India
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India ends boarding pass stamps from 1 September
The Telegraph··23 Aug
From 1 September 2026, immigration counters at Indian international airports will stop stamping boarding passes for departing travellers. The Bureau of Immigration under the Home Ministry told airport operators that a printed pass is no longer mandatory. Passengers may show an e-boarding pass on a phone. A paper pass will still be accepted but will not be inked.
Prism
What It Means For You
- If you fly out of India on or after 1 September, you can show a phone boarding pass at immigration. A printout still works, but it will not be stamped.
- Anyone who still prints a pass only for the CISF queue should note that force already stopped stamping years ago. The new change is at the immigration desk.
- If you hold an Indian passport, the planned drop of entry and exit stamps on the passport is only a pilot, not the 1 September rule.
What's Happening
- The Bureau of Immigration circulated the directive to airport authorities in August, with a 1 September start across international airports.
- Emigration clearance still happens. The officer checks identity and the pass, then records the exit without inking the slip.
- Airline apps and digital wallets are listed as places the e-pass may be stored, subject to each airline still asking for a print at the gate.
Why Immigration Will Stop Inking Boarding Passes
- Boarding-pass stamps were a leftover paper confirmation of exit after digital emigration records became the main file.
- The Home Ministry houses the Bureau of Immigration, so this is a central border rule, not an airport-operator experiment at one city.
- Foreign airports you land at may still want a paper pass. The 1 September change is only for Indian immigration on the way out.
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