British Indian passport

British Indian passport
The front cover of a British Indian passport.
Issued by	British Indian Empire
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification

The British Indian passport was a passport, proof of national status and travel document issued to the British subjects of the British Indian Empire, British subjects from other parts of the British Empire, and the subjects of the British protected states in the Indian subcontinent (i. e. the British Protected Persons of the 'princely states'). The title of state used in the passport was the "Indian Empire", which covered all of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Burma.

The use of the passport was discontinued after the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, and its bearers were entitled to opt for Indian, Pakistani or British nationality.

The use of passports was introduced to the British Raj after the First World War. The Indian Passport Act of 1920 required the use of passports, established controls on the foreign travel of Indians, foreigners travelling to and within the Presidencies and Provinces of British India. The passport was based on the format agreed upon by 1920 League of Nations International Conference on Passports.

However, the British Indian passport had very limited usage, being valid for travel only within areas governed by the British Empire, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Holland.

A British Indian passport could be issued to persons who were British subjects by birth, naturalisation, a British protected person or the spouse or widow of such persons. The passports were issued by the passport offices run by provincial governments and were valid for five years after issue. In 1922, applicants were charged INR 1 to receive a new passport. The price was raised to INR 3 by 1933.