No more departure cards for Indians flying abroad

Indians flying abroad will not be required to fill departure cards from July 1, 2017. However, those going out of the country via rail, seaport and land immigration check posts will have to fill the embarkation card.

“It has been decided to discontinue the practice of filling up of departure card by Indians at all international airports with effect from July 1, 2017,” an order issued by the Union Home Ministry said.

The move is aimed at ensuring hassle-free movement of Indians going abroad. At present, those going abroad need to fill in details such as name, date of birth, passport number, address in India, flight number and date of boarding in the departure card. “The same information (about the passengers) is available in the system from other sources,” the Home Ministry order said, citing reasons behind its move.

The decision will help reduce the time required to complete immigration-related formalities by passengers and also enable airports and the authorities concerned to cater to a larger number of people. The need for Indians to fill such cards on their arrival in India has already been done away with.

The customs department in 2016 done away with the need for Indian passengers to fill up a declaration form while coming to India if they were not carrying dutiable goods.

Those carrying prohibited and dutiable goods are only required to fill up an ‘Indian Customs Declaration Form’, earlier mandatory for all passengers entering the country.