Public Notice to Indian Passport holders

 The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set a deadline of the 24th November 2015 for globally phasing out all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). From 25th November 2015 onwards, foreign governments may deny visa or entry to any person travelling with a non-MRP passport. The hand-written passports and 20-year passports are considered non-MRP passports.

Indian citizens residing in India and abroad and holding handwritten passports as well as 20-year passports with validity beyond the 24th November 2015, should, therefore, apply for re-issue of passports and obtain MRP passports well before the deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining foreign visa or immigration problem.