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29 March 2024

Consulate issues baby's passport, cancels mom's

Published
By VM Sathish

A UAE-based Indian was shocked to find that while issuing her child’s passport, the Indian Consulate cancelled the mother’s valid passport, rendering her technical status as an illegal in the host country.

Veena P Johns and her husband Johnson George were shocked to see Veena’s passport cancelled by the Indian Consulate Dubai, when her Indian passport (Number G4298XXXX) was sent to the Indian Consulate through the Consular services offered by the Indian Association Ajman to get a new passport for their 11-month old child, Aimee Meria.

The family received a new passport for the baby along with the cancelled passport of the mother on Saturday.

“We were shocked to open the courier which contained my daughter’s new passport and the mother’s passport. The mother’s passport was sent because the Indian Consulate requires a parent’s passport to be attached with the application form of a child’s new passport.

“I believe a person’s passport is cancelled only on its expiry date, or the death of person. When we approached the Association officials, they advised us to apply for a new passport and that we will have to pay for it,” said Johnson George, who works in a private company in Ajman.

“We were very worried because my wife’s UAE visa is stamped on the cancelled passport. Even though she is under my sponsorship, a cancelled passport will not be valid anywhere,” he added.

The cancelled passport was issued by the Trivandrum Passport office in 2007, was valid until 2017.

According to Indian Consulate sources, the cancellation was done by mistake. “Everyday, thousands of passports are handled by the staff. This could be by mistake and a new passport with the same date and other details will be issued to Veena P Johns. No money of fees will be charged for issuing a new passport,” Indian Consulate sources told this website when we approached them for a clarification on the issue.

The family confirmed that they are now applying for a ‘new’ passport for the mother. “I am happy that the problem is sorted out. Otherwise, life would have been difficult for not only my wife, but for the entire family,” Johnson said.