Sumathi Ravichandran — Photo: S. Thanthoni

CHENNAI: The decision of the Ministry of External Affairs to scrap the practice of issuing passport with the relevant page affixing the endorsement `emigration check not required' (ECNR) on the booklet has come into effect from August 17.

"The existing practice of affixing the endorsement of ECNR on the passport will not be made. However, [in the case of] applicants who are identified under the `emigration clearance required' (ECR) category, an ECR stamp will be affixed on the passport," says Regional Passport Officer, Chennai, Sumathi Ravichandran.

She told The Hindu on Thursday that in accordance with the Ministry decision, the Regional Passport Office in Chennai had started issuing the new series of passport leaving the relevant page of the booklet blank. According to an August 21 communication, all travel documents issued from August 17 are deemed to have been given ECNR endorsement.

Mrs. Ravichandran said if a person had an ECR stamp and applied for ECNR endorsement, the RPO would cancel the ECR endorsement by affixing "deleted" stamp. A fresh observation would be made.

On-line registration

The Ministry was keen to encourage more passport seekers to use the online registration (http://www.passport.tn.nic.in) to avoid queues at the regional passport offices. Mrs. Ravichandran said a special counter would function in the afternoon to enable those registering online to pay the fees between 2 p.m. and 4-30 p.m.

Miscellaneous services such as replacement of booklets, name change of spouse and address change are not provided through the online facility.

She said there had been a sudden spurt in the issuance of passports following travel incentives offered by various corporate companies, student educational exchange programmes with universities abroad, and embassies insisting on individual passports. The RPO in Chennai issued 1,63,000 passports till July this year as against 1,50,000 in the same period last year.

While the response in the existing 16 District Passport Centres including three in Chennai was encouraging, all 120 Speed Post Centres in Tamil Nadu, 63 of them falling under the jurisdiction of the RPO, Chennai, would be declared as "collection centres of passport application" shortly.

"We have imparted training to the postal staff to handle the passport seekers," she said. The facility was available in 15 Speed Post centres in Chennai and one in Pondicherry.

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