A new passport rule that was recently announced by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has been implemented in the UAE. A confirmation of the same has been made by the Indian Consulate in Dubai.

Annexure J, as it is called, lets Indian citizens without a marriage certificate add their spouse’s name to their passport.

The Annexure J form will have to be submitted along with the passport renewal application. Both the spouses must visit the Indian Consulate and sign the form in front of the consul in charge before submission of the application at any of the centres of BLS International, the outsourced service provider.

The Annexure J form is a joint declaration – a self-declared joint photo affidavit – for passport applicants without a registered marriage certificate. The applicants must confirm their marital status and should be living together as a married couple.

The form has to have the latest self-attested joint photograph of the husband and wife, their full names and residential address of the applicant. Both their names and signatures, Aadhaar card numbers, or voter ID cards and passport numbers, must also be given in the application.

Through Annexure J, women applicants can have their surname changed in the absence of a marriage certificate. – editor@nrifocus.com