International passengers departing from Indian airports will no longer need to carry a physical boarding pass for immigration clearance starting September 1, according to official statements. The Bureau of Immigration (BOI), operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), recently issued a directive to airport authorities implementing this change.
According to officials, the decision was taken after authorities observed that the physical stamping of boarding passes for immigration purposes caused unnecessary inconvenience to passengers. Additionally, reports highlighted instances of reading errors caused by improper or incorrect stamping at immigration counters across international airports in the country.
Under the new directive, international travellers will be required to produce an e-boarding pass directly on their smartphones for immigration clearance. While physical boarding passes will still be accepted by airlines and authorities, they will no longer receive a physical stamp from immigration personnel from September 1 onward.
Security personnel clarified that boarding passes for international travellers are already left unstamped by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during individual frisking procedures, as physical stamping by the CISF for both domestic and international passengers was discontinued several years ago.
Furthermore, authorities indicated that a pilot project is currently underway to eliminate the stamping of immigration entry and exit details for Indian passport holders. Once this pilot exercise concludes, the measure is expected to be operationalised across airports nationwide, further streamlining travel procedures.
"The removal of physical boarding pass stamping at immigration is a positive step toward modernising airport infrastructure and improving travel efficiency. By shifting to digital e-boarding passes on smartphones, authorities are addressing operational bottlenecks and reducing clearance errors. For businesses and frequent business travellers, streamlining such regulatory processes reduces transit friction and enhances the overall operational capability of our international airports." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes
