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PUBLIC ADVISORY ON PHASING OUT OF HANDWRITTEN PASSPORTS

Posted on: November 07, 2015 | Back | Print

PUBLIC ADVISORYON PHASING OUT OF HANDWRITTEN PASSPORTS

1. lndian citizens living in lndia and abroad are advised tourgently replace their handwritten passports with machine-readable passports. The lnternational civil Aviationorganisation (lcAo) has set a deadline of the 24th Novembern2015 for globally phasing out of all non-Machine ReadabtePassports (MRPs). Thereafter, foreign Governments may denyVisa or entry to any person travelling on a non-Machine Readable

2. The Government of lndia has been issuing Machine ReadablePassports since 2001. The Passports, however, issued before2001 and particularly those issued during mid 1990s with a validityof 20 years will fall in the category of non-MRps. By the end ofoctober 2015, it is estimated that there are approximately 2.solakh handwritten passports still in circulation. Approximately 6.20crore lndians hold valid passports.

3. lndian citizens residing in lndia and abroad and holdingsuch passports with validity beyond the 24th November 2015are advised to apply for re-issue of their passports well beforethe deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining validvisa or international travel. Needless to mention, travel on ICAO-compliant machine readable passports will facilitate hassle-free.

4. All Passport lssuing Authorities have instituted a simple andfast-track procedure for renewal of passports. For more details related to passport services, websitewww.passportindia.gov.in - or the National Call Centre (1s00-258-1800 - Toll Free) may be accessed. Indian citizens livingabroad should visit the website of respective lndian Mission/Post.

October 29,2015