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 clearance required (ECR)
Eligibility for ECNR status:
The following applicants are eligible for Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) status:
- Gazetted Government servants, their spouses and dependent children
- Holders of Diplomatic/official Passports
- Persons having educational qualifications of matriculation and above
- Persons above the age of 50 years
- 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)
- Income-Tax payers (including Agricultural Income-Tax payees) in their individual capacity, their spouses and dependent children below the age 18 years.
- 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
- Nurses possessing qualifications recognized under the Indian Nursing Council Act. 1947
- 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
- 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
- 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 - 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:
- Protector of Emigrant office New Delhi
Jaisalmar House, Canteen Block, Man Singh Road,
New Delhi
Tel No. 011-2338 2472 - Protector of Emigrant office Mumbai
Building “E” Khira Nagar, S.V. Road, Santacruz (West),
Mumbai-400 054
Tel No. 022-2614 7393 - 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 - Protector of Emigrant office Chennai
Tamil Nadu Housing Board Complex, Ashok Nagar,
Chennai-600 083
Tel No. 044-2489 1337 - Protector of Emigrant office Hyderabad
8th Floor, Chandra Vihar Complex, Opp. Exhibition Ground,
M.J. Road, Hyderabad. - Protector of Emigrant office Trivandrum
Suganth, 24/846 (I), Thycaud,
Trivandrum-695 014
Tel No. 0471-2324835 - Protector of Emigrant office Chandigarh
Kendriya Sadan, 5th Block, Ground Floor,
Sector-9-A, Chandigarh
Tel No. 0172-2741790 - Protector of Emigrant office Cochin
3RD Floor Putherickal Building, Market Road, Ernakulam.
Kerala – 682035
Tel. No. 0484-2360187 - 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:
- Passport (valid at least for six months)
- Valid Employment Visa
- Contract Duly Signed by Foreign Employer
- Valid Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Policy 2006
- Affidavit from Candidate Declaring Genuineness of Documents
hi
i’m hussain . i have a passport with ECR status.
i’m a Engineer as i did not submit my original ssc when i applied during my B.tech.
now i want to get ECNR as im going to saudi for a job.
so can i apply online with tatkal or else in normal for ECNR.
pls kindly help its urgent !!
do u suggest to do it by myself or give it to a Agent …
@Hussain
You can apply for re-issue of passport with ECNR status under normal or tatkal scheme.
You can apply online and can visit passport office with all required documents on provided appointment date.
sir my passport issued on 2009, no stamp for ecr or ecnr on its second page thats are blank .any stamps are required in my passport . yes how i can
@Subheesh
No stamp required as your passport is already with ECNR status.
Dear Sir,
I’m Noushad. I sponsored resident visa to my wife. My wife’s passport is having ECR stamp. Is there any need of getting ECNR stamp before leaving.
@Nowshad
As she would be traveling on non-employment visa, she would not need ECNR stamp/status.
Hi Pankaj. Your page is really helpful and athough I think i know the answer to my question, I wanted to ask anyway. My husband’s job visa for Dubai is being processed and the company is asking for the ECNR stamp. The passport does not have the stamp and i suggested we send a copy of the 2nd page which is blank.Very confused and no idea what to do. Do we need to check with the passport office?
Hi ..dont worry..now this has been sorted out between the Ministry of labour,UAE and
Indian Embassy uae and ur husbands visa can be processed.Even i had faced the same problem but got my visa 2 days back and am flying on 18th.Please go thru the following article.
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/visa/uae-visa-problem-for-indians-with-new-passports-1.1033734
Thanks vel
@Anna
No need to get ECNR stamp as passport is already with ECNR status.
Sir,
my frnd has dont hv 10th marksheet and his passport satus is required ecnr so how can we go 2 dubai for traveling.
@Raj
He can go to Dubai with ECR stamp for travel purposes.
he get ecr without 10th marksheet?
@Raj
10th class certificate is minimum requirement, if he has degree certificate that can also work.
ok thxxx for help pankaj u r very nice and helpful guy………
Dear Pankaj, I was just going through one of the gov site regarding ECR clearance it was mentioned // ECR passport holders going to any of the notified countries (ECR countries) on any visa other than employment visa, are allowed to travel on production of following documents at the Airport:-
1.Valid Passport
2.Valid visit/residence/study visa etc.
3.Return Ticket //
I am in UAE and my wife and son will be coming next week on residence visa, my wife passport contains ECR stamp, does she require any ECR clearance or suspension from POE, according to the above she has valid passport, valid residence visa but she did not have return ticket since she is coming on residence visa not on visit visa.
Kindly advise.
@Alam
She won’t require ECNR status as she is not going for employment.
For resident visa, return ticket may not be asked.
Dear Pankaj, My case is also exactly the same. In this case, should there be any need of sending the original visa to the family in India or it can be submitted at the destination airport by the husband, which is the usual procedure followed by the employer? Regards.
Venky
@R.Venkatesh
We are not sure about visa procedures. This article only has information about ECNR.
Dear Pankaj,
My uk work visa was recently refused. With that they stamp ECR/some numbers on the last page of my passport. What does this imply?….
@Karishma
ECR/ECNR stamp has nothing to do with UK visa.
sir ,there is a ECR stamp on my wife newly issued passport ,as we r going to bangkok for 10days holidays with my 2 kids ,will i face any problem to visit as i want to get visa on arrival at bangkok airport.
@Aman
There won’t be any issue on visit/travel visa with ECR stamp.
what are the documents need for ECNR clearece? SSLC mark sheet is sufficiant ?
@Henry
You can check all eligible documents on this page: http://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/onlineHtml/NonEcrDocuments.html
iam in india my qualifiction is 9th i have uae employemnt visa with me how can i cancel my ecr i dont have documents also which required for cancelation plssssss reply soon pls
@Qureshi
You would need to get emigration clearance from POE office, if you are not eligible for getting ECNR status.
Dear Pankaj,
Am appying online for new passport and due to my job nature i have to travel to middle east for some project work. In this case do i need to set the status Non-ECR as YES or NO..??
Please help in this regard.
@Khan
You should apply in non-ECR category (also called as ECNR).
Say, non-ECR = YES
Am having visa problems in uae they rejected my visa application twice nd the reason is my passport dont have an ecnr stamp bt my passport s issued in 2008 . So somebody told me that there is no need of ecnr stamp in my passport.But they r still rejecting my visa application.Is the problem is solved or not
plz somebody help me..
@Issac
Its same issue as reported in this article: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/visa/uae-visa-problem-for-indians-with-new-passports-1.1033734
dear pankaj
please suggest
mine was issued on 21 jan 2003
the ECNR page is striked off. am applying for reissue now
shall I apply for ECNR again? not sure which countries I will visit!!
@Aditya
If you are eligible, you should definitely apply for ECNR category.
Hey Pankaj,
My parents are coming from Hyderabad,India to US on visitor visa. Their transit is via Doha airport (Qatar). They don’t go out of Doha airport.
My mom passport has “ECR”. I’m worried about ECR stamp since transit is via Qatar country. Does she really need ECNR stamp before she start ?
I heard that only matters if you are coming for employment…
Please let me know.
Thanks
GK
@GK
They won’t need ECNR as they are not going to Doha for employment.
I have a basic query regarding the requirement of ECR clearance. I am a Chartered Accountant working in a bank. Due to some technical formalities (I couldn’t produce my SSLC Certificate at the time of reissue of passport), my passport is having ECR Status.
This year I am planning to have visit to UAE – Dubai for one week under visit visa. From the website of Ministry, its observed that for visit visa only valid passport, valid visa and return ticket is mandatory. ECR clearance is required only for employment visa. I would request you to please confirm through a return mail that ECR clearance is not required in my case for going to UAE on visit visa so that I can straight away walk through to Airport with a valid visit visa, passport and return ticket.
Kindly help me in this case.
@Vijith
ECNR status won’t be required for a visit other than employment purpose.
If you have return tickets and valid visa on passport, there won’t be any issue.
Dear Pankaj sir,
I am holdind a passport issued in 2010. I have the 2nd page blank, which means I’m eligible for ECNR. But there is no “ECNR” stamp on my passport. I have got an offer from a Mid east airline co. The airline people have requested me to check if I have the emigration clearance status. Plz advise me accordingly.
@Gitanjali
Second blank page would mean you are already having passport with ECNR status. No more stamping is required.
I currently work in Kuwait and am a resident of Kuwait. Does my wife require to be ECNR if she is joining me with a family residency visa? Note: She is not going to be employed here.
@Asif
As she is not going to work in Kuwait, she won’t need ECNR stamping.
I currently work in Kuwait and am a resident of Kuwait. Does my wife require to be ECNR if she is joining me with a family residency visa? Note: She is not going to be employed here.
Also note that her passport currently has the ECR stamp. Would she still be allowed to travel without cancellation of the ECR stamp?
@Asif
She won’t need ECNR stamp to go to Kuwait.
Hi Pankaj
I have a Diploma and because of some goofup my passport arrived with ECR. Now i need to go to Dubai for a job. So is it possible to cancel the ecr status on the passport permanatly? And what is the procedure for the same.
How many days will it take for it? And since my passport was issued from Mumbai and Im now in Kerala, can i get it done from Kerala?
Please help
@Amina
You would need to get passport reissued for ECNR status. It would take same time as it took in original passport issue.
You can get passport issued from Kerala also but you would need to submit address proof from there.
Hi pankaj .i am living in dubai i want to bring my wife here on 2month vist visa. but my just ricive passport at june23 2012 with emigration check riquired(ecr). now what i do. so i need ecnr stamp or no need. can my wife entre the aiport without ecnr stamp. please reaply me. i need your suggetion.
@Soeb
There won’t be any issue with ECR status for person traveling on non-employment visa.
i’m 10th failed.but i have diploma in graphic designing from a private IT recognised by NCVT.can I get ECNR stamping and I also have a valid PAN card
@Philip
If you have any valid eligible proof from list shown on this page: http://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/onlineHtml/NonEcrDocuments.html, then you can apply for same.