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
My visa expiry time is 18/06/2014 I went to apply imigrationforkuwith on16/06/2014 is that possible to get the same day imigration
@Chandru
I think, you would be able to get emigration clearance from PoE office in 1-2 days if documents are in order.
Hi there
this side AK
now i m in a big problem i.e.
I reissued my passport with normal scheme
all formalities are done and i done some mistakes so i paid penalities also and my pvr is also clear.
But now status is showing your file under review for reson null
so plz help me what i had to do now because i am not having that much time to go psk
and i paid penalities before 2 weeks
and i submitted my app before 2.5 months
@Akshay
Not sure what can be done in your case.
Please call passport helpline call center and they would be able to help you.
Sir i have submited all the required documents for ecnr then also ecr came in my pasport. Now a days ecr is printed on the first page so it is not possible cancel. They are telling i have to make a new pasport now. But i dont have time as i got job in uae. What to do sir.
@Rizwan
If you don’t have time to get passport reissued, then get emigration clearance from PoE office before leaving.
hello
i am in saudi arabia
i want to bring my family to saudi arab on family resident visa.
my wife dont have Ecnr stamp.
as you said other than employment no need for immigration checking
my question is, is it must to have return ticket? coz its not visit visa, its a permanent family visa she can stay with me as long as she can
@Abdul
Return tickets are not required in case of a family resident visa.
My friend worked in Oman before 2 months. He has Emigration clearance done when he joined the company before nine months. Now he got new visa through same company in Oman. Does he require to apply for Emigration Clearance again?
@Rajesh
If employer is same, he should not require emigration clearance again.
Hi. I had my passport made in 2012 and got the ECR stamp on it. I might have checked the wrong option in the application unknowingly. I am a post-grad so I meet the criteria. Now I am traveling from Mumbai to USA in August for studies. Will this pose a problem? Either way can I get it removed now?
@Priya
First, ECR status won’t create any problem unless you decide to travel to one of the listed countries (USA is not one of them) on employment visa.
I never got rid of ECR status and travelled to US (for job), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong kong, Mauritius etc without any issue.
You can get it removed only by applying for reissue of passport.
Hello Pankaj Ji,
I came back again for your consultation. For the last 3 years I am in Sudan as Sudanese resident. last February I got a new passport from Kolkata as the leafs of my passport were finished. I got the passport by post and then came back again with a valid visa. During my absence police verification went on. My wife clearly told the police that I am now outside country. Police said her to give in written. Until now there was no issue. Today I have heard from my wife that a letter came from Passport Office to explain why I suppressed information during police verification, why any legal action will not be taken and asked for explanation. What should I do? Please advise.
Thanks and regards,
Sreejon Deb
@Sreejon
We have little knowledge on this subject and would refrain from commenting on it.
Hi I have a ENtry Pemit f UAE ( Abu DHabi ) but had to get the ECNR dne… when i reached the Passport Ofc , they are re-issuing my passport . Would this affect my Visa ? o my Tavel t UAE .. ?
@Sunil
Visa on old passport would remain valid. You would need to carry both passports together.
Hi
I have a query on Emigration Check requird.
In my Mother in law passport in last page Emigration Check requird written.
I had booked my mother in law ticket for to visit dubai for 30 days on tourist vias.
what to do ? do i have to visit passport office . Passport issue date 10 th Dec 2013
Thanks
Manoj
@Manoj
As she is not going for employment, she won’t need ECNR status.
She need not to do anything wrt ECR/ECNR and can travel without any issue.
if i am going to iran for employment purpose …thn enr is required or not ??????
@Narendra
Yes, As you are going for employment, you would need ENCR status.
I made my passport in 2006, do i require ECNR on my passport as i would be travelling to dubai next month
@Rekha
If your passport has ECR status and you are going to Dubai for employment, then only you would need ECNR status.
I Do not see any status on my passport, I had made the passport in 2006. and as well i had provided all the documents of graduation while applying it.
I would be going for employment in dubai. So do i have apply for ECNR ? and within how many days it would be done if required ?
Kindly please assist
@Rekha
If your passport does not have ECR stamp, your passport is by default with ECNR status and now you don’t have to do anything for same.
Sorry to bother you…even though if the passport is made in 2006 ? i do not require the ECNR ?
sorry once again
@Rekha
If passport does not say, emigration check required, there would not be any need to get ECNR.
Hello Pankaj,
Please If one is travelling to India with a new passport, does the person need to carry the old passport along as well? Does immigration ask for it?
Thanks
@Ch
Its always better to carry old passports also.
You never know, what immigration officer wants.
Hi Pankaj,
On the above page it is mentione that “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.”
So as my passport is issued in the year 2006, do I require ECNR ? I had submitted all my graduation documents when applying. and my passport does not have any status on the second page. Kindly suggest as I am getting confused.
@Rekha
Officially it was Jan 2007, but they started following this policy before too, I guess.
If emigration check is required for you, there should be a stamp saying so.
hi pankaj,
my husband has a ECR stamp on his passport and need to travel to dubai for employment. he is got his employment visa but it is a ordinary labour visa. please advise as he has to get ECR stamp cleared asap. please provide the contact details as well Thanks
@Asha
For getting ECNR status, he would need to apply for reissue of passport along with eligibility proof.
If does not have enough time to get passport reissued, then he can get emigration clearance from PoE office.
Hi Pankaj,
Actually I have scheduled an appointment for passport application document verification next week. But I have filled it wrong , I have checked NON-ECR as no by mistake. So at the time of document verification can I ask those people to make it correct by providing required documents. So my basic question is can people in passport office change the it from ECR to NON ECR at the time of verification of documents.
@Onkar
Yes, I think you can get details changed there.
Just tell them you did by mistake.
Hi Pankaj,
I need to apply for my 5 yers old son’s passport so i confused, Either my son will be eligible for NON-ECR or not .
@Hemant
He would not be eligible for ECNR, so you have to use ECR category only.
my birthday is 13 Nov 1961 means i am above 50 but i have pink visa to go dubai for job will i need to do ECNR
@Bharat
Yes, you need to get ECNR status before leaving India.
Hi Pankaj,
I am from Bangalore. I have two question for you.
1- I am basically belong to UP. Now, I am staying in Bangalore (from 6 month). now my company planning to deploy me in US. Can i apply for passport in Bangalore?
2- I am graduate . In which category i will be belong ECR or NonECR?
thanks
@Bheesham
1. Yes, you can apply for passport from Bangalore. But you also would need to provide address proof for both UP and Bangalore.
2. You would come under non-ECR category.
for tousit visa to qatar with ecr . is ok or not
@Niya
For tourist visa, ECNR is not required. So one can go even with ECR stamp.
@Niya
Yes, its ok to travel to Qatar on tourist visa even with ECR status.
Dear Pankaj,
I am planning to bring a women (age 35) on visit or tourist visa to DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES for 30 days but she has studied 8th standard and her passport status is ECR. I understood that ECNR is not required if anyone is flying for not employment. Please also note that I am not going to sponser her visit visa. Is there any chance to stop her by immigration officer because of women is leaving India?
@Cletus
If emigration officer has some doubt on person, like if she intends to work there even after going on tourist visa, he can deny him without emigration clearance.
Thanks a trillion Mr.Pankaj.