Guidance

India: Knowledge Base profile

Updated 22 April 2025

Version 3.0

About: India

This document contains useful information about India which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0

• published for Home Office staff on 22 April 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with formatting changes.

India: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in India.

There are 3 types of naming convention in India:

• Hindu

• Muslim

• Sikh

Hindu

The Hindu naming convention depends on if the citizen lives in the north or south of India.

Citizens who live in the:

• north of India, have:

  • 1 forename

  • 1 surname

• south of India, have 1 forename, which may include the initial of their father’s forename in front of their own forename

Hindus will show their name in a formal setting, for example, their personal forename followed by, ‘son of’ or ‘daughter of’ (shown as ‘s/o’, ‘d/o’) and their father’s forename).

Muslim

Muslim names usually include patronymic names, taken from the father or grandfather.

Muslim names consist of:

• 1 forename, followed by:

  • ‘bin’ (son of) and the father’s forename; or,

  • ‘binti’ (daughter of) and the father’s forename

Sikh

Sikhs most commonly use the surname, Singh. They may use it as a middle name, surname or as a name connected to their surname using a hyphen ‘-‘.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed in India.

Transgender citizens are allowed to change their name in India.

If a citizen of India changes their name, the registrar will add their new name as an alias (also known as) to their birth certificate.

Change of name: Hindu

When a Hindu woman marries, she can either:

• keep her birth name

• give up her father’s surname and take her husband’s surname

• give up her father’s forename and take her husband’s forename

• give up her father’s name and use her husband’s first name as her surname

• change her name completely

India: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in India.

Dual nationality is not allowed in India.

India: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in India.

Legitimacy

India recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child is considered:

• legitimate if their parents:

  • are married at the time of the birth

  • are married at the time of the birth, but the marriage is made void (not valid) or is voidable (may be made not valid)

  • marry after the child’s birth and both parents’ names are on the child’s birth certificate

• illegitimate if their parents:

  • never marry

  • marry after the birth but both parents are not named on the certificate

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is held by:

• the mother

• the father if:

  • he is married to the mother

  • he applies for parental responsibility from the court

  • the parents agree to a parental responsibility agreement

Parental responsibility for a child ends when the child reaches the age of 18, but may be extended by a court if there is an exceptional reason.

India: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in India.

Adoption is legal in India.

There are two types of adoption in India:

• a domestic, or ‘in country’ adoption

• an international, or ‘inter country’ adoption

India: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in India.

Transgender citizens are recognised in India.

India: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in India.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are not allowed in India.

Under Hindu law, Polygamy and Bigamy is illegal for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. Islam is the only religion that allows polygamy.

India: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in India.

Birth certificates

Birth certificates are issued to everyone, by the registrar.

There is no central register that records all births.

For citizens born on or after 1 January 1970, it is mandatory for parents to register their child’s birth within 21 days. Late registration is allowed.

There are different versions of birth certificates. The format of a child’s birth certificate can vary between districts.

If an error is identified on a birth certificate, the registrar will correct their records and issue a new birth certificate.

The registrar may issue a birth certificate without the child’s name on because the hospital record shows ‘b/o. mothers name’. This may happen when the parents have not named their child because they will name them after a naming ceremony 40 days or more after the child’s birth.

When the registrar gives the parents a birth certificate without the child’s name on it, only the registrar can add the child’s name on to the certificate. If they add the child’s name:

• within 12 months of their birth, the parents must give the registrar an affidavit

• more than 12 months after their birth, the parents must give the registrar an affidavit and evidence the child uses the name (for example, a school identity card)

If a parent wants to change a child’s personal details on their birth certificate after 1 year (for example, to correct their date of birth), they can only do it if they get an order from a sub divisional magistrate or the Collectors office that confirms their new details.

When a child is born in hospital, the hospital will notify the registrar of the child’s birth. Some hospitals give the parents a birth certificate. This is not a legal document.

The hospital will provide the parents with medical records for the child which includes parent and child details.

Marriage certificates

Both civil and religious marriages must be registered in India. Marriages are registered regionally where their own versions of the marriage certificate are issued. There is no central register.

Couples must register their marriage within 30 days. The authorities accept late marriage registrations. The marriage officer will issue a marriage certificate on the day of the marriage.

Death certificates

Deaths must be registered within 21 days. Late death registrations are accepted.

Every region has its own format of death certificates.

Identity documents

There is no mandatory identity card scheme in India.

India citizens who pay taxes will be issued a PAN card (Permanent Account Number). This is a mandatory document with a 10-digit alphanumeric identification number.

India issues two types of card to foreign nationals of Indian origin:

• Persons of Indian origin (PIO) card, valid for fifteen years from the date of issue

• Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card