Issued by India Purpose Identification | ||
![]() | ||
Date first issued 1920 (first version)1986 (current version)) Expiration 10 years after acquisition for those aged 18 or more; otherwise 5 years |
An Indian passport is a passport issued by order of the President of India to Indian citizens for the purpose of international travel. It enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per the Passports Act (1967). The Consular Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, functions as the central passport organisation, and is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens. Indian passports are issued at 93 passport offices located across India and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions abroad.
Contents
- Types of passports
- Physical appearance
- Identity Information Page
- Passport note
- Languages
- Emigration check
- Features
- Fees
- Passport Seva Kendra
- Biometric passport
- Visa requirements
- Foreign travel statistics
- References
In 2014, India issued more than 10 million passports, a number exceeded only by China and United States. Approximately 60 million Indians hold valid passports as of November 2014.
Types of passports
In addition, selected passport offices in India as well as overseas missions are authorised to issue regular Indo-Bangladesh passports and Indo-Sri Lankan passports to Indian nationals resident in West Bengal, the North-Eastern States, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. These two passports respectively permit travel to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka only and are not valid for travel to other foreign countries.
Physical appearance
Contemporary ordinary Indian passports have a black or deep bluish-black cover with golden coloured printing. The Emblem of India is emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "पासपोर्ट" in Hindi and "Passport" in English are inscribed above the Emblem whereas "भारत गणराज्य" in Hindi and "Republic of India" in English are inscribed below the emblem. The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can opt for a passport containing 60 pages.
Identity Information Page
Passport note
The passports contain a note from the President of India addressing the authorities of all territories:
The note bearing page is typically stamped and signed by the issuing authority in the name of the President of the Republic of India.
Languages
The text of Indian passports is printed in both Hindi and English, two of the 18 official languages of India.
Emigration check
Holders of Emigration Check Required (ECR) type passports need a clearance called an Emigration Check from the Government of India's Protector of Emigrants when going to selected countries on a work visa. This is to prevent the exploitation of Indian workers (especially the unskilled and less-educated) when going abroad, particularly to Middle Eastern countries. ECR type passport holders travelling on a tourist visa do not need a clearance; this is known as an Emigration Check Suspension.
Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) status passports are granted to:
In accordance with a ruling by the Ministry of External Affairs, passports issued from 2007 onwards do not have the ECNR stamp affixed; instead, a blank page 2 of the passport is deemed to have been ECNR endorsed. As a result, only ECR stamps are now affixed to Indian passports. For passports issued before January 2007, no notation in the passport means ECR. For passports issued in or after January 2007, no notation in the passport means ECNR. If Emigration Check is Required, there will be an endorsement in the passport regarding ECR.
Features
Since 25 November 2015, Indian passports that are handwritten or with an original date of expiry extending to 20 years have not been valid under ICAO travel regulations. With more recent Indian passports the personal particulars of the passport holder, that were hitherto printed on the inner cover page, are printed on the second page of the document. Another added security feature in the newer non-handwritten passports is a ghost picture of the holder found on the right side of the second page. Apart from stymieing criminals from printing fake passports, recent changes also help prevent smudging of the document because of inkjet printers.
Fees
The price of a standard passport in India:
Indian passports can also be issued outside India, for which fees varies by country.
Passport Seva Kendra
In September 2007, the Indian Union cabinet approved a new passport issuance system under the Passport Seva Project. As per the project, front-end activities of passport issuance, dispatch of passports, online linking with police, and Central Printing Unit for centralised printing of passports will be put in place. The new system is trying to be 'timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner' for passport issuance. The applicant has to apply for fresh/reissue of passport through the Passport Seva system at one of the 77 Passport offices known as "Passport Seva Kendra"s operating throughout the country.
Biometric passport
India has recently initiated the first phase of biometric e-passport for Diplomatic passport holders in India and abroad. The new passports have been designed locally by the Central Passport Organisation, the India Security Press and IIT Kanpur. It contains a security chip with all personal data and digital images. In the first phase new passports will have a 64KB chip carrying a photograph of the passport holder and in subsequent phases it will have a fingerprint. The new passport has already been tested with passport readers in the United States and has 4-second response time, while the US Passport has 10-second response time. It need not be carried in a metal jacket for security reasons. It will first need to be skimmed through a readers, after which it would generate an access code which then unlocks the chip for reader access.
In India the e-passport is under its first phase of deployment and is restricted to Diplomatic passport holders. On 25 June 2008 the Indian Passport Authority issued the e-passport to the then President of India, Pratibha Patil. As of 2016, the Government has plans to issue e-passports to all of its citizens. Also the Government has authorized Indian Security Press to float a global three-stage tender for procurement of ICAO-compliant electronic contactless inlays along with its operating system, which is required for the manufacture of Bio metric Passports. The necessary procurement have been initiated by India Security Press, Nasik by calling for Global tender for the supply of electronic contactless inlays. The actual transition to the new age passport is expected to commence on the successful completion of the tendering and procurement process.
Visa requirements
Visa requirements for Indian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of India. According to the 2017 Passport Index published by Arton Capital, holders of an Indian passport can visit 45 countries and territories visa-free or with visa on arrival, and India is currently ranked 82nd (tied with Laos) globally in terms of travel freedom.
Foreign travel statistics
According to the statistics these are the numbers of Indian visitors to various countries per annum in 2015 (unless otherwise noted):