Getting a new passport is not an easy task! , Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
A A year before the pandemic threatened the world, we, eight close relatives from Mumbai, struck by a wanderlust, planned a three-week tour of the Schengen countries.
One afternoon, my wife and I arrived at the Schengen Visa Application Center armed with copies of passports and bank statements certifying that we had sufficient funds to cover the expenses of our trip.
The queue at the visa counter was delightfully short. When it was our turn, I handed over my passport to the man at the counter.
To my displeasure, he said, “Sorry sir, your passport binding is a little loose. You will have to get a new passport made. As if getting a new passport was an easy task! Since I had a confused look on my face, he asked me to wait and disappeared into the back office. When he reappeared a tall woman was with him. “My boss,” she said, introducing him to me.
After checking the passport he said, “Sir, my colleague is right. While your wife’s passport is intact, your passport is slightly damaged. If I send it to the consulate to get the visa stamped, they will of course send it back. In fact, one doesn’t need to be vigilant to notice the damage. Please apply for a new passport.” When he asked if he should process my wife’s visa, my wife replied in the negative. We returned home disappointed.
For the next few days, I was busy applying for a new passport. To my surprise, it arrived in the blink of an eye, but with a caveat. It states that for security reasons, I can use my passport only if a policeman personally visits my home within a week to verify my residential address. This was a troubling issue for me, as the house I was staying in was in my son’s name and it was not the address I had given as my residential address in the passport application, but another house which I had rented. Outside. Therefore, if the policeman went to that house, he would not find me but my tenant.
Luck was with me. The policeman’s visit did not happen without any notice. I got a call from the police station informing that the visit would take place the next evening. I called my tenant and informed him about the matter. The next day when the policeman came, my wife and I were present there and my tenant posed as a visitor.
Satisfied with the genuineness of my residential address after verifying my presence there apart from my Aadhaar card, latest society maintenance bill and electricity bill, the policeman got up to leave when I tried to give him a Rs 500 note, but Other people did not pay attention to him. He refused. I told him privately that my gesture was not meant to grease the palm, but was merely an expression of happiness at a happy turn of events. He was adamant. He refused to even take a glass of water or a cup of tea offered to him. Perhaps he did not want to be under any compulsion. All this proved him to be an outstanding member of the police. I got hot from him!
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