Ration card not to be proof of address for passport

Ration card will no longer be accepted as a proof of identity and address along with passport application. The central government has issued a notice to this effect, which the regional passport office said would come into effect from April 1.

The External Affairs Ministry has directed all passport branches to comply with the orders. Earlier, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution had on December 20 discontinued accepting ration card as proof of identity and residence. It had come across cases where the details on the card had been tampered with.

“It has been seen that the ration card cannot verify the authenticity of an applicant, as people can make changes to it easily. When they migrate, they alter the details to be able to misuse the card for various purposes,” said regional passport officer Harmanbir Singh. All passports offices have to make the necessary changes to the information on their portals, run a ticker informing the public that ration card was no longer a valid proof of identity or address.

Besides the ration card, the other valid proof of address are water bill, Aadhaar card, income-tax assessment order, proof of gas connection, registered rent agreement, photo passbook of active bank account, electricity bill, and the passport copy of spouse.