New Delhi, June 24. Till now there has been a perception among the general public of the country that passports are issued only to Indian citizens. But the Ministry of External Affairs clarified on Wednesday that passport is not a document proving citizenship but it is only a travel document.
The Ministry of External Affairs made this announcement on the occasion of the 14th ‘Passport Seva Diwas’. After this statement of the Ministry, a huge debate has started on X regarding what is the sure proof of citizenship? This is such an unclear matter on which the Central Government has not yet taken any clear stand.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said passports are primarily travel documents, issued by the government to ease international travel. This means that merely having a passport does not prove citizenship. This shows the paradox of the situation as passports are not issued to those who are not citizens.
India Today Group’s consulting editor BV Rao has explained it very well in this article. Actually, getting a passport does not mean that it is your property. A note on the back of the passport states that it is ‘Property of the Government of India’ and must be returned on the orders of the Government.
Aadhaar and Voter ID are also not sure proof of citizenship.
Earlier this year, during the hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court had said that Aadhaar is not definitive proof of citizenship. It is just a document of identity. Whereas Voter ID card is not considered a document of citizenship. It is mainly a document of identity and address and through this a person can vote in elections.
This is the eligibility to be an Indian under citizenship laws
Under citizenship laws, if a person is born in the country on or after January 26, 1950, but before July 1, 1987, he or she is considered an Indian by birth. At the same time, if a person is born after July 1987, he can claim citizenship only if one of his parents is a citizen.
Similarly, people born on or after December 3, 2004, can claim citizenship by birth only if both their parents are Indians, or one of the parents is a citizen and the other is not an illegal immigrant at the time of birth.
Government released data related to passport service
The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday highlighted the expansion of India’s passport service network and several important achievements, including the successful launch of chip-enabled e-passport. An official of the Ministry of External Affairs said, ‘1.5 crore passports and related services were given in the year 2025, out of which the number of passports alone was 1.39 crore.’
Passports are now available within six working days
The ministry also said that the average time taken to process passports has also improved, with passports now being received within six working days, excluding the time taken for police verification. The official said that now citizens have to spend on an average less than 45 minutes at Passport Seva Kendras.
At present there are 545 passport centers across the country.
The MEA official said that the reason for less time taken in processing is the six-fold increase in the number of passport service centres. Currently, there are 545 passport centers across the country whereas a decade ago their number was only 77.
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