India Modifies the Requirements for Children Under 15 to Have Valid Passports

India Modifies the Requirements for Children Under 15 to Have Valid Passports
India modifies the laws governing the validity of kid passports. Children under the age of 15 will now have passports that are good for five years or until they become 18, whichever comes first.
According to regulations announced by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), children under the age of fifteen will now acquire regular Indian passports that are valid for five years or until they turn eighteen, whichever comes first.
The Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, which were released on September 17 in the Indian Gazette, are the source of the modification. It modifies the 1980 Passport Regulations.
What Modifies for Kids
A 36-page regular passport issued to a child under the age of 15 will continue to be valid under the modified Rule 12(1A):
For five years following the date of issuance, or until the kid reaches the age of eighteen, whichever comes first.
A 14-year-old's passport, for instance, would only be valid until the youngster turns 18, not for the entire five years.
The revised regulations become operative on the day they were published in the Official Gazette.
Updated Passport Fees
Additionally, Rule 8, which controls passport application fees, is amended by the announcement. The fees listed in Schedule IV of the Passport Rules will now apply to the various application types.
The modification comes after a June 2026 adjustment to the Passport Rules, demonstrating that India's passport system is being updated rather than relying on antiquated regulations.

Travunited Take:
Families will benefit from this change, in our opinion, but parents should carefully review expiration dates before traveling abroad, particularly if the location requires extra passport validity.