Weeks after a row over whether a passport is proof of citizenship, the government has clarified that it is a travel document issued to regulate the "departure of Indian citizens from the country."
Addressing the weekly media briefing on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a passport is issued after due "verification" laid out by an established process.
"An Indian passport is a document that, as per the Passports Act, 1967, is issued by the Government of India to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India.
"It is issued after due verification laid out by an established process. The issue of passports to Indian citizens or any other individual is governed by The Passports Act, 1967 and the Passports Rules, 1980," he said.
At present, less than eight per cent of Indians hold a passport, Jaiswal added.
Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson (July 14, 2026)
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) July 14, 2026
https://t.co/CVW1e7ViTR
Last month, on June 24, during a briefing on Passport Seva Divas, the MEA categorically said that an Indian passport is strictly a 'travel document' and should not be treated as proof of citizenship.
The remarks came in response to a question on whether the passport can be used as proof of citizenship for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission in several states.
Officials stressed that while passports are issued to Indian citizens, the small booklet's primary purpose is to enable international travel and establish identity abroad.
According to government sources, a passport, as per the Passports Act of 1967, can be issued to non-citizens as well. The mere possession of a passport cannot be considered 'conclusive' or 'definitive' evidence of citizenship, the Bombay High Court had said in a 2013 judgment.
The remarks triggered a political row as many pointed out that a passport is issued after exhaustive background checks, including police verification of an individual's residence status.
