For years, an international departure from India has involved one small but familiar ritual: handing over your boarding pass at the immigration counter and getting it stamped before heading towards the gate. From September 1, that step is set to disappear.
International passengers departing from India will no longer be required to present a physical boarding pass for stamping at immigration counters. Instead, travellers will be able to use an e-boarding pass on their smartphones for immigration clearance. The change, communicated by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) to airport operators, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other aviation stakeholders, will come into effect across all international airports in the country.
The move is intended to make immigration clearance more convenient by removing an additional paperwork-related step from the departure process. It also comes after concerns over the practical difficulties caused by physical boarding pass stamping, including instances where details became difficult to read because of incorrect or unclear stamps.