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Human mortal remains not passengers, no passport required
The government notified that mortal remains are to be treated as Cargo and can be transported with an NOC from the Indian mission in the country.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Sat, 15, Nov 2025
- 01:46 EST
- 19
Representative image / Pexels
Human mortal remains being transported to India have to be treated as cargo and not as passengers and therefore do not require an original passport to be presented, clarified the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
The clarification came in light of complaints against airlines which were refusing to accept human mortal remains for transport to India in cases where the original passport of the deceased is unavailable, even when a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was provided by the Indian missions in the country.
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In an official circular, the ministry notified, "It is hereby clarified that human mortal remains cannot be treated as “passenger” under section 19 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 as these are treated as Cargo. No immigration clearance is required for such human mortal remains."
It further added, "Hence, the transportation of human mortal remains without an original passport cannot be considered as a violation under section 19 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025."
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