Passport regulates departure, not proof of citizenship: Centre
2 min learnNew DelhiJul 14, 2026 08:29 PM IST
A passport is a journey doc, not proof of citizenshipthe Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) reiterated on Tuesday, saying it’s issued by the federal government to control the departure of Indian residents from the nation.
“An Indian passport is a doc that, as per the Passports Act, 1967, is issued by the Authorities of India to control the departure from India of residents of India,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned throughout his weekly briefing, in response to a query on the matter.
Jaiswal mentioned lower than 8 per cent of Indians at present maintain a passport, amid an ongoing debate over which paperwork set up citizenship following the Election Fee’s Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls throughout the nation.
Final month, senior MEA officers had mentioned that whereas passports are issued solely to Indian residents, the doc identifies nationality however doesn’t set up citizenship, and can’t be used as proof of citizenship for the SIR train. The remarks drew sharp criticism from opposition events, together with the Congress, which alleged the federal government was laying the groundwork to arbitrarily deny citizenship rights to Indians it disagreed with.
“The difficulty of passports to Indian residents or another particular person is ruled by The Passports Act, 1967 and Passports Guidelines, 1980,” Jaiswal mentioned, reiterating that lower than 8 per cent of Indian residents maintain a passport.
