The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) plans to phase out all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) by 2015.
"The ICAO has set a deadline of November 24, 2015 for globally phasing out all non-Machine Readable Passports," Jammu passport officer Rajinder Gupta said today.
All handwritten passports with photos pasted on it earlier issued by India are considered non-MRP passports and foreign nations might deny visa or entry to any person travelling with such document after the end of the period, said Gupta.
All 20-year validity passports will also fall in this category, he said, adding that the government started issuing MRP passports since 2001.
"Indian citizens residing in India and abroad and holding handwritten and 20-year validity passports should apply for re-issue of passports and obtain MRP passports well before the deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining foreign visa or immigration problem," Gupta added.
