- India extended passports for minors under fifteen to five years or until age eighteen, whichever comes first.
- The update under Passports Amendment Rules, 2026 replaces the earlier renewal limit at age fifteen.
- Fees also increased to ₹1,750 and ₹4,250 for normal and Tatkaal 36-page passport services.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs revised passport rules for Minors Under 15 Years Old on Sept. 15, giving ordinary 36-page passports a longer life. The document now runs for five years from issue or until the holder turns 18, whichever comes first. The clock changed.
The new limit ends the old mid-teen renewal cycle for those documents. If a child turns 18 before the five years are up, the passport stops then. No extra renewal is built in at 15.
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The move sits inside the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, under Rule 12(1A). It replaces the earlier limit, which tied a child’s passport to age 15 instead of 18. The bar moved upward.
The change also sits inside the Passports Rules, 1980 as a direct amendment, not a separate category of travel paper. It applies to ordinary 36-page passports only. A child who gets one at 12, 13 or 14 can now keep it longer, provided the five-year clock does not end first.
Passport service fees for minors moved in the same update. The normal-service charge rose for a 36-page fresh or reissue passport, and Tatkaal prices went up as well. The price tags changed together.
A separate concession still applies to some first-time applicants. Children below 8 years and senior citizens above 60 years keep a 10% discount on fresh applications, but not on reissue cases. The discount did not spread.
Fees moved up in the same update
| Item | Earlier fee | New fee |
|---|---|---|
| 36-page fresh or reissue passport, normal category | ₹1,000 | ₹1,750 |
| 36-page fresh or reissue passport, Tatkaal | ₹3,000 | ₹4,250 |
| Fresh applications for children below 8 years and senior citizens above 60 years | 10% discount on fresh applications | 10% discount remains |
The revised text was notified on September 15, 2026, then published in the Gazette of India on September 17, 2026. The sequence was short. The official record followed fast.
BS Mubarak, Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer, signed the notification as the issuing authority. His name appears on the regulations themselves. The paper trail carries the change.
