International passengers flying out of India will no longer need their boarding passes stamped at immigration counters from Tuesday, with the Bureau of Immigration clearing the use of digital passes at every international airport in the country.
The change was communicated in an internal memo by senior Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (Delhi) Deepak Yadav to airport operators, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other stakeholders. The memo said the requirement of producing a physical boarding pass had been causing delays at counters, and that faint or poorly inked stamps sometimes threw up reading errors during clearance.
"The matter has been examined by the Bureau of Immigration and it has now been decided to do away with the mandatory requirement of physical boarding passes and the stamping of boarding passes at Immigration counters, at all international airports in the country," the memo said.
Also Read: International flyers from India won't need physical boarding pass from September 1
Passengers, it added, "may produce their e-boarding passes at the Immigration counters for clearance". It clarified, however, that "physical boarding passes will continue to be accepted at the Immigration counters, however, these will not be stamped".
{{/usCountry}}Passengers, it added, "may produce their e-boarding passes at the Immigration counters for clearance". It clarified, however, that "physical boarding passes will continue to be accepted at the Immigration counters, however, these will not be stamped".
{{/usCountry}}Passengers still need to complete standard immigration formalities and present the passport.
Also Read: Soon, domestic fliers from Mumbai airport’s T2 won’t need to get boarding passes stamped
What changes on the ground
- Immigration officers will stop stamping boarding passes of departing international passengers.
- A digital pass on a smartphone is now sufficient at the counter.
- Printed passes remain valid for anyone who prefers paper, but go through unstamped.
- The manual endorsement step drops out of the departure sequence at every international terminal.