Now no marriage certificate needed at passport offices: Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi : External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday announced that marriage certificates will no more be required at the passport offices.The EAM further also announced that divorced women will no longer be required to fill the name of their ex-husband and their children of their estranged father.

Addressing the officials of several Passport Seva Kendras and members of the Ministry of External Affairs on the occasion of Passport Seva Diwas, she said, "Married men and women complained that their marriage certificates are required at passport office, we scrapped the rule."

"Some divorced women complained that they are required to fill the name of ex-husband and their children of their estranged father. So we changed the rule," she added.The decision comes days after an interfaith couple, comprising of a Muslim husband and a Hindu wife, allegedly faced hassle at Lucknow Passport Seva Kendra.
Meanwhile, Swaraj also launched a Passport Seva app for seamless application and issue of passports.

Earlier, a meeting took place between Women and Child Development Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, in which the participating ministers discussed steps to be taken for issuance of passport and further helped in making passport issuance form as citizen-friendly.