Dubai: Indian citizens are no longer required to furnish a marriage certificate to add their spouse’s name to their passport, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified. In a recent decision aimed at easing passport procedures, the Ministry has permitted the inclusion of a partner’s name based on a joint affidavit with a photograph, even in the absence of a registered marriage certificate.

If there is no certificate, a self-attested joint photograph along with full names, addresses, marital status, Aadhaar numbers, voter IDs, passport numbers, date, place and signatures of both individuals must be included in the affidavit. These documents will now be accepted in lieu of the standard marriage certificate. The move is part of a broader effort to simplify passport formalities and to prevent delays or rejections commonly faced by married couples who do not possess registered marriage certificates when updating marital details on their passports.

However, for the removal or updating of a spouse’s name in the passport, applicants will need to submit a divorce decree, death certificate of the spouse, or a remarriage certificate as before.

Other major changes

Another change in the regulations mandates that for individuals born on or after October 1, 2023, a birth certificate will be the sole accepted proof of date of birth. However, for applicants born before this date, other documents like PAN cards and school certificates will continue to be valid.

In addition, a major change is that residential addresses will no longer be printed on the last page of Indian passports. Instead, a scannable barcode will be used to enhance data security and prevent personal information leaks. 

Officials have also confirmed that parents’ names will be removed from the last page of passports in order to uphold individual privacy.

The government has also introduced colour-coded passports: white for government officials, red for diplomats and blue for ordinary citizens, aimed at easier identification and quicker immigration processing.

By 2030, authorities aim to raise the number of Post Office Passport Seva Kendras from 442 to 600.