission's practice first. For urgent travel, CGI Houston says an Emergency Certificate is issued for one-way travel to India only, after Indian nationality is verified.

One consulate's FAQ, an older undated CGI Edinburgh document, says stamped visas stay valid until expiry after the old passport is cancelled, but whether they can be used is up to the issuing country:

• USA: the U.S. State Department's visa FAQ says a valid, undamaged US visa of the right type can be used by travelling with both passports; we recommend confirming on travel.state.gov.
• UK: GOV.UK says eVisa holders should update their UKVI account after changing passport, as an out-of-date account can cause travel delays.

We recommend keeping the cancelled passport. Visarun is a visa agency, not a passport authority: once the new passport arrives, we help plan and check visa applications for your next trip.

Single-Name Passports and Surname Problems

Passport Seva's official instructions say applicants without a surname leave that field blank and write their full name as Given Name, but warn that some embassies, such as those of the UAE and European countries, insist on a surname for a visa.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, HM Passport Office told a new British citizen it would not issue her first British passport in a split name until her Indian passport was changed; a traveller asked whether they could board with a ticket splitting their single Given Name. No official UK, Schengen or airline rule was found; we recommend asking the airline.

Adding a surname not already part of your name is likely a major change: CGI New York's FAQ (updated 15 August 2026) counts only spelling discrepancies that do not change the name phonetically as minor. Passport Seva's instructions say a major change needs two local newspaper clippings or a Gazette notification, plus at least two public or school documents in the new name, and cannot go through Tatkal.

For splitting a name, one consulate's FAQ, a 2021 CGI Vancouver document, says it may be allowed with at least two public documents, such as Aadhaar or PAN, plus a sworn affidavit; the Embassy of India in Berne says its name-split advice is advisory and applicants are not compelled to adopt a surname. According to applicant reports on Reddit in September 2026, one UK split-name application was still "under process" after about six weeks, a single pending case. The mission decides, so we recommend checking its current checklist; this is not legal advice.

FAQ

What is on the checklist for Indian passport renewal in the USA?

VFS USA's adult checklists, normal and Tatkal, make mandatory the appearance and signature affidavit, Annexure E, a notarized colour copy of valid US status and proof of US address, plus portal uploads.

What are the photo requirements for Indian passport renewal?

The portal photo is a colour 630x810-pixel image on white, face filling 80-85%, under CGI New York's ICAO guidelines; VFS USA's adult checklists want two identical prints: 35x45 mm (normal re-issue) or 2x2 inches (Tatkal).

How much does Indian passport renewal cost in the USA?

As of September 2026, official figures for a normal 36-page adult re-issue add up to $146 ($125 fee, $2 ICWF, $19 VFS charge), or $271 for Tatkal, before courier and card charges.

How long does Indian passport renewal take in the USA?

Normal processing varies by mission: Washington DC Embassy 3-4 weeks, CGI Houston 6-8 weeks, CGI San Francisco 3 weeks (longer if police verification is pending), as of September 2026.

How can I track my Indian passport renewal?

The Embassy of India in Washington DC directs applicants to the Track Application page on the Passport Seva mission portal, mportal.passportindia.gov.in.

Is Tatkal passport renewal available abroad?

Missions in the USA, UK and UAE list Tatkal fees, but CGI San Francisco excludes lost, stolen or badly damaged passports, major name changes and changes to details such as date of birth.

Which consulate covers Indian passport renewal in New York?

CGI New York covers Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Since 15 July 2025, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont fall under CGI Boston.

Why are police in India calling my family after renewal?

Most re-issues get no police verification or only a post-issue check, per Passport Seva's instructions; the Embassy in Washington DC says the passport stays valid for travel meanwhile.

Can I add a surname when renewing my passport abroad?

It is likely a major change in name, needing newspaper clippings or a Gazette notification plus at least two public or school documents, with no Tatkal option.