A couple of weeks after I
received my new passport
with the incorrect residential address, I headed back to the Regional
Passport Office.
Unfortunately, I discovered that the RPO is closed on Wednesdays ("no
public interaction"), but the information counter at the back was open,
and to my surprise, I was told that I only needed to show up at room 10
(second floor) the next day with an application for the address to be
corrected. I did that, and waited in a queue for half an hour or so.
In room #10 was a stern-looking lady who put her initials on my
application without looking at it, and said I should submit it to the
"corrections counter" 1A (downstairs). I stood in another queue to do
that, and was told to submit a photocopy of the initialled application.
I stood in another queue at a kiosk outside, then rejoined the queue at
counter 1A. This time, my copy was stamped and returned, and I was told
the passport would be dispatched the next Monday.
The ECR stamp, however, couldn't be fixed at the same time (although I
was carrying all the necessary paperwork). The lady in room #10 started
breathing fire when I asked about it, and said I should have the address
corrected, and then come back again later to apply for the ECR status to
be changed (for a fee of INR300). My protests that their documentation
implies that a copy of the PAN card is sufficient fell on deaf ears.
The passport arrived by speed post today, with a hand-written correction
to the address on the second page. I'll wait a while to regain my energy
before the battle for ECNR status.
Update (2010-02-05): Only
one visit to the RPO was
needed.