MEA reverses decisions to issue orange passport, to continue printing last page with address

The Ministry of External Affairs has reversed its decision to issue orange-coloured passports to ECR-passport  holders. The decision was also taken to continue printing the last page of the passport which had the holder's address. 

The move had come in for widespread criticism and was deemed classist and discriminatory in several quarters. 

 According to an MEA press release, a meeting chaired by EAM Sushma Swaraj, after comprehensive discussions with stake holders, the MEA has ‘decided to continue with the practise of printing of the last page of the passport and not to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket of ECR passport holders’.

 The Ministry of External Affairs had announced in a statement that those with ECR status would be issued orange passports. 

Currently, the applicants who have not passed matriculation are given ECR stamped passport, which means that if they want to travel abroad to a group of 18 countries, mostly in Gulf, they can leave India only after obtaining an 'Emigration clearance' certificate from the office of Protector of Emigrants.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said: “As the last page of the passport will not be printed now, the passport holders with ECR status will be issued a passport with an orange jacket and those with non-ECR status would continue with a blue passport.”

ECR is mostly required by less skilled workers.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi had said: “Treating India's migrant workers like second class citizens is completely unacceptable. This action demonstrates BJP's discriminatory mindset." 

The move had also been condemnded by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. "The decision will discriminate between ordinary workers and educated ones," Vijayan said. This would lead to a situation wherein those who have not passed the tenth standard would be considered as second-class citizens, Vijayan had said.  "You can see such persons even in business community .. if separate colour passport is issued to them and they go abroad, it would create an impression that they are second class citizens."

They might even loss the job opportunity, he had argued. The move would have impacted a large number of Indians who have not crossed the Class 10 boundary and go to the Gulf as unskilled labours. 

Read the full press release below:

1. A decision was taken by the Ministry of External Affairs on the recommendations of a three Member Committee comprising officials of MEA and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, not to print the last page of Passport Booklet. MEA also took the decision to issue a passport with orange colour jacket to passport holders with ECR status, with a view to help and assist them on priority basis.

2. The MEA has received several individual and collective representations requesting to reconsider these two decisions.

3. At a meeting chaired by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister, on 29th January, 2018, in the presence of General (Retd.) Dr. V.K. Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, the decision of the MEA on both these issues was reviewed in the light of these representations. After comprehensive discussions with the various stakeholders, the MEA has decided to continue with the current practice of printing of the last page of the passport and not to issue a separate passport with orange colour jacket to ECR passport holders.