India’s Ministry of External Affairs has switched every passport office and Indian mission abroad to the new e-passport booklets under Passport Seva Programme V2.0, completing the nationwide rollout promised earlier this year. Each booklet now carries an embedded RFID chip and antenna that store the holder’s biographic and biometric data, digitally signed using India’s public-key infrastructure. Immigration officers can read that chip in seconds, allowing faster e-gate clearance and tougher anti-tampering checks.
The upgrade matters for corporate mobility teams. From 14 November 2025, all fresh passport applications and renewals—whether filed in India or through an embassy—are automatically issued as e-passports; travellers do not have to “opt in”. Existing non-chip passports remain valid until expiry, but carriers have already begun advising frequent fliers to renew early so they can use the automated gates being deployed at Delhi, Mumbai and nine other airports later this winter.
![India rolls out chip-enabled e-passports nationwide]()
Behind the scenes, the revamped Passport Seva portal and mobile app now pre-fill forms, allow UPI/QR payments and deploy AI chat-bots to cut appointment backlogs. That is expected to eliminate many of the manual data-entry errors that plagued bulk corporate filings and slowed down group travel projects. Applicants overseas will see similar benefits via the Global Passport Seva platform, which feeds real-time data to consulates and FRRO offices.
For employers, the biggest practical gain is time. The MEA says average issuance is down to three working days for Tatkal service and seven for normal service, and that “most” Indian airports will have e-gates for passport holders and OCI card-holders by March 2026. Mobility managers should update policy documents to reflect the new booklet size (thicker cover, but the same 36/60-page options) and advise travellers to keep the booklet away from strong magnets to avoid chip damage.
Looking ahead, officials are exploring digital-only passports on smartphones, but insist the chip-and-booklet format will remain the legal travel document for “at least the rest of the decade.”
The upgrade matters for corporate mobility teams. From 14 November 2025, all fresh passport applications and renewals—whether filed in India or through an embassy—are automatically issued as e-passports; travellers do not have to “opt in”. Existing non-chip passports remain valid until expiry, but carriers have already begun advising frequent fliers to renew early so they can use the automated gates being deployed at Delhi, Mumbai and nine other airports later this winter.
Behind the scenes, the revamped Passport Seva portal and mobile app now pre-fill forms, allow UPI/QR payments and deploy AI chat-bots to cut appointment backlogs. That is expected to eliminate many of the manual data-entry errors that plagued bulk corporate filings and slowed down group travel projects. Applicants overseas will see similar benefits via the Global Passport Seva platform, which feeds real-time data to consulates and FRRO offices.
For employers, the biggest practical gain is time. The MEA says average issuance is down to three working days for Tatkal service and seven for normal service, and that “most” Indian airports will have e-gates for passport holders and OCI card-holders by March 2026. Mobility managers should update policy documents to reflect the new booklet size (thicker cover, but the same 36/60-page options) and advise travellers to keep the booklet away from strong magnets to avoid chip damage.
Looking ahead, officials are exploring digital-only passports on smartphones, but insist the chip-and-booklet format will remain the legal travel document for “at least the rest of the decade.”
