Address page on Indian Passport to disappear soon

New Delhi : The passport may no longer be used as the address proof for the Indian residents. According to a report, the current last page of the copy that carries address of the person may get removed if the ministry of external affairs goes ahead with a proposal it is considering.

Surendera Kumar, under-secretary of policy and legal matters at the consular, passport and visa division of the ministry, confirmed that the change could happen when the “next series” of passports is being issued.

“The decision to keep the last page of the passport blank has been taken” to protect the details contained, he explained.

As per current format of the Passport book, first page has the photograph as well as other details of the passport holder; the address is printed on the last page.

Removing address from the last page of the address book won’t effect much as the authorities have all the details of the passport holder in the back end.

Since 2012, all passports have had a barcode and by simply scanning them, this information can be accessed.

With new format being considered, old passports will remain valid till their expiry date.