International travellers departing from India will see an important change at airports from September 1. Immigration officials will no longer stamp boarding passes during immigration clearance, removing an additional step from the departure process.
Until now, international passengers were required to show their boarding passes at immigration, where officials would stamp the document. Under the new system, no immigration stamp will be placed on the boarding pass.
Passengers can show either an e-boarding pass on their mobile phone or a printed boarding pass at the immigration counter. Those using digital boarding passes will not need to carry a printed copy just for stamping.
The Bureau of Immigration has introduced the change to make the immigration process faster and more convenient for travellers. Airport operators, the CISF and other stakeholders have reportedly been informed about the revised procedure.
For international travellers, the process will largely remain the same — except for one less step. From September 1, there will be no boarding pass stamp to collect before heading to the departure gate.
