An Indian passport is a passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India to Indian citizens for the purpose of international travel. It enables the bearer to travel overseas and serves as proof of Indian citizenship under the Passports Act, 1967. The Passport Seva (Passport Service) unit of the Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs functions as the issuing authority, and is responsible for the issuance of Indian passports. They are issued at 97 passport offices across India, and at 197 Indian diplomatic missions overseas.
As of 31 December 2023, 6.5 per cent of Indian citizens possessed a valid passport, with Kerala having the highest number of passport holders of all Indian states. The Ministry of External Affairs has been issuing biometric passports exclusively since October 2025, following successive delays in its rollout to ordinary citizens.
Passport ownership in India has historically been relatively limited, though it has increased in recent decades alongside the expansion of issuance centres and improvements in administrative processes.
History
British Indian Empire British Indian passports were issued to British subjects of the British Indian Empire, as well as to British subjects from other parts of the British Empire, and subjects of the British protected states in India (i.e. British protected persons of the 'princely states'). These passports were introduced in British India after the First World War. The Indian Passport Act of 1920 required the use of passports, established controls on the foreign travel of Indians, and foreigners travelling to and within India. The passport was based on the format agreed upon by the 1920 League of Nations International Conference on Passports. However, the British Indian passport had very limited usage, being valid for travel only within the British Empire, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Holland.
Dominion of India The use of the passport was discontinued after the establishment of the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan in 1947, and its bearers were entitled to opt for Indian, Pakistani or British nationality.
Passport laws were made strict in both the countries in 1952. Initially, Indian passports were granted only to "respectable" people. A literacy test was required, and passports were denied to Communist Party of India members. Only in 1967 did the Supreme Court rule that every citizen had the right to a passport.
Contemporary Following the end of British rule, the Government of India began issuing national passports to its citizens, replacing British Indian travel documents. Early post-independence passports were simple paper booklets, often handwritten or typewritten, bearing the State Emblem of India and inscriptions in Hindi and English.
A statutory framework for passport issuance was established with the enactment of the Passports Act, 1967, which consolidated the central government's authority over the issuance, refusal, impounding, and revocation of passports. The Act remains the primary legislation governing passports in India. During the 1970s and 1980s, Indian passports were gradually standardized in format and printing. Security features such as lamination of the biographical data page were introduced to reduce tampering and forgery.
In the 1990s, India adopted Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) in accordance with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These passports incorporated a machine-readable zone (MRZ) on the identity page, enabling automated scanning at immigration checkpoints and improving border control efficiency. The introduction of MRPs aligned India with global civil aviation norms and facilitated international travel for Indian citizens.
Select passport offices in India, as well as overseas missions, were authorised to issue regular India-Bangladesh Passport to Indian nationals resident in West Bengal and the North-Eastern States; India-Sri Lanka Passport to Indian nationals resident in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry; and the India-Pakistan Passport to Indian nationals whose ancestral homes lay on the other side of the Radcliffe Line. These three passports respectively permitted travel to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan only and were not valid for travel to other foreign countries. Both India and Bangladesh stopped issuing the India-Bangladesh Passport in 2013 due to changes in ICAO regulations.
Previously, passports were not popular among the masses owing to an elongated and complicated process and limited access to the passport facilitation centres, which were located only in major cities. With the expansion of centres and technological improvements, accompanied by increased outsourcing of professionals and an expanding aspirational middle-class, the percentage is expected to go up.
During the 2010s and early 2020s, additional security features were incorporated into Indian passports, including holographic images, ultraviolet-visible elements, microprinting, and improved security paper.
Biometric passport and rollout delay The earliest public indication of top functionaries conferring over the implementation of biometric passports emerged in September 2016, when the then Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. K. Singh, declared that the Union Government was poised to begin rolling out such passports by the following year, 2017. He also stated that digital passports would be launched in phases. In 2017, the BJP-led Union Government reiterated their commitment to launching biometric passports that year itself.
In the period following the aforesaid declaration and commitment, the implementation of biometric passports all but vanished from official government discourse, with the deadline repeatedly articulated by the Union Government passing unmet. Thereafter, the matter remained largely dormant until January 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, briefly revived the subject by indicating that the biometric passport project was underway.
In June 2019, the Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, stated that his ministry had proposed the manufacture of biometric passports on an expedited basis, marking one of the first substantive developments on the matter since it had largely receded from public discourse. His statement, however, did not furnish a definitive timeline for rollout, underscoring the continuing indeterminacy surrounding the project and signalling chronic delays marring it.
During the 2022 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the rollout of biometric passports was expected to take place in 2022–2023.
The implementation timeline envisaged for 2022–2023, however, met the same fate as its predecessors and remained unfulfilled. The issue resurfaced in parliamentary proceedings when Ramasamy Dharmar, a Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, sought details regarding the status of the project in August 2024. In his response, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar stated that pilot testing for the issuance of biometric passports was underway at the Regional Passport Offices (RPO) located in Nagpur and Bhubaneswar. By late May 2025, all passport offices across India had finally been equipped with the requisite infrastructure for issuing biometric passports. Consulates and embassies overseas became members of the biometric program in late-October 2025.
As of January 22, 2026, over ten million biometric passports have been issued. The Ministry of External Affairs has further stated that all existing valid non-biometric passports will be phased out and replaced with biometric passports by 2035.
Types +TypeImageDescription Ordinary passport (Navy Blue cover)Issued to ordinary citizens for private travel, such as for vacation, study and business trips (36 or 60 pages). It is a "Type PP" passport, where P stands for Personal. Since 2025, all Ordinary Passports issued have been ePassports, with an embedded electronic microprocessor chip into the passport from all Regional Passport Offices of India as well at Indian Embassies and Consulate worldwide. Official passport (White cover)Issued to individuals representing the Government of India on official business, including members of the Indian Armed Forces stationed abroad. It is a "Type S" passport, S stands for Service. Since 2021, all Official Passports issued have been ePassports, with a data chip embedded into the document. Diplomatic passport (Maroon cover)Issued to Indian diplomats, Members of Parliament, members of the Union Council of Ministers, certain high-ranking government officials and diplomatic couriers, as well as their dependants. Upon request, it may also be issued to high-ranking state-level officials travelling on official business. It is a "Type D" passport, with D standing for Diplomatic. Since 2008, all Diplomatic Passports have been ePassports, with a data chip embedded into the document. Visa requirements normally applied to Indian citizens are waived for Diplomatic Passport holders. Tatkaal and SVP Tatkaal Passports (for urgent needs), and Short Validity Passport (SVP) are also available and these are likely considered Ordinary Passports once issued.
Physical appearance
Early passports dating back to the British Empire were handwritten; in addition, more than a hundred thousand handwritten passports were issued between 1997 and 2000 with 20-year validity dates. These passports have been ruled invalid by the Indian government and holders must replace them with machine-readable versions with validity for 10 years due to ICAO regulations.
Versions prior to 2021 had deep bluish cover with golden coloured printing. The Emblem of India emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words भारत गणराज्य in Devanagari and REPUBLIC OF INDIA were inscribed below the Emblem whereas पासपोर्ट in Devanagari and PASSPORT in English were inscribed above the emblem.
The latest version of 2021 has the official name of the country and "Passport" engravings' positions changed mutually. The passport has the passport number perforated. The pages have been re-designed.
The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can opt for a passport containing 60 pages.
Identity Information Page The Bio data page contains the following information: Type: P- Stands for "Personal", if it's a Diplomatic or Service passport then it listed as "D" or "S" Code: (listed as IND for "India") Nationality: भारतीय / INDIAN Passport number Surname Given name(s) Date of birth Sex Place of birth Place of issue Date of issue Date of expiry Photo of passport holder Ghost picture of the passport holder (only passports issued since 2013) Signature of the passport holder The information page ends with the Machine Readable Passport Zone (MRZ).
Demographic Page
Name of Father/Legal Guardian Name of Mother Name of Spouse Address Old passport no. with date and place of issue File number
Passport note All passports contain a note in Hindi and English, nominally from the President of India, addressing the authorities of all countries and territories:
The note bearing page is typically stamped and signed by the issuing authority (Passport Office) in the name of the President of India.
Languages The text of Indian Passport is printed in Hindi and English, the two official languages of India. (As per article 343 of the Indian Constitution).
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