When parents live apart, one parent can usually still obtain a passport for the child. The Passport Seva system does not insist on two signatures in every case; where the other parent has not signed, the applying parent files a declaration in Annexure C explaining why. Taking the child out of India is a separate question altogether, and if there is a custody order, a pending guardianship petition, or an order restraining removal of the child, you need the court's leave before you fly. Questions about child passport consent, separated parents and permission to travel therefore run on two tracks, and confusing them is the commonest reason a trip collapses at the airport.
Child passport consent, separated parents, and the Annexure C route
The Passports Act, 1967 and the Passports Rules, 1980 contain no rule saying "both parents must consent". What exists is a requirement built into the Passport Seva process: for a minor below 18, the passport office wants a declaration from the parents. Where both are available and willing, they sign Annexure D. Where one has not consented, the applying parent signs Annexure C instead.
Annexure C is titled a specimen declaration by the applicant's parent for issue of passport to a minor when one parent has not given consent. It lists nine situations, lettered (a) to (i), and the applying parent crosses out those that do not apply: a parent residing or travelling abroad, divorce or judicial separation with custody in the applying parent (with and without visitation to the other), a pending case with or without a prohibitory order, a case where custody was never in issue, wilful refusal of consent, and desertion where the other parent cannot be traced.
Two entries do most of the work in practice. Clause (h) covers the parent who will not sign out of spite or leverage; the applying parent must enclose the communication showing the refusal, and the passport issuing authority decides whether that is enough. Clause (i) covers desertion where the other parent cannot be traced. In both, the declaring parent undertakes that if litigation follows the issue of the passport, that parent alone will defend it, and accepts that a false declaration can lead to impounding and prosecution under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Passports Act, 1967.
Key takeaway. A refusal by the other parent to sign is not, by itself, a legal bar to the child getting a passport. It is a fact you disclose in Annexure C, with proof. What does stop the passport office is a court order prohibiting issue without the other parent's consent, which is exactly what clause (f) of Annexure C is about.
The two declarations, and the two clauses of Annexure C that carry most of the weight, work like this.
Annexure D
Signed by both parents where both are available and willing. It is also the form used where one parent is deceased or where a legal guardian applies.
Annexure C
The declaration the applying parent files when the other parent has not consented. It lists nine situations lettered (a) to (i), and you cross out those that do not apply.
Clause (h), wilful refusal
Covers the parent who will not sign out of spite or leverage. Enclose the communication showing the refusal; the passport issuing authority decides whether that is enough.
Clause (i), desertion
Covers desertion where the other parent cannot be traced. Police complaints, returned legal notices and proof of attempts to trace the parent are the usual supporting material.
What the passport office asks for, situation by situation
The official Passport Seva instruction booklet sets out, case by case, which documents a minor's application needs. Two points in that table get missed. In separated and divorced-parent cases the Tatkaal scheme is not available, so there is no paid shortcut. And where the parents are divorced, the certified copy of the custody order in favour of the applying parent is itself a listed document, not an optional extra.
| Situation of the parents | Key documents listed by Passport Seva | Declaration to file | Tatkaal available? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both parents available and consenting | Address proof of a parent, proof of date of birth, attested copy of either or both parents' passports | Annexure D, signed by both parents | Yes, subject to the general rules |
| Parents divorced | Address proof of the parent who has custody, proof of date of birth, certified copy of the custody order in that parent's favour, parents' passport copies | Annexure C where one parent has not consented, or Annexure D if both sign | No |
| Parents separated but not divorced | Address proof of the parent the child lives with, proof of date of birth, parents' passport copies | Annexure C | No |
| One parent's consent not possible for any reason | Address proof of the applying parent, proof of date of birth, parents' passport copies | Annexure C, with proof of the ground relied on | Not listed |
| One parent deceased | Address proof, proof of date of birth, death certificate of the deceased parent | Annexure D | Not listed |
| Application by a legal guardian | Address proof, proof of date of birth, court decree or order appointing the legal guardian | Annexure D signed by the legal guardian | Yes, subject to the general rules |
On fees, the same booklet lists a fresh or re-issued passport for a minor below 18, valid five years or until the child turns 18, at Rs. 1,750 for a 36-page booklet, with a ten per cent rebate on the basic fee for applicants aged eight or below. Fees are revised periodically, so treat that as indicative and check the current list before you pay.
How to apply when the other parent will not sign
- Collect the birth certificate showing both parents' names, your address proof, and copies of the first and last pages of whichever parent's passport exists.
- Identify precisely which clause of Annexure C fits your facts, and cross out the rest as the form requires.
- Assemble the supporting proof that clause demands: the decree or order for a divorce, the petition for a pending case, the messages or legal notice for a wilful refusal, and whatever independent material you have for desertion.
- Check whether any court has restrained issue of the passport without the other parent's consent. If it has, apply to that court first; the passport office will not go behind a subsisting judicial order.
- Book the appointment on the Passport Seva portal, remembering that the Tatkaal route is closed in divorced and separated cases, and carry the originals of everything you uploaded.
- Attend the Passport Seva Kendra with the child. Expect questions about custody and about the other parent's whereabouts; answer them from the record, not from memory.
- If the file stays pending beyond the normal processing period without a written reason, follow up in writing with the Regional Passport Office and use the grievance mechanism before you think about a writ petition.
High Courts have repeatedly held that once the prescribed declaration is filed, the passport authority cannot treat the other parent's consent as a precondition. In Poem Jaiswar v. Union of India, decided on 7 January 2026, the Allahabad High Court dealt with a two year old whose application had stalled because of the parents' matrimonial litigation, and directed the authorities to process and issue the passport once the procedural requirements were met through the mother. The Madhya Pradesh High Court took a similar view in a renewal case, holding that a minor's passport can be renewed without the father's consent where no competent court has passed a prohibitory order. Parental conflict, in short, is a reason to insist on the declaration, not a reason to refuse the child a travel document.
Permission to take the child abroad is a different question
A passport lets the child leave India. It does not decide whether you are allowed to take the child. That depends on custody law, and on whether any order binds you.
Under Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, the natural guardian of a Hindu minor boy or unmarried girl is the father, and after him the mother, with custody of a child below five years ordinarily being with the mother. Courts have long treated welfare rather than that order of precedence as decisive in a dispute, but the provision still matters for who can act for the child.
The sharper provision is Section 26 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. A guardian of the person appointed or declared by a court cannot, without the leave of that court, remove the ward from the limits of its jurisdiction, except for purposes that may be prescribed. Leave can be special or general and is defined by the order granting it. So if a Family Court has appointed or declared you guardian, or has passed a custody order in a guardianship petition, a foreign trip needs an application. The same discipline applies where custody has been ordered under Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or where an interim arrangement records visitation the trip would disturb.
Three provisions decide whether you may actually take the child out of the country.
Section 6, HMGA 1956
The natural guardian of a Hindu minor boy or unmarried girl is the father, and after him the mother, with custody below five years ordinarily with the mother.
Section 26, Guardians and Wards
A guardian appointed or declared by a court cannot remove the ward beyond that court's jurisdiction without its leave. Leave may be special or general, as the order defines it.
Section 26, Hindu Marriage Act
The same discipline applies where custody has been ordered under it, or where an interim arrangement records visitation that the proposed foreign trip would disturb.
Common mistake. Assuming that because you have "custody" you can travel freely. Most Indian custody orders give one parent physical custody and the other visitation. Flying out for six weeks in the summer wipes out that visitation. Unless the order expressly permits foreign travel, apply for leave and give the other parent notice.
What courts look at, and the conditions they impose
These applications are decided on the welfare of the child, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly described as the paramount consideration. In Yashita Sahu v. State of Rajasthan, decided on 20 January 2020, the Court held that welfare overrides technical objections and even the comity of courts, and directed that contact rights in the modern age include telephone, email and video calling, with short daily contact for the non-custodial parent absent special circumstances. That reasoning shapes travel applications: the court is usually looking for a way to say yes while protecting the other parent's relationship with the child.
Typical conditions include an itinerary and return date on affidavit, the address abroad, an undertaking to bring the child back, a video call schedule during the trip, deposit of the passport on return, and in relocation cases a mirror order from the foreign court so both parents remain equally bound in both jurisdictions. Monetary security is sometimes ordered, but it cannot be set so high that the permission becomes meaningless. In Nimmy T.B. and others v. Shanju, decided on 29 June 2026, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court set aside a Family Court condition requiring a mother to deposit Rs. 75 lakh before taking her child to the United Kingdom for education, holding that conditions should not be illusory.
| Step | Where it happens | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Minor's passport with Annexure C, no litigation pending | Passport Seva Kendra and Regional Passport Office | Roughly three to eight weeks, longer if police verification raises a query |
| Application for leave to take the child abroad, uncontested | Family Court where the custody or guardianship matter is pending | Roughly four to ten weeks from filing, depending on the board |
| Application for leave, contested with objections | Family Court, sometimes with an interaction with the child | Several months; plan the trip around the order, not the reverse |
If you fear the child will not come back
The parent left behind has remedies, but they work best before departure. Apply to the court seized of the custody dispute for an order restraining removal of the child from the jurisdiction, for deposit of the child's passport, and for a direction that a Look Out Circular be issued so immigration stops the child at the airport. Where a passport has already been issued on a declaration you say was false, the Passports Act, 1967 allows the passport authority to impound or revoke a passport in defined circumstances, and Annexure C itself records that consequence.
India is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Once a child is taken to a Convention country, or brought here from one, there is no automatic return mechanism and the dispute becomes a fresh welfare enquiry or a habeas corpus petition. If your matter has a foreign element, read our note on custody for NRI parents alongside this one.
Deadline warning. Do not book non-refundable tickets before the court has passed the order. Family Court boards move at their own pace, and an application filed three weeks before a school holiday is an application filed too late. Six to eight weeks of lead time is a realistic minimum for a contested travel application.
A practitioner's note
The pattern we see most often is not a parent trying to abduct a child. It is a passport application filled in defensively, with a vague Annexure C and no supporting paper, which then sits in a Regional Passport Office for months while both parents escalate. The declaration is a sworn document and the officer reads it as one. If the ground is wilful refusal, produce the refusal. If it is desertion, produce the police complaint, the returned notices, the last known address. Equally, if you are the objecting parent, a letter to the Regional Passport Office achieves little on its own; what moves the needle is an order from the court already dealing with custody. Both sides spend their energy in the wrong forum, and the child goes a year without a travel document.
For the underlying framework, see child custody guidelines in India, guardianship law in India, and our family and divorce law practice page.
Related guides and where to get help
- Child Custody for NRI Parents in India: How Courts Decide
- Documents for Mutual Consent Divorce in India
- Maintenance for Parents and Senior Citizens in India
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a mother apply for her child's passport without the father's signature?
Yes. Where the father has not given consent, the mother files Annexure C instead of Annexure D, states which of the listed grounds applies, and encloses the supporting documents for that ground. Several High Courts have directed passport authorities to process such applications where the declaration and supporting papers are in order and no court has prohibited issue.
Does a divorce decree by itself allow me to take my child abroad?
No. A decree of divorce dissolves the marriage. Whether you can remove the child from the court's jurisdiction depends on the custody order and, where a guardian has been appointed or declared, on obtaining leave under Section 26 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890.
What happens if the other parent has visitation rights?
Annexure C treats that as a distinct situation. Where custody is with the applying parent but the other parent has visitation, the form states that the consent of the parent having visitation rights is also required, along with the decree or order. That is why a travel plan that swallows a visitation slot should be taken to court first.
Can the passport office refuse simply because the parents are fighting?
Ongoing matrimonial litigation is not, on its own, a ground to refuse. What binds the passport authority is a prohibitory order from a competent court. Where there is no such order and the prescribed declaration has been filed, courts have directed authorities to process the application.
Is Tatkaal available for a minor whose parents are separated or divorced?
The Passport Seva instruction booklet lists both those categories as cases that cannot apply under the Tatkaal scheme. Plan on the normal timeline.
Can a court stop my child from leaving India?
Yes. The court dealing with custody can restrain removal of the child from its jurisdiction, direct deposit of the child's passport, and direct that a Look Out Circular be issued so that the child is stopped at immigration. These are interim orders and they can be sought urgently.
Does India follow the Hague Convention on child abduction?
India is not a party to it. There is therefore no treaty-based automatic return of a child wrongfully removed to or from India, and disputes are decided by the Indian court on a welfare enquiry or in habeas corpus proceedings. That is a strong reason to obtain clear written permission before any foreign trip.
What if the other parent's whereabouts are genuinely unknown?
Annexure C provides for desertion or abandonment where the whereabouts of the parent are not known. You must enclose appropriate supporting documents, and the passport issuing authority decides whether they establish the ground. Police complaints, returned legal notices and proof of attempts to trace the parent are the usual material.
This article is general information as at the date of publication, not legal advice. Passport procedure and court practice change, and specific situations need advice on their own facts.
