Indian citizens living in India and abroad are advised to apply for urgent re-issuance of their passports in the following cases: -
(i) Handwritten passports:
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had set a deadline of the 24th November, 2015 for globally phasing out of all non-Machine-Readable Passports (MRPs). From the 25th November, 2015 onwards, foreign Governments may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non-Machine-Readable Passport.
(ii) Passports valid for less than six months:
Many international travelers may not realize that having an unexpired passport is sometimes not enough to obtain Visas or to enter certain foreign countries. Indian citizens travelling on passports which may expire in less than one year should renew their passports before any upcoming international travel.
(iii) Exhaustion of visa pages:
2. For more details related to passport services, website – www.passportindia.gov.in - or the National Call Centre (1800-258-1800 - Toll Free) may be accessed. Indian citizens living abroad should visit the website of respective Indian Mission/Post.
