Passports in India are considered to be the ultimate proof of address and residency. However, they may no longer be valid proof of address in future. The reason is simple: The Ministry of External Affairs is considering a proposal to do away with the last page of the document. The last page is where the passport-holder's address is mentioned and hence it might not work as a valid proof of address.
According to reports, a new series of passports are being designed without details like the address, father's name and the name of the mother or spouse.
A few passports will also turn orange. Those who require emigration checks may be issued passports with an orange cover to speed up the process at the airports, officials say.
The decisions follow a report by a joint panel of foreign ministry and Women and Child Development ministry officials who examined calls for doing away with the father's name in the passport and also to protect the details of the citizen.
The report has been accepted, a foreign ministry spokesperson said today. The last page of the passport, which also includes emigration status, will be blank in the new series. The information will still be stored in the system of the external affairs ministry, so it will not affect the government's working.
"As the last page of the passport would not be printed now, the passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required) status would be issued a passport with orange passport jacket and those with non-ECR status would continue to get a blue passport," said the spokesperson.
Passports currently are issued in three colours. Government officers have a white passport, diplomats are issued red passports and all other passports are blue.
The new passports will be designed by the Indian Security Press, Nasik, and will be handed after the existing ones expire.
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