Passports will not carry address, parents’ names

The News

• The Ministry of External Affairs announced that new passports will soon be printed without the names of parents and the home address of the applicant.

  

Father and Address details:

• Issue: An application from a single mother for her child’s passport was filed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to look in to the issue of printing father's name on passport.
• Constitution of committee: A three-member committee comprising the officials of the MEA and the Ministry of Women and Child Development was constituted to examine various issues pertaining to passport applications where mother/child had insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned in the passport and also relating to passport issued to children with single parent and to adopted children.
• Report of committee: The committee gave its report to the MEA  and the decision was taken that passports will not carry address and parents’ names.
• Details in form: However, sources said that application forms for new booklets would continue to capture the data regarding parents and postal addresses as mentioned in the passport holders’ previous booklets.
• Compatibility with international standard: After consulting the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding compatibility of passport booklets minus the address and parents’ names printed on the last page, with Machine Readable Travel Documents, the MEA concluded that, “the last page of the passport and other travel documents issued under the Passports Act, 1967 and Passport Rules, 1980 would no longer be printed”.

Emigration Check required (ECR):

• About ECR:
• As per the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian passport holders, require to obtain "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for going to 18 countries.
• However , the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs have allowed ECR passport holders traveling abroad for purposes others than employment to leave the country on production of valid passport, valid visa and return ticket at the immigration counters at international airports in India.
• Till time, condition mentioning ECR details are printed on Passport having blue jacket.
• Recent changes:
• Now, it was declared that the passports for the Emigration Check Required (ECR) category will be printed with orange jackets.
• It is understood that the passports in the Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) category will continue to have blue jacket.
• Booklets with orange jackets would be designed by and printed at the Indian Security Press in Nasik.