New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS): The online portal for passport applications will be shut for the next five days for a maintenance exercise, the government said on Thursday.

No new appointments will be scheduled during this period and appointments booked earlier will be rescheduled.

Those who have already scheduled appointments for Friday, August 30, 2024, will have their appointments rescheduled.

They will be notified of the new dates and times as soon as soon as possible, according to an official statement.

"Passport Seva portal will be down for technical maintenance from August 29, 2024, Thursday 20:00 hours IST to September 2, Monday 06:00 hours IST. The already booked appointments for August 30, 2024 will be suitably rescheduled and informed to applicants," states a note on the Passport Seva portal.

During this period, the application process, appointment bookings, and other related services will be temporarily disrupted.

Throughout the maintenance period, citizens and various authorities including the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Regional Passport Office, Bureau of Immigration (BOI), India Security Press (ISP), Department of Posts (DoP), and the Police, will be unable to access the system.

The External Affairs Ministry said this was a routine procedure.

"For rescheduling of appointments, we always have contingency plans. The maintenance activity for a public-centric service (like Passport Seva Kendras) is always planned in advance so that no inconvenience is caused to the public. So rescheduling an appointment will not be a challenge," a senior official said.

The Passport Seva portal is used to book appointments at centres across the country to apply for a new passport or to renew one.

On the day of appointment, applicants must reach the passport centres and provide their documents for verification.

Following this, a police verification takes place and then, the passport reaches the applicant's address.

Applicants can opt for the regular mode, in which the passport reaches the applicant within 30-45 working days, or the Tatkaal mode in which it reaches within 10 days.