International travellers departing from India will no longer be required to have their boarding passes stamped at immigration counters from September 1, in a move aimed at simplifying airport procedures.
The Bureau of Immigration (BOI) has decided to discontinue the practice as part of a wider shift towards digital processing at international airports. Under the new system, passengers will be able to show e-boarding passes on their smartphones while completing immigration formalities.
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The change follows an internal directive issued by Deepak Yadav, an official at the Delhi Foreigners Regional Registration Office, according to reports. The communication has been shared with key stakeholders, including international airport operators and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), ahead of the implementation.
Officials also confirmed to the Press Trust of India that passengers travelling overseas will be permitted to present digital boarding passes on their mobile phones for immigration clearance.
Why is India ending boarding pass stamping?
The BOI decided to withdraw the stamping requirement after receiving feedback that physical stamping was creating inconvenience for passengers.
Officials also pointed to cases where incorrect or unclear stamps made boarding passes difficult to read. With airlines increasingly issuing digital boarding passes, authorities have now opted to remove the additional stamping step.
Passengers who prefer to carry physical boarding passes will still be allowed to do so after September 1. However, immigration officers will no longer stamp those documents.
Airport operators and aviation-related stakeholders have been instructed to brief their employees about the revised process before the new system comes into effect.
CISF had already stopped stamping
The boarding pass stamping process at immigration should not be confused with security checks conducted by the CISF.
Security officials said the CISF stopped stamping boarding passes several years ago for both domestic and international passengers. Boarding passes are used during security checks to verify passengers, but physical stamping is no longer part of the CISF procedure.
The immigration department’s stamping process was separate and continued until the latest decision by the BOI.
Immigration stamping may also end
The move could be followed by another major change for Indian travellers.
The Bureau of Immigration is reportedly working towards ending immigration entry and exit stamps for Indian passport holders as well. Officials said a pilot project is currently underway to test the system.
If successful, the new process could eventually be introduced across airports in India, further reducing paperwork and making international travel more digital.
For passengers, the immediate change from September 1 is straightforward: international flyers departing India will not need an immigration stamp on their boarding pass, whether they carry a physical copy or use a digital version on their smartphone.
