Passport Services
High Commission of India
Freetown (Sierra Leone)
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General Information
PASSPORT SERVICES
A passport is issued under the Passports Act, 1967. It is an offense punishable with imprisonment or fine or both, to furnish false information or suppress information, which attracts penal and other action under relevant provisions of Section 12 of the Passports Act, 1967. Passport is a very valuable document. Hence, all holders are required to take due care that it does not get damaged, mutilated or lost. Passports should not be sent out to any country by post/courier.
Loss of passport should be immediately reported to the nearest Police Station and to the Passport Office or Indian Mission, if abroad. Passport holder shall be responsible for misuse of passport, due to non-intimation of loss, to the concerned Passport Office/Indian Mission. Passport is a government property and should be surrendered when demanded in writing by any Passport Issuing Authority.
Passport facilities could be denied on grounds of suppression of material information, submission of incorrect particulars, willful damage/loss of passport or for unauthorized change/tampering. The Passport can be impounded or revoked for violation of one or more of the provisions of the Passport Act. Fines also can be imposed.
Mere submission of an application does not constitute a claim for issue of a passport. It remains a request/requisition for a passport, which may be rejected due to deficiency in the supporting documents, not following the prescribed procedures or any other reason.
It is advisable to hold only machine-readable passports. Application can be made for issue of new passports where the current passport is handwritten. Issue of handwritten passports has been discontinued in line with orders of Government of India and in view of the requirements of ICAO.
It is an offense to hold more than one valid passport at a time. Those Indian citizens acquiring citizenship/passport of another country should immediately surrender their Indian Passport to the nearest Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate General.
All applicants are required to submit their passport applications online by registering themselves at the link https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/. and then visiting the High Commission’s counter to submit their application along with requisite fees, photos and documents.
Indian Citizens within the jurisdiction of Sierra Leone can avail the following passport services:
i. Issue of fresh Passport (First time)
ii Re-issue of Passport – Issuance of a new passport in lieu of an existing one on expiry of current passport, exhaustion of pages of current passport, change in personal particulars like change of address, appearance, addition/deletion of spouse name etc. (Passport can be re-issued 1 year before OR 3 years after the expiry of the Passport).
iii. Issue of new Passport in lieu of a lost/stolen/damaged Passport
iv. Re-issue of passport to a minor child (below 15 years)
v. Issue of fresh passport to new born child
vi. Renewal of passport – In cases where a passport was originally issued for a short validity of one to five years - under certain emergency conditions and is now required to be extended to its full validity of ten years from the date of issue of the passport, applicant may apply for a new passport in lieu of an expired/about to expire passport up to 3 years. (Renewal is a zero fee service and the application should be made in a separate Form).
POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE (PCC):
Indian Citizens applying for Police Clearance Certificate will also have to apply online through the link
https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/.
EMERGENCY CERTIFICATE (EC):
Indian Citizens who wants to travel to India on emergency but can’t do because of passport issues OR loss of passport will also have to apply online through the link https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/ .
Surrender of Indian passport:
Under Indian law, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), who have acquired foreign citizenship, are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship.
Applicant has to apply online https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/ . The Surrender Certificate, once obtained, should be produced henceforth for any services from the High Commission of India, Freetown and copy of the Surrender Certificate/Declaration of Renunciation of Citizenship of India should be enclosed with any application in future.
STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED:
Step 1: Visit the website: https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in/ .
Step 2: Click ‘Africa & Middle East and click on “SIERRA LEONE” on the above link and the applicant shall be taken to a new page.
Step 3: Register by clicking on the "REGISTER" Link.
Step 4: Activate your registration from the link sent on personal email ID.
Step 5: Again, visit the above website and go to “USER LOGIN” link. Now login with the registered login ID and Password opted by the applicant.
Step 6: In the “Applicant Home Page”, click on the service required for i.e.: "Apply for Ordinary Passport/Emergency Certificate/Police Clearance Certificate/Surrender of Indian Passport/Diplomatic Passport/Official Passport/Identity Certificate" link to file a new application.
Step 7: Once completed take the print of the application.
Step 8: Submission of application form:
i) In Person: Application form can be submitted at the High Commission’s Consular Counter on any working day (Monday to Friday) between 1000 to 1200 hrs. See the list of holidays here.
ii) Postal application: Application needs to sent by Courier only to:
Attaché (Consular)
High Commission of India
32-B Wilkinson Road
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Step 9: Payment of fee:
Payment is accepted in cash (Leones) at the HCI counter OR it can be deposited in the Mission’s account (details below) and submit a proof of deposit along with the application:
Account Name: High Commission of India
Account No.: 63400-30066
Bank Name: Ecobank Sierra Leone
Branch: Charlotte Street, Freetown
Processing time:
It is important to note that the passports are printed in India and total processing time is likely to take around 30-45 days, or more, in most cases. Accordingly, it is in the interest of the applicant to ensure that applications are submitted sufficiently in advance.
In cases of applicants whose Passports were previously issued from another passport issuing authority (i.e. passports issued in any place other than Freetown), such applicants may face longer processing time.
In cases of applicants requiring Police Verification, passport services cannot be extended till completion of verification. In that event you are required to submit a completed Personal Particulars Form along with an explanation for non-completion of verification/police clearance. Processing time may extend beyond 30-45 days in such cases.
Old passport:
Original passports are generally deposited with the application. It can be returned for purposes of travel once the application is accepted. Original passports, if returned, are to be brought at the time of collection of new passport for cancellation.