India Rolls Out E-Passports Nationwide: What It Means For Travellers
Existing passports remain valid until their date of expiry and will continue to be accepted both in India and abroad. Travellers do not need to replace their current passports immediately.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that all new passports issued from now on will be e-passports, equipped with embedded microchips and advanced security features designed to prevent identity theft and enable quicker verification at airports.
India has also completed the rollout of its new e-passport system under the Passport Seva Programme V2.0.
What Is An E-Passport?
According to Passport Seva, an ePassport is a combined paper and electronic passport with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and an antenna embedded as an inlay of the passport that contains the personal particulars and biometric information of the passport holder.
The ePassport will be visually identifiable as a small additional gold-coloured symbol printed below the front cover of the passport.
What Happens To Existing Passports?
Existing passports remain valid until their date of expiry and will continue to be accepted both in India and abroad. Travellers do not need to replace their current passports immediately. However, when applying for renewal or a new passport, they will automatically receive the new e-passport version.
As and when a respective Passport Office is technically enabled for issuance of ePassport, the citizens applying under that passport office will get the ePassport. The phase-wise rollout of ePassport covering all Passport Offices across India may take a few months, the passport seva office said.
The e-passports also support biometric verification at automated e-gates, making immigration checks faster at select international airports. The Indian Security Press in Nashik will continue producing these passports, following global standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Enhanced Safety and Speed Ahead
Beyond security, the e-passport programme is expected to simplify immigration processes, reduce manual checks, and improve data integration for law enforcement and border control.
The major benefit of the ePassport comes with an enhanced ability to maintain the integrity of the passport holder’s data. The ePassport will have the data in printed form on the booklet, as well as digitally signed in the electronic chip, which can be securely authenticated by immigration officials globally, thus safeguarding the passport from forgery and potential fraudulent activities like fake passports, while confirming the genuineness at border controls.
The underlying technology supporting the security of the ePassport is the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solution, which is the foundation for safeguarding sensitive information and confirming the integrity and origin of the personal and biometric data stored on the chip within the ePassport.
