Indians in UAE to receive 'next generation' e-passports in drive to tackle fraud and cut delays

Diplomats hail embedded chip as key feature to 'prevent forgery or tampering'

Travellers at Mumbai airport. India is now among more than 140 states that use e-passports. Bloomberg

Indian residents in the UAE looking to renew their passports are to be issued with a "next generation" document, as part of a push to cut down on airport waiting times and curb fraud.

Indian missions in the country began issuing the e-passport, which is fitted with a chip containing digital data about the holder, on October 28. Authorities said the upgraded document would help to ease the immigration process for hundreds of millions of citizens all over the world.

The country joins more than 140 states, including the US and UAE, that use e-passports.

Indians in the UAE have been informed their current passports will remain valid, with the new document to be issued when they come to renew.

“This is an important reform introduced by the government of India in the passport system for Indian citizens both in India and abroad,” A Amarnath, charge d’affaires of the Indian embassy in the UAE, said at a media briefing in Dubai on Thursday.

A Amarnath, charge d’affaires at the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, right, and Satish Kumar Sivan, India's consul general in Dubai. Photo: Consulate General of India in Dubai

“The e-passport is a next-generation travel document as per global best practices, combining the traditional passport document with advanced technology. The biggest enhancement in the e-passport is the embedded chip that is an added security feature. It is essentially a digital copy of the information that is otherwise contained physically in the passport.

"It also means that if somebody tries to fake the passport, it will be easily detectable when they travel across immigration. This is an important feature to prevent forgery or tampering of passport documents issued to Indian citizens.”

The UAE is home to more than four million Indian citizens, making it the country's largest diaspora. About 400 Indian passports are printed in Abu Dhabi every day, with about 1,200 produced every day in Dubai.

Biometric process

The e-passports issued in India will capture biometric information of citizens, including fingerprints and eye scans. Collection of biometric data has still to begin in the UAE so citizens in the country will not yet go through the process.

Senior diplomats said passports issued previously would continue to be valid. Upgrading the country's passports "is a very important step in terms of making services easy, accessible and secure for Indian citizens and aligning it with global practices", said Satish Kumar Sivan, India's consul general in Dubai.

“Your existing passport, or old passport, is good for travel purposes. So your old passport will be valid for the entire period – five years or 10 years, so you don't have to change your passport. But from October 28, if there is a renewal, that will be an e-passport.”

The turnaround time to issue a passport in the UAE will remain 48 hours, the diplomats said. They urged citizens to be patient while uploading documents and photographs into the new online portal.

“There may be minor delays in the initial few weeks, but we expect the system to stabilise,” Mr Amarnath said. “Our intention is very clear that we aim to turn around the passports efficiently.”

No additional fees

There will be no extra charges for the e-passport. A new online portal has also been launched in to which a photograph, supporting documents and signature must be submitted ahead of seeking an appointment at BLS International, the official Indian passport service centre.

Uploading all data in the system will slash wait times at the centre. The new online system will contain all the old passport data so citizens will not require to fill out previous information.

Unlike the earlier system, minor changes and corrections in the application can be made without paying an additional fee.

Officials said only ICAO compliant high resolution photographs that meet the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation will be accepted.

Further details are available on the website of the Consulate General of India Dubai.