New guidelines regarding Identity Certificate (IC) renewal/extension for Tibetans living abroad on IC.

1. No Hand-written Identity Certificate is valid for travel according to the the International regulations and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), except in rare cases of emergency with limited validity of only one-time return to India to enable renewal of machine-readable IC.
2. No Hand-written Endorsement of Extension on the already expired IC pages is valid for travel.
3. Due to Govt. of India’s initiative to integrate all Embassies and Missions abroad with the Passport Seva Online portal, which is aimed to simplify the submission of passport/ICs and timely processing, the Embassies and Missions will not accept IC applications (except in rare cases as stated above) for renewal due primarily to the absence of Printing Machines for machine-readable ICs in the embassies/missions.
4. With the strict adherence to ICAO regulations, nowforth, no Travel Documents with validity of less than 6 months will be granted Visa or permitted to travel, subject to approval by the relevant Airlines under ICAO guidelines.
5. All previous Directives/Notifications issued by Govt. of India during prevalence of hand-written ICs including Renewal/processing (particularly abroad) stands cancelled and void.
6. The declaration signed by the applicants while applying for an Identity Certificate states that, “If I do not return to India before the final expiry of the validity of the certificate of identity, I shall lose my claim to obtain any Indian Travel Document and I shall approach the country of my residence for obtaining travel document on the grounds that I have shifted my residence from India to that country”.

In view of the above, the IC renewal applicants will have to return to India to renew their ICs. Concerned Passport Office will look into to expedite such cases in minimal time period on the recommendation of this Bureau.

IC holder Tibetans are advised to check their IC validity and to return to India within the stipulated time frame (within one year of the expiration) to renew it to avoid any future complications. Returnees for IC renewal may be advised to plan at least TWO MONTHS of stay in India.