An Indian Identity Certificate, simply known as Identity Certificate (IC), is a

travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...

issued by the Passport Seva (Passport Service), Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

to non-citizens of the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for foreign travel. It enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as

proof of identity An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...

as per the Passports Act (1967). It is mostly issued to Tibetan refugees, along with other stateless people. Since 28 June 2016, Sweden is no longer accepting the Indian Identity Certificate as a travel document. However, on 9 October 2018, Sweden started accepting the Indian Identify Certificate for Tibetan Refugees on the condition that they have no objection to returning to India.

Application

Applications for an IC can be made to a Passport Seva office. There are two cases where it is generally issued: * At the behest of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

for

Tibetan refugees Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

, * To other stateless people. IC issuance is subject to clearance by CPV. In addition, clearance by State Government (Department of Home Affairs / Police) / Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) is also required for grant of a "No Objection to Return to India" (NORI) to be stamped on the Identity Certificate.

Physical appearance

Indian Identity Certificates have a yellow cover with golden colored printing. The

Emblem of India The State Emblem of India is the national emblem of the Republic of India and is used by the union government, many state governments, and other government agencies. The emblem is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, an ancient sculptur ...

is emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words 'Identity Certificate' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

) are inscribed above the Emblem whereas 'भारत गणराज्य' (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

) and 'Republic of India' (

) are inscribed below the emblem. The standard book contains 36 pages.

Identity certificate note

The note bearing page is typically stamped and signed by the issuing authority.

References

{{Indian Identity Documents Identity documents of India

Application

Physical appearance

Identity certificate note

See also

References