World has been globalized to a great extent and people travel to other countries to seek employment when they do not get enough opportunities in their own country so the wage rage is low. But in order to travel legally, one needs to have an official travel document which is most important other than the ticket and visa. Yes! You have guessed it right; we are talking about the Passport here which is an identity of one’s nationality and status in a particular country.
Passport is an important document while travelling to any place or from any place to another country. This is a governmental document which certifies the identity of that person who is nationality holder.
There are some of the factors which are important while issuing a passport such as qualification of the passport holder, the age etc. This document is of high importance and therefore it is important to know that there are two categories of the Indian passport as per Emigration Act 1983.
Stay tuned and keep readying to know more about What is ECR category? ECR vs Non ECR in Passport. Since a number of questions and queries arise while people travel and if they have lack of prior knowledge. For this purpose, this information is given below to help you understand more and to take steps prior if you want to get a non-ECR passport.
What is ECR Category?
The first type which is the ECR is the abbreviation for Emigration Clearance Required. In the event that the candidate hasn’t passed their tenth grade or doesn’t have testaments for the equivalent, they should go through migration check. It is acquainted all together with opportunity of work to individuals who need to work in different nations like Iran, UAE, Indonesia and so on It is said that the Indian residents who are having low instructive capabilities are exposed to aggressive behavior at home in unfamiliar nations.
In this way, the Government of India has acquainted extremely severe standards with defend Indians living abroad and assist them with conquering such circumstances.
Eligibility for ECR Passport
If the identification candidate has not finished his tenth grade or has finished however doesn’t have all of the important archives for SSC and youngsters under the 15 years old get ECR visa naturally. What’s more, Indians who are making a trip to any far-off country on a visa other than work or business visa can likewise apply under the ECR class by picking the ECR choice while finishing up the Passport online application structure.
The Indian visa is separated into two classifications known as Emigration Check Required (ECR), and Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR). Let us comprehend both the classes access detail.
More about it – Some basic details
When we talk about Non ECR category or ECNR, then it is given to the Indian citizen when they have to travel out of India. Some categories, as per the Emigration Act 1983, need “Emigration Clearance.” This clearance is given from POE also known as the Protector of Emigrants while travelling to other countries of the world.
When an Indian citizen decides to leave the country, it is considered as emigration as per the act. They leave the country with the intention of finding an employment in the other country. Therefore, every single Indian passport is either one of the two named above:
- Passports with authorization – Emigration Check Required (ECR)
- Passports with authorization – Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR)
In technical terms, the passports that have been issued before January 2007 and there is no notation on the passport, that is ECR while the issued ones after the January 2007 and having no notation on the come under ECNR.
What is non ECR Category?
To understand a non ECR first we have to understand an ECR. Emigration Check Required is known as ECR. So, if there is an applicant who has not cleared grade 10 officially from the accepted education platform under Indian Education system, then such an applicant will get an ECR passport.
For this purpose, the applicant will have to get a certificate for emigrating to some countries such as Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE etc. The empty page which is inside the passport, has the ECR stamp for them who are under 10th grade in terms of official Indian education system.
Need of Introducing Non ECR
The Government of India presented the ECR due to the security of Indian residents because of the lawful states of different nations and in light of different circumstances/conditions. This is a check that is expected to be done in light of training, age, conjugal status, and so on of a person. There’s no “in the middle”, and you can either fit the category for ECR or Non ECR class.
Presently, as we have read the information regarding what ECR is. Let’s currently dig into what NON ECR classification is.
So, for a Non ECR, Emigration checks not required, it means that a person wo has passed 10th grade officially under the educational system of India, will not have to go through the immigration office for getting verified and having to get their leave registered. Such a citizen can earn a badge named as ECNR on the passport which works to leave the country and obtaining clearance for this. So, there is no need to check with the immigration office.
Conditions for Non ECR passport
When you fall under these classifications, your visa would be sorted as Non-ECR or ENCR:
- Individuals who hold a confirmation in nursing
- People working in the ocean with ceaseless release declaration or ocean recruits and deck trainees.
- Official and conciliatory identification holder
- Individuals over the age of 50 years and up to the age of 18 years
- Income citizens, proficient degree holder, visas for extremely durable displacement
- People with a confirmation in polytechnic from any perceived organization
- Gazetted Government officials, their companions, and youngsters
Categories in the passport
Depending on which category you fall in, your passport gets in ECR or Non-ECR category. Your passport will be stamped as “EMIGRATION CHECK REQUIRED” if it falls under the category of ECR.
List of Countries where Emigration Clearance is needed
You will have to get Emigration Clearance in order to travel to below mentioned countries as per Indian Bureau of Immigration (BOI).
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Jordan
- Malaysia
- Bahrain
- Syria
- Thailand
- Afghanistan
- Libya
- Qatar
- Yemen
- Sudan
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Lebanon
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Indonesia
Requirements for changing ECR to Non ECR
The base instructive capabilities expected to get an ECNR identification is passing the tenth grade. Any individual who is tenth grade pass can present the endorsement before the RPO and get its visa altered from ECR to Non ECR. Presently just the ECR international IDs are stepped as such when a certified applicant moving toward the RPO for an ECNR visa can drop the current ECR stamp and support it with ECNR by making all the important section with the impact with new signature and stamp of the RPO.
How to change to Non ECR passport from an ECR passport
The cycle by which you can change the ECR Passport to the Non-ECR identification that is formally obliged by the Indian Government is given underneath.
This change should be possible by applying for a re-issue of the identification and choosing “YES” for the inquiry which pose “Are you qualified for Non ECR Category?” in the application structure and submits important verifications for the qualification.
Also, if any of the factor such as changing the education, marital status. Age etc. can qualify one person for altering the passport category from an ECR to Non-ECR, then one can take the leverage from this.
More about ECR and Non ECR Category
Simply to put, a Non ECR means that emigration check is not required. Obviously, non-ECR is better than the ECR since the passport holder person whose passport has an ECR stamp rather than a Non ECR will have to go through an emigration check from POE also known as the Office of the Protector of Emigrants before travelling out of the country to any or each of these 18 different countries which are mentioned in the list, every single time. This is the only difference and so to speak disadvantage.
If you want to remove the Emigration Check Required i.e., ECR, then you will have to first see if you are eligible for having it removed. Then you can apply for a new passport by selecting “Removal of ECR Stamp” in the place of change in particulars.
While selecting the ECR question in the Indian Passport Application Form you need to select NO if you do not follow the criteria level of a Non ECR or if you have not completed your education till at least grade 10/ Matriculation or Highschool Pass Diploma. And select YES if your education is at least of 10th grade or more than that or if you meet the requirements of non-ECR category.
If you are confused that how can you know if a passport is ECR or Non ECR then a stamp or a notation in the form of clear text such as “emigration check required” will notify that you passport falls under the ECR class. This stamp used to be there on the passports that were issued before January 2007. These details will be in the address page of the latest passport
However, the passports that are issued after January 2007, will fall under the category of non-ECR if you do not find any text, stamp or notation saying “Emigration check required”. Now one can only see the printed notation in the form of text in the passport rather than putting a non-ECR stamp which has been stopped as a practice. Previously the Non ECR was known as ECNR.
The last page of each Indian Passport has the ECR endorsement or notation. The last page is also known as the address page. If the passport is ECR, then you can see the notation on the top of the page.
Regarding OK to Board
When someone is traveling to UAE or countries which include travelling to Abu Dhabi/ Dubai/Sharjah), Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Muscat and Qatar, and is an Indian citizen, he or she doesn’t only require a visa but something more more than that. And it is the requirement of the airline, to have “OK to Board” for each passenger otherwise he or she cannot travel to the above-mentioned countries.
Assuming that you demand a legitimate visa to the nations referenced above, you should give your duplicate of your visa to the airline with which you booked your flight ticket. The aircraft will acknowledge your ticket subsequent to reviewing your visa and will stamp your flight PNR as OK to Board. If it’s not too much trouble, note that your PNR doesn’t reflect OK to Board, you can not get onto a flight.
All passengers who have ECR (Immigration Check Required) passport require “OK to board” stamp and also the passengers who are flying with a print-out of Labour & Work e-visa.
Eligibility for the Non ECR category
When you have graduated and passed the matriculation/10th grade as per the educational criteria of Indian educational system, or have a higher degree then you qualify for the category of Non ECR. And hence you are eligible for a Non ECR passport. If not, then you will fall under ECR category of passports.
If your passport is ECR then that means that Emigration check is required and that means you will have to go through Emigration check every time you travel out of the country. This type of passport was released before the year 2007 and it is for those individuals who have not cleared the 10th grade in terms of education.
You will find the ECR stamp on your passport if you fall under this category. While traveling out of India, you will have to get a clearance from the immigration office every time.
