Srinagar, Sep 17: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has notified an amendment to the Passports Rules, 1980, revising the validity period of ordinary passports issued to children below the age of 15 years.
The Ministry issued the notification on September 15, 2026, under G.S.R. 820(E). The amendment has been notified as the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, under the powers conferred by Section 24 of the Passports Act, 1967.
Under the amended Rule 12, an ordinary passport with 36 pages issued to a child below 15 years of age will remain valid for five years from the date of issue or until the child attains the age of 18 years, whichever is earlier.
The notification also makes an amendment to Rule 8 concerning passport fees. It states that the fee payable for every type of application specified in Schedule IV of the Passports Rules, 1980, will be charged at the rate specified against the corresponding entry for that application in the Schedule.
The amended rules will come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
The notification was issued by B.S. Mubarak, Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs. It carries File No. 401/01/20/2025.
The notification states; “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 24 of the Passports Act, 1967 (15 of 1967), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Passports Rules, 1980, namely:”
The amendment provides that the rules may be called the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
It further states that the rules “shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.”
The revised provision on children’s passports reads: “An ordinary passport for a child below the age of fifteen years, containing thirty-six pages, shall be in force for a period of five years from the date of its issue or until the child attains the age of eighteen years, whichever is earlier.”
The notification also records that the Passports Rules, 1980 were originally published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub-section (i), through notification number G.S.R. 691(E), dated December 11, 1980.
According to the notification, the Passport Rules, 1980 were last amended through notification number G.S.R. 156(E), dated June 20, 2026.
