If a passport is not proof of citizenship, then what is? | Explained

Published 25 June 2026 · india

The Indian passport is a “travel document” and not a “citizenship document”, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday

The Indian passport is a “travel document” and not a “citizenship document”, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday (June 24, 2026). The purpose of the Indian passport is to help Indians transit and travel through foreign ports and territories, and it should not be compared to other documents that are used to establish citizenship rights, the official said. In response to whether the Indian passport could be used to challenge an exclusion from the voter list through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that is currently underway in 16 States, a senior official replied, “Passport is a travel document, not a document of citizenship, and theoretically speaking, that distinguishes a passport from other documents. Even though while travelling abroad, passport attests to your nationality, yet it is not a document of your citizenship.” Why did the MEA say a passport is not a citizenship document? Under Section 5 of the Passport Act, the passport authority, after enquiring, if any, as it may consider necessary, shall issue a passport or travel document. Passports are issued only for international travel. No person shall depart from, or attempt to depart from, India unless he holds a valid passport or travel document. The government’s Passport Manual says that “a passport provides evidence of the holder’s nationality, but this is placed in the same category as any other evidence of the citizenship status of an individual”. In other words, a passport is strong evidence that its holder is an Indian citizen. However, in law, it is not treated as conclusive proof of citizenship. If a person’s citizenship is disputed, courts may examine it alongside other relevant evidence. Under Section 6(2)(a), the authority can refuse a passport if the applicant is not a citizen of India. But, under Section 20 of the Act, the union government may issue, or cause to be issued, a passport or travel document to a person who is not a citizen of India if that government thinks that it is necessary to do so in the public interest.

In 2023, the Madras High Court permitted the daughter of Sri Lankan refugees, a legally stateless person, to apply for a passport under Section 20 of the Passports Act and directed the union government to consider her application and pass an order in the case of Harina v. Regional Passport Officer. Why is passport not a conclusive proof of citizenship? The MEA’s response has distinguished between evidence of citizenship and conclusive proof of citizenship. While citizenship is determined under the Citizenship Act and passports are issued under the Passport Act, the existence of a passport doesn’t by itself be called a conclusive or definitive proof of citizenship in a dispute. Is being part of electoral roll proof of citizenship? Last year, during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission of India listed 11 documents along with birth certificates to be furnished for inclusion on the voter rolls. While responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on August 12, 2025, the Home Ministry did not specify the “categories of valid documents” required for people to prove citizenship in India. The citizenship of India is governed under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and rules made thereunder,” Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in a written reply. The Supreme Court, in its judgment of May 27, 2026, upholding the constitutional validity of the Special Intensive Revision, held that an Aadhaar Card does not constitute proof of citizenship and, therefore, cannot be relied upon for that purpose. However, it is among the documents which may be produced for the limited purpose of establishing the identity of a person. In the case of Lal Babu Hussein v. Electoral Registration Officer (1995), the Supreme Court has unequivocally held that electors whose names appear on the electoral roll are entitled to a presumption of citizenship, and that this presumption cannot be displaced except by following the procedure prescribed by law.