Hand written passports will have no validity from 25th November
Posted on: 08/Oct/2015 11:00:22 AM
In India in the year 1995-96 hand written passports were issued to the people. Later on with technological advancement printed passports were issued.
Now in accordance with the decision of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) All non-machine readable passports (Non-MRP) are to be phased out globally by November 2015.
All handwritten passports with pasted photographs issued earlier and those with 20-year validity are considered non-MRP passports. From November 25, 2015, foreign governments may deny visa or entry to persons travelling with non-MRP passports. The Union government started issuing machine readable passports since 2001 and all new Indian passports are ICAO-compliant MRP passports.
Indian citizens residing in India and abroad and holding handwritten passports or passports of 20-year validity beyond November 24, 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 clearance.
