Indian passport
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 internationally and serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per 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 issuing Indian passports on application to all eligible Indian citizens. Indian passports are issued at 93 passport offices located across India and at 197 Indian diplomatic missions abroad.
| Indian passport | |
|---|---|
The front cover of an Indian passport (2021). | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by | Ministry of External Affairs |
| First issued | 1920 (first version) 2021 (latest version Biometric Machine Readable Passport) |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Indian citizenship |
| Expiration | 10 years (Adult) 5 or 10 years (age 15 to 18) 5 years (Minor) |
| Cost | Adult (36 pages): ₹1,500 Adult (60 pages): ₹2,000 Minor (36 pages): ₹1,000 Note: If the application for renewal of passport is made under the Tatkaal (expedited processing), the additional Tatkaal fee of ₹2,000 is to be paid in addition to the regular application fee. |
As of 12 December 2022, 7.2 percent (approximately 96 million) of Indian citizens possessed a valid passport, with Kerala having the highest number of passport holders of all Indian states. Previously, passports were not popular among the masses due to a time-consuming and complicated process and limited access to the passport facilitation centres located only in major cities. With the expansion of centres and technological improvements, accompanied by increased outsourcing of professionals and an expanding middle-class, the percentage is expected to go up.