Passport a document to travel to foreign countries, not citizenship proof: MEA

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 15, 2026: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday clarified that an Indian passport is a government-issued document meant to regulate the departure of Indian citizens from the country, amid an ongoing debate over whether it can be used as proof of citizenship.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said passports are issued only after due verification under an established process, but noted that fewer than eight per cent of Indians currently possess one.

"An Indian passport is a document that, under the Passports Act, 1967, is issued by the Government of India to regulate the departure from India of citizens of India," Jaiswal said while responding to questions on the issue.

He added that the issuance of passports is governed by the Passports Act, 1967, and the Passports Rules, 1980, and follows a prescribed verification process.

The clarification comes weeks after senior MEA officials, during a briefing on Passport Seva Divas on June 24, described the passport as a travel document rather than a document intended to establish citizenship.

The remarks were made in response to questions on whether a passport could be accepted as proof of citizenship during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission in several states.

The officials had maintained that a passport is issued primarily for international travel and is not meant to serve as proof of citizenship.

The comments sparked criticism from opposition parties, including the Congress, which questioned how a passport issued by the Government of India could not reflect the holder’s citizenship.

The Congress accused the Centre of attempting to create grounds to arbitrarily deny citizenship rights to certain individuals.

Reiterating the government’s position, Jaiswal said that while passports are issued only after due verification, less than eight per cent of Indian citizens currently hold a passport, underscoring that it is not a universal identity document.