New Indian Passport: What Do The Changes Mean?

• In the new Indian passport, the last page of the passport (or the address page) has been dropped and a new cover with a different colour has been introduced.
• According to instructions from the Ministry of External Affairs, if you fall under the category of Emigration Check Required (ECR), a jacket of orange colour will be applied to your passport.
• The proposed changes in the new Indian passport will not affect you if you are a non-ECR passport holder, and you will still get your passport with a blue cover and with the last page on renewal.

A passport is an important travel document that also serves as proof of identity in India. The Government of India introduced a new Indian passport design in 2018.The new Indian passport comes with some changes, such as dropping the last page of the passport (or the address page) and introducing of new cover with a different colour.In this blog, you will read about why the new Indian passport has been introduced, the changes made, the objective behind the changes, and how will it impact you. You will also read about ECR and non-ECR passports.Image: New Indian Passport

Mentioned below are the two major changes made to the new Indian passport:

In the new Indian passport, the last page or the address page has been dropped. This implies that it may stop serving as proof of address or stop being treated as an identity document.Meanwhile, you must note that even though the details of the last page may not be printed, they will still be saved on official systems and be accessible to immigration officials by scanning a barcode present in the passport.This update will also not affect current passport holders and will only be implemented upon renewal of your passport.

The new Indian passport's last page will contain details like proof of address, details of guardians, old passport number, and the Emigration Check Required (ECR) status. Note: Passports with an ECR status will be provided with orange covers under the new Indian passport scheme. Meanwhile, non-ECR holders will continue to get passports with blue covers, with the last page intact.Let us now understand the meaning of the ECR and non-ECR categories of an Indian passport.

The new Indian passport is divided into two main categories:

• ECR Passports
• Non-ECR Passports

ECR (Emigration Check Required) passport is issued if you have not cleared your education up to 10th grade or do not have qualification certificates for the same. In such a case, you must go through emigration checks to work in foreign countries.This category of the new Indian passport is introduced for Indians to give them the freedom to work abroad given they provide additional information and paperwork.The ECR category essentially applies to the unskilled labour force across the country, who apply for work-related visas in foreign countries. After the implementation of these changes, the new Indian passport for India’s ECR category passport holders will have the last page or the address page removed. Objective of ECR passports: The objective behind this change is to protect the information of Indian citizens and promote safety for people who lack formal training or education. Essentially, this step is aimed to safeguard Indians from being exploited when they apply for work abroad.Currently, 17 countries require emigration clearance, including:

• Afghanistan
• Bahrain
• Iraq
• Indonesia
• Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait, Jordan
• Libya
• Lebanon
• Malaysia
• Oman
• Qatar
• Sudan
• Syria
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Yemen

If you are an ECR passport holder travelling to any of these countries, you will be required to clear emigration to migrate to the respective country for work.

Non-ECR or ECNR is the short form for Emigration Clearance Not Required. You will hold this passport if you have the minimum education qualifications required, i.e. a Higher Secondary School certificate. ECNR passport holders can travel anywhere in the world without clearing emigration at the counter. Note: The proposed changes in the new Indian passport will not affect non-ECR passport holders. They will still get passports with blue covers and the last page on renewal.

In the table below, you can find a guide on the types of passports issued in India along with their details:

Also Read: Types of Passports in India

After the implementation of the proposed changes in the new Indian passport, ECR category passport holders will have the last page of their passport removed. This step has been taken by the Ministry of External Affairs to protect the information of Indian citizens who lack formal training or education when they go abroad for work opportunities.The ECR stamp safeguards you from being exploited when you apply for work abroad and prevents you from being mistreated by foreign employers. Also Read: Lost your Passport while Overseas? Here’s what to do