Theme: Identity Documents

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 amended the citizenship laws in India. According to the law, any person who is a Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered India on or before the 31st December, 2014, is automatically granted immunity, and will not be treated as an illegal immigrant, but as a citizen of India. This immunity is not applicable to Muslims.

There is no official ruling or information on whether the Voter ID Card is a valid proof of citizenship from the Supreme Court or the Parliament. However courts in different states have given contradictory judgments on the same. For instance, the Gauhati High Court has held that the Voter ID Card is not a valid proof of citizenship(( Munindra Biswas vs Union Of India, Case No. : WP(C) 7426/2019)), whereas, the court in Mumbai has held that the Voter ID Card is a valid proof of citizenship.(( Voter Identity Card Sufficient Proof of Citizenship, Rules Mumbai Court.Tribuneindia News Service. Accessed at https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/voter-identity-card-sufficient-proof-of-citizenship-rules-mumbai-court-44563.))

There are three types of passports that are issued in India. These are ordinary, diplomatic and official.  

A diplomatic passport has a maroon cover, and is issued to designated members of the government, members of the judiciary, diplomats, etc., whereas an official passport has a grey cover, and is issued to designated non-gazetted government servants and other persons as authorized by the government.

The validity of a minor person’s passport is 5 years or till they turn 18, whichever is earlier. However, minors between 15 and 18 years of age can apply for a passport which has a 10-year validity, or for a passport which will be valid until they turn 18.

In order to facilitate Persons with Disability (PwD), the ECI has also developed an android-based mobile application i.e. PwD App, which provides the facility for voters themselves to register as PwD so that the same can be reflected in the electoral roll. The person with disability can request for registering as an elector, and upon receiving the request the ECI will ensure that the booth level officer will reach the doorstep. Through the PWD App, a PwD can: 

• Inform About Disability 
• Request For New Voter ID Registration 
• Request For Transfer 
• Request For Updation 
• Find Polling Booth 
• On-Call Support

If you fail the driving test, you can take it again after 7 days. However, if you fail your driving test 3 times, you cannot take it again for the next 60 days from the date of your last test. You should also re-check this with the RTO/RTA of your State.

E-Aadhaar is an electronic version of your Aadhaar downloadable with your Aadhaar number or Enrolment ID here. The downloaded Aadhaar (e-Aadhaar) is a valid and secure password-protected electronic document which should be treated at par with the original Aadhaar letter.

For children below 5 years, the parents’/guardian’s name, Aadhaar and biometrics have to be provided at the time of enrolment. At the time of enrolment, enrolling authority has to inform and take the consent of the parent/guardian.

Mandatory biometric updates of children will be required when: 

• A child below 5 years at the time of enrolment is re-enrolled at the age of 5 and all biometric data is provided once again.
• Children between 5 and 15 at the time of enrolment furnish all biometric details for update upon attaining 15 years of age.

If you don’t have address proof, you can update your Aadhaar address to where you are presently residing, with the consent and authentication of the Address Verifier. An Address Verifier is a family member, relative, friends, landlord etc. who is willing to let you use his/her address as proof. 

You can request for an Address Validation Letter here. Upon submitting your request, the UIDAI shall send the Address Validation Letter to the address within 30 days, which could be used for online update.

If someone in a family does not have individual valid documents, the resident can still enroll using a family entitlement document with the Head of Family (HoF) introducing the family member. Where there are no documents available, the resident may also take the help of Introducers at the Enrolment Center. Read more about HoF and Introducer-based enrolment here.