The front cover of a contemporary Indian passport.
|Date first issued||1920 (first version)
1986 (current version)
c. 2016 (biometric version)
|Type of document||Passport|
|Eligibility requirements||Indian citizenship|
|Expiration||10 years after acquisition for those aged 18 or more; otherwise 5 years|
Note: If the application for a new passport is made under the Tatkaal (expedited processing) scheme, the Tatkaal fee is to be paid in addition to the regular application fee. |
All costs are in INR (₹).
An Indian passport is a passport issued by the Government of India to citizens of the Republic of India for travelling abroad. 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, functioning as the central passport organisation, is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens. Passports are issued at 37 locations across India and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions (High Commissions, embassies and consulates) abroad. 
In 2014, India issued more than 10 million passports, a number exceeded only by China and the US. 
Types of passports
|This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2014)|
- Regular passport (navy blue/black cover) is issued to regular citizens for ordinary travel, such as for vacation, study and business trips (36 or 60 pages). It is a "Type P" passport, where P stands for personal.
- Official passport (white cover) is issued to individuals representing the Indian government on official business. It is a "Type S" passport, S standing for service.
- Diplomatic passport (maroon cover) is issued to Indian diplomats, top ranking government officials and diplomatic couriers. It is a "Type D" passport with D standing for diplomatic.
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.
Contemporary ordinary Indian passports have a dark blue 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' (Hindi) and 'Passport' (English) are inscribed above the Emblem whereas 'भारत गणराज्य' (Hindi) and 'Republic of India' (English) are inscribed below the emblem. The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can opt for a passport containing 60 pages.
Passport holder identity
- The opening cover end contains the following information:
- Type ('P'- Stands for "Personal", 'D'- Stands for "Diplomatic", 'S'- Stands for "Service")
- Country code
- Passport number
- Given name(s)
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Place of issue
- Date of issue
- Date of expiry
- Photo of passport holder
- Signature of the passport holder
- The information page ends with the Machine Readable Passport Zone (MRZ).
- The closing end contains the following information:
- Name of father or legal guardian
- Name of mother
- Name of spouse
- Old passport number
- File number
The passports contain a note from the President of India addressing the authorities of all territories:
|“||These are to request and require in the Name of the President of the Republic of India all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford him or her, every assistance and protection of which he or she may stand in need.
|“||इसके द्वारा, भारत गणराज्य के राष्ट्रपति के नाम पर, उन सब से जिनका इस बात से सरोकार हो, यह प्रार्थना एवं अपेक्षा की जाती है कि वे वाहक को बिना रोक-टोक, आज़ादी से आने-जाने दें, और उसे हर तरह की ऐसी सहायता और सुरक्षा प्रदान करें जिसकी उसे आवश्यकता हो ।
The note bearing page is typically stamped and signed by the issuing authority in the name of the President of Republic of India.
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.
Holders of ECR 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 passport holders travelling on a tourist visa do not need a clearance; this is known as an Emigration Check Suspension.
ECNR status passports are granted to:
- Indian nationals born abroad;
- Indian nationals holding at least a matriculation certificate;
- all holders of diplomatic or official passports.
- all gazetted government servants;
- all income-tax payers (including agricultural income-tax payers) in their individual capacity;
- all graduate and professional degree holders (such as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, scientists, lawyers, etc.);
- spouses and dependent children of category of certain holders of ECNR passports;
- seamen in possession of a CDC;
- Sea Cadets and Deck Cadets who have:
- passed their final examination on a three-year B.Sc. Nautical Sciences Course at T.S. Chanakya, Mumbai; and
- undergone three months' pre-sea training at any of the government-approved training institutes such as T.S. Chanakya, T.S. Rehman, T.S. Jawahar, MTI (SCI), or NIPM, Chennai, after production of identity cards issued by the Shipping Master at Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai;
- persons holding a Permanent Immigration Visa, such as visas issued by the UK, USA, or Australia;
- persons possessing a two years' diploma from any institute recognized by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or the State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT), or persons holding a three years’ diploma or equivalent degree from an institution such as a polytechnic recognized by the central or a state government;
- nurses possessing qualifications recognised under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947;
- all persons above the age of 50 years;
- all persons who have been staying abroad for more than three years (whether in one continuous period or in aggregate), as well as their spouses;
- all children up to the age of 18 years.
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.
Visa requirements for Indian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of India. According to the 2014 Visa Restrictions Index, holders of an Indian passport can visit 52 countries and territories visa-free or with visa on arrival, and India is currently ranked 59th in terms of travel freedom.
The price of a standard passport in India:
- ₹1500 - Fresh or Renew passport (36 pages) with 10 year validity.
- ₹2000 - Fresh or Renew passport (60 pages) with 10 year validity.
- ₹3500 - First time applicant or renewal with expedited service (36 pages) with 10 year validity.
- ₹4000 - First time applicant or renewal with expedited service (60 pages) with 10 year validity.
- ₹1000 - Fresh passport for minors (below 18 years of Age) with 5 year validity or till the minor attains the age of 18, whichever is earlier.
- ₹3000 - Duplicate passport (36 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport.
- ₹3500 - Duplicate passport (60 pages) in lieu of lost, damaged or stolen passport.
Indian passports can also be issued outside India, for which fees varies by country.
New passport issuance system
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 Seva Kendras operating throughout the country.
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 reader, 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. The necessary procurements have been initiated by India Security Press, Nasik, and the actual transition to the new age passport is expected to begin in the year 2016.
Gallery of historic images
- British Indian passport
- Visa requirements for Indian citizens
- Visa policy of India
- Indian nationality law
- Overseas citizenship of India
- The Passports Act
- Interactive map of places that can be visited by an Indian passport holder
- "MEA CPV Division". CPV.
- the Times of India website accessed 29 January 2016
- the Times of India website article accessed 29 January 2016
- "Indian Passport Fees" (PDF). Government of India. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- NDTV.com: After US tests, India to get first e-passport
- "India to introduce biometric passports next year". secureidnews.com. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- "How To apply for Passport at Passportindia.gov.in", Retrieved Sep 28, 2014.
- "Coming soon: Tamper-proof e-passports to speed up travel". daijiworld.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Passports of India.|
- Indian Passport Office (CPV official website)
- Passport ranking and list of Visa Free countries
- IATA Visa guide
- Wikivisa: India
- Passport Appointment
- Passport Services in Mobile App of Ministry of External Affairs India
- Types of Passports
Changing By- AnaSAhil