Indian Passport

01/05/23 Sent the Documents through FedEx
01/6/23 VFS received the application at 9.03 AM
01/9/23 Email notification from VFS we have received your application and your application is under process at SFO and will be submitted for Decision Making.
01/10/23 Email/ Text notification from VFS your application has been processed at the VFS india consular application center and currently in Transit to the Embassy of india consulate General of India for decision making .
01/11/23 Passport Seva website update - Passport Application is under review at Indian embassy/ Consulate

01/13/23 Passport has been initiated for Passport
01/13/23 Passport is Printed and will be delivered shortly
01/17/23 Your document (s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you. If using VFS courier, please check for email from TRACKING UPDATES @fedex.com for details.
01/18/23 Received New and old Passports

This is my Indian Passport renewal journey (Reissue/Normal/ 36 pages) at the New York Consulate. I live in Massachusetts so I opted for the VFS courier service.

Two changes compared to my previous passport
- change of address
- add spouse name

IMPORTANT TIP: Make sure to fill the "Change In Existing Personal Particulars" field on page 1 of the Govt. Application Form under "Reissue reason", if applicable. Otherwise it'll cost you a lot of time and money 🥲

Dec 19th 2022 -- Sent first application (along with old passport)
Dec 20th 2022 -- Reached VFS
Dec 22nd 2022 -- Received return shipment notification from FedEx (I was confused as to why it's coming back to me so quickly)
Dec 23rd 2022 -- Notification from VFS: application got rejected because I "did not select anything for Change of Particulars" on the Govt. form 🥲

-- In the meantime, I prepared my new (second) application --

Dec 28th 2022 -- After a FedEx delay, finally got my first application with my old passport back
Dec 28th 2022 -- Sent my second application (along with old passport)
Dec 29th 2022 -- Reached VFS
Jan 3rd 2023 -- Notification from VFS: "Received and Under Process"
Jan 3rd 2023 -- Notification from VFS: "Processed and is In-Transit to Embassy"
Either Jan 3rd or Jan 4th 2023 -- My application has reached the Embassy
Jan 5th 2023 -- Got a phone call from the Indian embassy to confirm a few details on my passport application. Later, application status on the passportindia portal said "Print has been initiated for passport"
Jan 6th 2023 -- Indian embassy notification: "Initiation of Police Verification Request"
Jan 8th 2023 -- A police officer visited my house in India for verification. Application status on the passportindia portal said "Passport has been printed"
Jan 9th 2023 -- Application status on passportindia portal: "Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate."
Jan 10th 2023 -- Application status on passportindia portal: "Passport is printed and will be delivered shortly."
Jan 10th 2023 -- Application status on passportindia portal: "Passport has been handed over by the Embassy/Consulate to the OSP executive for further dispatch to the applicant."
Jan 10th 2023 -- Application status on VFS website still says: "Your application has reached at the Embassy/Consulate and is currently under review process"
Jan 11th 2023 -- Received return shipment notification from FedEx
Jan 11th 2023 -- Notification from VFS: "Your Application has been reviewed by the Embassy of India/ Consulate General of India & will be dispatched using the courier service you had opted."
Jan 11th 2023 -- Notification from VFS: "Your document is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you."
Jan 12th 2023 -- FedEx delivered my new and old passports

I requested for the re-issuance of my passport via the VFS tatkal process and got my new passport printed today on 1/12/2023. However I see a black ink mark under the eye in the passport picture. Can someone advice me on how to procced to get this issue resolved?

12/27/2022- Sent the documents through FedEx
12/28/2022- VFS Received the Application and is Under Process
12/29/2022- Processed at the VFS and ‘In-Transit‘ to the Embassy of India/Consulate General of India for decision-making.
12/30/2022- Document and Fee details received by Embassy of India/Consulate General of India
01/02/2023- Documents Under process
01/03/2023- Printing initiated for Passport
01/05/2023- The passport is printed and will be delivered shortly.
01/09/2023- Old and New Passport received by FedEx

I got a status update email saying passport application was sent for police verification and another update the same day saying Passport has been handed over by the Embassy/Consulate to the OSP executive for further dispatch to the applicant. I also got a FedEx tracking email saying the package will be delivered in 3 days? There was no status updates for printing etc. Has anyone else seen similar situation? The application was received by the VFS literally 2 days ago, seems too quick for the processing timeline from start to end?

Hi,
Anyone had experience when they forgot to sign the document checklist? I filled it up correctly but I think I forgot to sign it. Will VFS ask me to send document checklist again?
Thanks

Hello, what needs to be done if we move ( in US) while waiting for reissue of Indian passport ?

11/1/2022 - Fedexed documents
11/2/2022 - Delivered at VFS
11/3/2022 - Police verification initiated. Family in India received a visit from a police constable. Standard stuff. Asked for ID, marriage certificate, etc
11/7/2022 - VFS status updated to passport dispatched and to expect a Fedex email with tracking confirmation
Nightmare begins.
No email.
Pored over forums and figured that some people never got a tracking email but did get the passport right away. Expected my passport to arrive by 11/9/2022 since I live in Florida and Fedex from Atlanta would take a couple of days max.
11/9/2022 - Still no sign of the passport or tracking email. Begin to worry. Open a ticket with VFS. VFS' automated reply says response takes 24-48 hours. Decide I don't have the luxury to wait and call VFS customer service at $2.48 a minute after the first 5 minutes. $15 later, VFS customer rep reassures me that the passport was indeed dispatched and I will get it the day of or the following day.
11/10/2022 - No passport or tracking email. VFS email response says nothing useful. Basically tells me to wait.
11/11/2022 - Govt issued ID with no tracking? Not good. Decide enough is enough and log another ticket with VFS and call their customer service again. $10-15 later, same story. Your passport was dispatched. You will get your passport by the end of the day.
11/11/2022 - End of the day. No sign of passport. Call VFS customer service again who escalate my ticket to Atlanta VFS center. It's Friday evening. Receive email response to latest ticket basically asking me to wait 24-48 business hours for a response.
11/14/2022 - Ah, Monday. Hope is renewed but dashed by the end of the day because...you guessed it, still no passport or tracking email
11/15/2022 - Worried sick. Where is my passport?! Call VFS customer service again. At least it's a new week and the first 5 minutes of call time is free. Finally rep gives me a Fedex tracking number. Resist the urge to kiss the phone, hang up, and look up Fedex. Tracking says package delivery failed since 11/8/22 because address was incomplete. What?! How?! Call Fedex and the rep tells me package was missing apartment unit number and therefore they could not deliver. It's been sitting at a local Fedex location TWO MILES from me the entire 9 days that I had been gradually losing my mind.
11/15/2022 - Ask Fedex to hold the package. Picked up passport.

Riddle me this. I submitted some 8 forms for the passport renewal, at least 6 of them with my address mentioned in multiple places. My courier label to VFS, confirmation email, etc all have my full address. I went through the application several times AND had my partner review it for me and there is absolutely NO WAY of missing the apartment unit number. VFS clearly states that the address in the passport application, VFS website, and courier label must be the same as the delivery address. The first 3 have my unit number, so how did they miss it on the return package? Let's say it was a mistake. Why did I not get a Fedex tracking number? Surely they had my email address. Why did I have to spend more money and time, not to mention valuable time with a nagging fear of losing my passport?

All I have to say is, follow up like crazy, expect delays, and thank your lucky stars that one only needs to renew passport once every 10 years.

Thank you all who shared your experiences in this forum. It really helped to me see the current trend. Below is my timeline\experience. It took exactly 6 weeks for me to get the passport with normal processing. I have travel planned next week so it was very stressful. As the timeline varies based on travel demand\holidays etc, I would recommend to go with tatkal processing if you have any travels plans like me. Good luck with your processing..!

09/28/22 - Sent all documents via Fedex
09/29/22 - Fedex package delivered at VFS
10/03/22 - Email notification from VFS - We have 'Received' your Application and your application is now 'Under Process' at San Francisco and will be submitted to the Mission for Decision making
10/07/22 - Email/Text notification from VFS - Your Application has been 'Processed' at the VFS India Consular application Centre and currently is 'In-Transit' to the Embassy of India/Consulate General of India for Decision making
10/10/22 - Passport Seva Website Update - Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.
10/21/22 - Passport Seva Website Update - Print has been initiated on Passport
10/25/22 - Email notification from Passport Admin - Initiation of Police Verification Request(s) for your Passport Application File
10/28/22 - Passport Seva Website Update - Passport application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.
10/31/22 - Parents confirmed Police Verification is complete
11/02/22 - Passport Seva Website Update - Passport is printed and will be delivered shortly
11/03/22 - Passport Seva Website Update - Your passport has been printed and being forwarded to Embassy/Consulate. The Embassy/Consulate will contact you once they receive the passport for dispatch.
11/04/22 - Email response from embassy stating that my passport was sent to VFS for dispatching on Nov 3rd
- VFS said they never received my passport. Multiple follow-ups with embassy\VFS
11/09/22 - Email notification form VFS - Your Application has been reviewed by the Embassy of India/Consulate General of India & will be dispatched using the courier service you had opted
11/09/22 - Email notification from VFS - Your document (s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you. If using VFS courier, please check for email from "[email protected]" for details.
11/10/22 - Received OLD & NEW Passports

Few additional Details about my case:
 - US Address changed (Primary address)
 - India Address also changed

Hi all! Me (Indian citizen, Green card holder) and my husband (US citizen) are planning to travel to India (Delhi) soon. This might sound silly but I am an Indian citizen with Indian passport and US green card (10 year validity) - will I need anything else to enter India?

Also - as my husband has a US passport - how can we apply for an Indian visa for him? Can he travel on an e-visa?

Thanks so much for all your help!