Passports

Right to hold passport, travel abroad part of personal liberty: Delhi HC

Right to hold a passport and travel abroad is an integral facet of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the Delhi High Court has said. When any action of the authorities impinges on such a right, the court asserted, it must be reasonable and be in accordance with the principles of natural justice. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order while setting aside the Centre's decision to impound the passport of Yogesh Raheja, erstwhile Director of Raheja Developers, for failing to disclose the pendency of an FIR against him at the time of applying for renewal. The order impounding the petitioner's passport was passed by the authorities on January 17, 2025, and his appeal against the decision was rejected by the appellate authority on March 25, 2025. The petitioner's counsel said, as per a 2019 office memorandum by the Ministry of External Affairs, mere registration of an FIR did not amount to pendency of criminal proceedings for issuance of a passport

Delhi court orders charges against Sushil Ansal in false passport case

A Delhi court has ordered framing of charges against the Uphaar fire tragedy convict Sushil Ansal in a separate case for allegedly concealing criminal cases and submitting false declarations to renew a passport. Ansal was booked by the crime branch of Delhi Police in 2019, and he was accused of furnishing false information, as he failed to declare his conviction in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy. Chief Judicial Magistrate Shriya Agrawal of Patiala House Courts, in a November 28 order, held that "prima facie, there is sufficient material" to proceed against Ansal for offences under Sections 420 (cheating), 177 (furnishing false information to a public servant), 181 (making false statement on oath) IPC and Section 12 (offenses related to passports) of the Passports Act, relisting the matter for formal framing of charges on January 13, 2026. The court said Ansal "has consciously concealed the details of criminal cases pending against him as also the order of conviction" in the swo

Transgender Americans aim to block Donald Trump's passport policy change

When Ash Lazarus Orr went to renew his passport in early January, the transgender organiser figured it would be relatively routine. But more than two months on, Orr is waiting to get a new passport with a name change and a sex designation reflecting who he is. The delay has prevented him from travelling overseas to receive gender-affirming care this month in Ireland since he refuses to get a passport that lists an inaccurate sex designation. Orr blames the delay on President Donald Trump, who on the day he took office issued an executive order banning the use of the X marker as well as the changing of gender markers. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. This is preventing me from having an accurate identification and the freedom to move about the country as well as internationally, said Orr, who is among seven plaintiffs five transgender Americans and two nonbinary plaintiffs

Using forged passport may lead to 7 yrs in jail under new immigration Bill

Anyone found using a forged passport or visa for entering, staying or exiting India will be punished with a jail term of up to seven years and a fine to the extent of Rs 10 lakh if the new immigration bill is approved by Parliament. The legislation, piloted by the Union Home Ministry, also provides for mandatory reporting of information about foreigners by hotels, universities, other educational institutions, hospitals and nursing homes to enable tracking of overstaying foreigners. All international airlines and ships will also be required to submit at a port or place in India the passenger and crew manifest, the advance information of passengers and crew on board of such aircraft, vessel or other mode of transport. "Whoever knowingly uses or supplies a forged or fraudulently obtained passport or other travel document or visa for entering into India or staying in or exiting from India, shall be punishable with an imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years, but m

Top 10 most and least expensive passports in 2024: What about India?

The most crucial travel document that helps you travel the world is a passport. The cost of a passport can vary greatly between countries and is typically determined by where you live

Digi Yatra's international pilot project likely in June: CEO Khadakbhavi

Currently, the Digi Yatra facility is available for domestic passengers at 24 airports across the country

Fast-track immigration at Delhi, 20 more airports: How does it function?

The Fast Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) has already seen success at Delhi's airport, with 18,400 Indian passports and OCI card holders currently enrolled

Passport website unavailable for use till Sept 2: What should you do

Website under maintenance for five days, will be inaccessible to people and government authorities

IGI Airport Police arrests 108 agents in incidents of visa, passport fraud

Arrests have been made nationwide, including in Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal

Increased travel connectivity, visa waivers help boost tourism to SE Asia

The prevailing influence of Korean pop culture, often referred to as the 'Hallyu Wave' has significantly captivated Indian audiences, thus boosting travel to the country

Visa applications to beat pre-Covid levels in 2024, says VFS Global

In 2023, visa application volumes saw a 16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth compared to 2022, taking it to 93 per cent of pre-pandemic levels of 2019

Henley Passport Index 2024: What is India's rank among other countries?

World's most powerful passport: The least powerful passport in the world is Afghanistan, which ranked at 104th spot with visa-free access to 28 countries

World's most powerful passports 2024: Europe catches up with Japan, S'pore

South Korea, Sweden and Finland all climbed one spot to take joint second place, with access to 193 locations

A tightrope between Israel and Arab ties

A prolonged Israel-Hamas conflict may, at some point, pose a threat to Indian financial assets

Here is why Pakistan's citizens are unable to get their passports on time

Citizens across the country are at their wit's end as their hopes of studying abroad and moving out of the country have been affected

All reported births, deaths to be digitally registered from October 1

Digital birth certificates will serve as a single document that can be used for admission to educational institutions, applications for driving licences, government jobs, passports, or Aadhaar

Pakistani passport ranks world's fourth weakest among 227 nations: Report

Pakistan has been ranked as having the fourth weakest passport in the world on an index compiled by a global citizenship and residence advisory company. Among 227 countries assessed on the index compiled by Henley & Partners, the country stands at the 100th position, which has been determined based on the number of destinations Pakistani residents can visit without needing a visa. Earlier this year, the nation of over 220 million was listed among the five countries with the lowest-ranked passports by the London-based advisory firm. Pakistanis had access to 35 countries with an on-arrival visa facility until January this year, which has now come down to 33, Geo News reported. Singapore leads the index with the most-coveted passport in the world, pushing Japan, which had topped the list for the last five years, to the third position shared with South Korea, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Sweden, granting their citizens access to 189 destinations without a prior visa, it ...

UK rolls out first passports with title 'His Majesty King Charles III'

For the first time in 70 years, British passports bearing the title of His Majesty will start being issued this week in the name of King Charles III. UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled the new design update on Tuesday evening which changes the passport salutation from Her Majesty following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year. As is customary, the 74-year-old King himself does not carry a passport as it is a document issued in his name. For 70 years, Her Majesty has appeared on British passports and many of us will not remember a time when she did not feature. Today marks a significant moment in UK history, as the first British passports since 1952 start featuring the title of His Majesty, the King, said Braverman. As HM Passport Office enters a new era in its history, it is delivering an exceptional service and I am extremely grateful for their outstanding accomplishments and the unwavering dedication of the whole team to meet the needs of the British ...

1.6 mn Indians renounced citizenship in last 10 yrs, 70K gave up passports

90% of passports were surrendered in just eight states, with Goa topping the list

India, Fiji sign MoU on visa exemption for official passport holders

India and Fiji on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka witnessed the MoU exchange.Jaishankar on the occasion said: "I just signed and exchanged the visa waiver agreement. It will be helpful in encouraging greater travel between our two countries."Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka called the MoU exchange a landmark achievement and said positive discussions were held today to further advance mutual cooperation in key areas of development notably in health and education."On behalf of the government of Fiji, I thank the government of India for realising this important cooperation. I'm confident that we will witness many more such initiatives unfolding through the deepening of our cooperation," Rabuka said.As a result of the visa exemption, diplomatic and official passport holders in India and Fiji will now be able to enter, ...