Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Phasing out of Handwritten Passports


Government of India has recently announced that Indian citizens living in India and abroad are advised to urgently replace their handwritten passports with machine-readable passports. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set a deadline of the 24th November, 2015 for globally phasing out of all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). Thereafter, foreign Governments may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non-Machine Readable Passport.

If you are planning or are in the process of applying to study abroad and you have such a passport, then get it fixed immediately for a smooth transition.

Source: http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/HandwrittenPassport.pdf