in Government, India, Travel |

Emigration clearance not required (ECNR)

Emigration check not required (ECNR) stamp is not required, if one is not travelling for employment purposes.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (Emigration Policy Division) have allowed  ECR passport holders travelling abroad for purposes others than employment  to leave the country on production of valid passport, valid visa and return ticket at the immigration counters at international airports in India w.e.f. 1st October 2007.

ECNR is only required if you are travelling to any of the below 17 countries for employment:
United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Iraq.

For all passports issued before January 2007, a blank second page in the passport means your passport is endorsed with ECR and you need to get emigration clearance if you are travelling to any of the above 18 countries for employment.

For all passports issued after January 2007, a “Blank” page 2 on your passport is deemed to have been ECNR endorsed. If you don’t fit into ECNR eligibility criteria, and Emigration Check is Required, there will be an endorsement in the passport regarding ECR.

Emigration check not required (ECNR)

Emigration clearance required (ECR)

Eligibility for ECNR status:

The following applicants are eligible for Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) status:

  1. Gazetted Government servants, their spouses and dependent children
  2. Holders of Diplomatic/official Passports
  3. Persons having educational qualifications of matriculation and above
  4. Persons above the age of 50 years
  5. Children up to the age of 18 years. (For re-issue of passport, after they attain the age of 18 years, documents to proof their non-ECR category has to be submitted, else ECR stamping will be done)
  6. Income-Tax payers (including Agricultural Income-Tax payees) in their individual capacity, their spouses and dependent children below the age 18 years.
  7. Persons possessing two years diploma from any institute recognized by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT), or persons holding three years diploma/equivalent degree from institutions, such as Polytechnics recognized by the Central/State Governments of India
  8. Nurses possessing qualifications recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act. 1947
  9. All professional Degree holders , their spouses and dependent children. Examples of professional degree holders are Doctors holding MBBS degree or equivalent degree in AYURVED or HOMEOPATHY, accredited Journalists, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Lecturers, Teachers, Scientists, Advocates, etc
  10. All persons who have been staying abroad for more than three years (the period of three years could be either in one stretch or broken) and their spouses
  11. Seamen who are in possession of Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC), or Sea Cadets and Deck Cadets
    a. who have passed the final examination of three years B.Sc. Nautical Sciences courses at T.S. Chanakya, Mumbai and b. who have undergone three months pre-sea training at any of the Government approved training institutes, such as T.S. Chanakya, T.S. Rehman, T.S. Jawahar, MTI (SCI) and NIPM, CHENNAI, after production of identity cards issued by the Shipping Master at Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai
  12. Persons holding Permanent Immigration Visa, such as the visas of UK, USA and Australia. 

How to apply for ECNR stamping

If and only if you are travelling to any of the below countries for employment, you need to get ECNR stamp, if you does not have already:

United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Iraq.

You have either to get the entire ECR stamp deleted, or if your are not eligible (categories listed above),  you may get a temporary Emigration Suspension before leaving India. If the applicant does not have Non-ECR status then All such ECR passport holders need to obtain Emigration Clearance Certificate from the Protector-General of Emigrants, Ministry of Overseas India Affairs.

Documents required for ECNR (non-ECR) status:

All eligibility documents list can be seen here: Non-ECR documents list

Protector of Emigrants (PoE) offices for Emigration clearance:

The POE offices in India are situated at the following places:

  1. Protector of Emigrant office New Delhi
    Jaisalmar House, Canteen Block, Man Singh Road,
    New Delhi
    Tel No. 011-2338 2472
  2. Protector of Emigrant office Mumbai
    Building “E” Khira Nagar, S.V. Road, Santacruz (West),
    Mumbai-400 054
    Tel No. 022-2614 7393
  3. Protector of Emigrant office Kolkata
    Room No. 116 A Wing, 3rd MSO Building, DF Block,
    Salt Lake, Kolkata-700 064
    Tel No. 033-2334 3407
  4. Protector of Emigrant office Chennai
    Tamil Nadu Housing Board Complex, Ashok Nagar,
    Chennai-600 083
    Tel No. 044-2489 1337
  5. Protector of Emigrant office Hyderabad
    8th Floor, Chandra Vihar Complex, Opp. Exhibition Ground,
    M.J. Road, Hyderabad.
  6. Protector of Emigrant office Trivandrum
    Suganth, 24/846 (I), Thycaud,
    Trivandrum-695 014
    Tel No. 0471-2324835
  7. Protector of Emigrant office Chandigarh
    Kendriya Sadan, 5th Block, Ground Floor,
    Sector-9-A, Chandigarh
    Tel No. 0172-2741790
  8. Protector of Emigrant office Cochin
    3RD Floor Putherickal Building, Market Road, Ernakulam.
    Kerala – 682035
    Tel. No. 0484-2360187
  9. Protector of Emigrant office Jaipur
    Hall No.3, RIICO CFC Building, Sitapura Industrial Area, Sitapura,
    Jaipur-302022

 

Documents required for emigration clearance at PoE office:

  1. Passport (valid at least for six months)
  2. Valid Employment Visa
  3. Contract Duly Signed by Foreign Employer
  4. Valid Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Policy 2006
  5. Affidavit from Candidate Declaring Genuineness of Documents
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4,643 Comments

  1. Hello Pankaj,

    Please help me, my friend have employment visa for UAE but his passport endorsed with ECR stamp, so how is it possible to get emigration clearance. NO PAPERS AVAILABE, company is not ready to provide him any documents .

    Reply to rajesh

    • @Rajesh
      To get ECNR stamp, he needs to visit passport office with all below documents in original as well as attested copies:
      1. One of the following documents: Matriculation (SSLC)/PUC-II / Degree Certificate, PAN Card, Annexure ‘I’ if person has stayed abroad for more than 3 years.
      2. Filled up ECR Suspension form (Download from here: http://passport.gov.in/cpv/miscell.pdf) with Applicable Fee: Rs. 300/-
      3. Submit your present passport along with 2 photocopies for last and first 4 pages of it.
      4. Attach photocopy of visa (if any).
      5. Attach photocopy of your confirmed return travel tickets (if any).
      6. Attach Sponsorship Declaration attested by Indian Mission / Consulate (for Middle-East Countries) (if any)
      7. In case, you go to a passport office other than from which you passport issued, Proof of current residence (Ration card/Voter Id/Lease agreement/Bank statement/Electricity, Phone bill), Employer Id.

      Reply to Pankaj

      • Dear Pankaj,

        first of all thanks.
        secondly i want to tell you that my friend is going to UAE on employment visa with professions reinforcement fitter. He have no such documents you mentioned above. I also inform you that the company sponsored the visa for him, also not ready to give him any attested documents.
        so please give me some advise. bcz he dont wnt to miss the opportunity he have.
        If we go to the recruting agent then they will able to get the ecnr or not by legal manner.. also inform me about it.

        thanks alot

        Reply to rajesh

      • Dear sir,
        I want to do ECNR attestation from THANE passport office pls send me
        fee stucture and document required for it.I am graduate and 21 years old.

        Reply to sek

          • Dear Pankaj,

            My passport is issued on Dec – 2008 and on the second page there is a stamp of ministry of External Affairs Regional passport office Mumbai and sign of S.S vengurlekar .
            I would be travelling to UAE for Employment I have recieved Visa and also the Ticket copy with “OK on Board” message on it.

            In my passport there is no ECR or ECNR Stamp anywhere except the above mentioned stamp.

            So please guide me that I should go for ECNR stamp in passport office or not.

            If yes then tell me the timings, procedure and how many dayz it take to clear ECNR.

            Thanks in advance.

            Reply to Sagaf

            • @Sagaf
              If ECR is mentioned on second page stamp, then you would need to get ECNR. Else not.
              If you require it, you need to visit passport office with Misc form filled and all eligibility documents (with copies). It may take 3-15 days depending on your location.

              Reply to Pankaj

      • Hi Pankaj,

        I & my friend is planning a leisure trip to Thailand. We just realized that her Passport has a ECR stamp despite of she being a Professional (CA). Do we need to get a ECR clearnce before travel? If yes, can we instead get a permanent ECNR stamp? How much time will it take to get it done.

        Thanks
        Sumit

        Reply to Sumit

    • hi sir
      i am form UAE. My housemaid came to dubai on tourist visa and changed her visa to housemaid visa. her passport have ECR Stamp. Now she wanted to go for vaction. There will be any problem while she coming back?.

      Reply to sachi

  2. ECNR required for saudi permanent family visa ?
    will there be any problem with ECR stamp while leaving India

    Reply to aziz

  3. Dear sir,
    I am Diploma Civil Engineer from government college.and had been selected by Saudi company,medical tests are OK,but i am under 21 years of age and above 20 years,passport status ECNR.Please guide me can i get a working visa for Saudi Arabia.Please reply.

    Regards,

    Imraan Noor

    Reply to Imraan

  4. My father’s original name is rama simha raju but in my passport the letter H is missing and printed as rama sima raju so how can i rectify or is it k with that?

    Reply to saikrishnaraju

  6. hello pankaj, thanks for the advise.

    Pankaj , i am a college dropout after completing my fyjc in science, can u tell what is the minimum qualification required te become a licensed passport agent. What is the duration of courses and how much fees do they charge, what is the validity period of the license, and whether i can make passport of anywhere or only in restricted city of license issued only. please revert back, i would be very great ful

    Reply to sarfraz

  8. Hi Pankaj.

    I have got an job offer from china.
    I have an old passport issued (ecr) in 2002 and expiring in march 2012.

    what would you advice?

    a. will it work without ecnr?
    b. should i apply for re-issuing before i go or from china once i am there.

    Kindly reply at your earliest convenience.

    Thank you very much.

    Piyush

    Reply to Piyush

  9. Hey Pankaj,

    Thats a great effort in putting up all this information and replying to everyone. Kudos to you for that.

    Can you tell me how much time does it take to get the ECNR stamp on an existing passport in Mumbai? Is there any way whereby you can get it done for an urgent trip (holiday to Thailand) on a temp basis?

    Reply to Tejas

  10. Hi,

    I got an offer to travel to US on B1 visa, my passport is endorsed with stamp “Emigration check required except for Bangladesh, Pakistan, and all countries in Europe, NorthAmerica, Japan, newzealand, Australia, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore and Thailand”

    Now please suggest me whether is it required to get the ECNR endorssed on passport before leaving to US?
    If so, can i be done in the place I reside currently or have to go to the passport issued place.

    Kindly reply at the earliest.

    Thanks in Advance

    Sunil Kumar

    Reply to Sunil

  11. Dear Sir,
    My wife is travelling to New Jersey USA on Tourist visa does she she requires ECNR or not kindly advice.Thanks.
    Gopal Singh

    Reply to Gopal

  12. If i’m travelling to schengen countries on a business visa and I have an ECR stamp on my passport, would that be a problem??

    Reply to mike

      • If I do want to get an ECNR stamp just to be safe. What would I need to do?
        Would this be just a stamp on my existing passport or a reissue of the passport?
        I’ve heard that I might have problems at the emigration in India and not when I reach Europe. Do you think I should get the ECNR stamp or will I not have any problems when I leave?

        Reply to Mike

        • @Mike
          It will be an stamp on existing passport and you can get same by applying in passport office by filling Misc form.
          ECR/ECNR stamp is only checked when leaving India and it does not have any significance for other countries.
          For Europe, ECNR was never needed for any kind of visa.

          Reply to Pankaj

  13. Amir
    hi pankaj,
    i m planning to bring my wife on residence visa(husband visa) my wife passort is having ECR stamp, still she needs to get ECNR stamp on her passport?

    Reply to Amir

  14. HI Pankaj

    My brother is not studied till Matriculation, but now he has a employement visa from Dubai and he wants to travel. So my question is, in his case what are the documents needs to be provided for ECNR.

    Reply to Aftab

    • @Aftab
      If your brother has PAN card, he may provide same for getting ECNR.
      If not, he won’t be able to get ECNR and he will have to get emigration clearance from Protector of emigrants (POE)

      Reply to Pankaj

  15. Hi Pankaj, I am travelling to Singapore, Malaysia and Indoneasia for Vacation and My passport currently has ECR stamp..I have the following questions
    1.do i need an ECR removal?
    2. Is ECR removal same as ECR suspension?
    3. what will my second page of passport look like (presently it is having an ECR stamp)?
    4. Is form 16 A valid document for ECNR status?

    Reply to Paras

    • @Paras
      1. If you are going on vacations (on tourist visa), no need to get ECR removal.
      2. ECR removal is same as ECR suspension. But generally ECR suspension is used for temporary suspension.
      3. It will then stamped with a ECNR stamp.
      4. Form-16A is not a valid document for ECNR eligibility. But PAN card and ITR return submissions can be used.

      BTW I have also visited these three countries with a ECR passport w/o any issue.

      Enjoy your trip!

      Reply to Pankaj

  16. Hi Pankaj,

    We have a house maid (Aged 48 years) in UAE & she doesn’t have ECNR status. She came here on tourist visa & we found her & employed from Feb 2010 with valid UAE residence visa. We would like to take her for vacation along with us to India. Will she face any difficulties in emigration on our return trip to UAE?
    Awaiting your advice.

    Reply to Benn

  17. Dear Sir,
    I intend bringing my wife & 12 year old son on a Family (Dependent) Visas to Kuwait shortly. Do I need to have their passports stamped with ECNR ? My wife’s passport has ECR stamp on it and Son’s does not have any stamp. Is this a problem. Please advise.

    Reply to Cezar

      • Dear Mr. Pankaj,
        A big thank you for confirming that ECNR is not required, actually my Travel Agent in Goa said the same. However, I have another question: Does my son (above 12 years old – born on 16 Oct. 1998) have to do the same medicals as my wife (adult) ? I’ve been told so by the agent but I haven’t checked with the deputed Kuwait Govt. Authorized Medical Centre in Goa. Is this the requirement for my son before sending documents for stamping at Kuwait Consulate, etc. at Mumbai ?

        Reply to Cezar

  18. Dear Pankaj
    on 2nd page of my passport, page is blank. i have to go for job to UAE, is there any ecr or encr required on my passport.

    Reply to AQUIB

  19. Hi Pankaj,

    I understand that Emmigration check is not required if going on a holiday to thailand, but would it be a problem if I intend to get the visa done on arrival?

    My passport does not hqve ECNR stamp and is issued before JAN 2007

    Thanks

    Vivek

    Reply to Vivek

    • @Vivek
      ECNR/ECR is an Indian policy and checked only at the time of leaving India.
      Thailand has nothing to do with this stamp.
      There won’t be any issue for people leaving India without any visa as it clears that they are not going for employment.

      Reply to Pankaj

  20. Hello Pankaj,

    I will be flaying to Dubai this October , I have ECR on my passport , I am a graduate and my purpose of visit neither Job nor Business i will be going on Tourist visa.
    Do i need ECNR ?
    if yes whom should i approach and in how much time it will be give to me ? (or should i opt out for emergency/ temporary ECNR 1 or 2 days prior to my departure)

    Reply to Aseem