Vijayawada: A new Regional Passport Office will start functioning in Vijayawada from January 2024. It will be located in Governorpeta.
Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Siva Harsha Karra informed on Saturday that starting from January 2024 onwards, Vijayawada Regional Passport Office will make available a range of services to 15 districts of Andhra Pradesh, including passport printing, dispatch, administration, and policy-related services.
Siva Harsha said the Ministry of External Affairs has allocated a floor within the premises of Principal Accountant General Audit (AG) office, adjacent to the Mahatma Gandhi Road in Vijayawada for the Regional Passport Office (RPO).
He informed that issuing time for passports will be reduced with services of the new passport office being available in Vijayawada. At present, the Regional Passport Office in Visakhapatnam is responsible for passport printing, dispatch, administration, and police-related decisions.
The RPO said passports are currently being issued within 15 days of obtaining police clearance. Once the printing process commences in Vijayawada, the issuing period will be further reduced. He hoped the passports would be issued within a week. Additionally, applicants will be able to visit the passport office to clarify their doubts regarding their pending applications.
Even though the new Regional Passport Office will relocate to the new premises, the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Vijayawada will continue to operate from its current location, Siva Harsha clarified.
He explained that the Vijayawada passport office processes approximately 2,000 applications a day, including police clearance. Of them, 700 applications come from Vijayawada Passport Service Kendra (PSK), 500 from Tirupati PSK, and the remaining 800 from the 13 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs).
The RPO said the Vijayawada office has provided services to 3 lakh applicants up to October 2023. After the full-fledged new Regional Passport Office starts working, administrative staff will be increased to speed up services for applicants, he stated.
Siva Harsha said once the new office in Vijayawada is set up, the Regional Passport Office in Visakhapatnam will serve north coastal districts from Srikakulam to Eluru. The Vijayawada Regional Passport Office will serve 15 districts, starting from Krishna and NTR districts to Rayalaseema.
Replying to a question, Siva Harsha said henceforth, after slot booking, appointment time will be reduced from 10 days to a week.
