Indian passports are scheduled to undergo a significant transformation in 2025, with technical advancements and user-friendly features that promise to modernise travel for millions of Indians, particularly the over 3.5 million expats living in the UAE.
The new e-passports will include RFID chips that store fingerprints, facial data, and digital signatures. These chips comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards and promise to speed up border control while increasing security.
Applicants in the UAE will automatically get e-passports for new or renewed documents. The reforms also make adding a spouse’s name easier by requiring only a self-declared affidavit with both spouses present at the consulate. This amendment eliminates the necessity for a registered marriage certificate, making it easier to accommodate varied family structures.
For children born on or after October 1, 2023, a government-issued birth certificate is now required, whereas UAE documents require local authority attestation. Moving residential addresses to digital storage and making them available via QR codes improves privacy. Parents’ names will be omitted from printed passports in order to fit modern family situations.
In addition, India intends to increase the number of passport service centres from 442 to 600 by 2030.
