Passport Fee Hike: Passport is expensive! Application fee hiked by central government; The new rates will be effective from July 1

• Passport is expensive
• Application fee hiked by Central Govt
• The new rates will be effective from July 1

Passport Fee Hike: The Ministry of External Affairs of India has recently clarified that Indian passport is not a document that proves the citizenship of India. Due to this statement, amid a huge controversy on social media, the central government has announced a huge increase in passport fees from July 1, 2026. Now according to this new decision, a fee of 2 thousand 500 rupees has to be paid for the passport. Because of this, people are raising the question that if the passport does not prove the citizenship, then why so much money?

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What is the new rule?

Ministry of External Affairs of India has released official notification under Passport Amendment Rules 2026. According to this suggestion, the passport fee will be increased from July 1.

• As per the new rules, a new passport will cost Rs 2,500, while an immediate passport will cost Rs 5,000.
• For a 60-page passport, one has to pay Rs 3,500 in the simple category and Rs 6,000 in the immediate scheme.
• 1,750 will be charged for a new or 36-page passport renewal for children below 18 years, while an immediate charge will be Rs 4,250. Earlier this fee was only Rs 1,000.
• As per the new rules, 10% concession will be given on new passports for children below 8 years and senior citizens below 60 years.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the revised duty fee will be applicable from July 1, 2026. As a result, all applications submitted on or after July 1 will be charged as per the new rules. The Ministry of External Affairs said that through a notification under Section 24 of the Passport Act, 1967, amendments related to various travel documents and passports have been made. Interestingly, the central government has increased the passport fee for the first time in almost 14 years.

Increase in Police Clearance Certificate fee also

Apart from this, the fee for Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) surrender certificate for passport has also been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 750.

Applying before June 30 will be beneficial

If you want to save on passport fees, you can get a passport at the old rate. For this it would be beneficial for you to apply before 30th June. Applications after June 30 will be charged as per the new rules.

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