Phasing Out of Handwritten Passports
Indian citizens residing in Cyprus holding hand written passports are advised to urgently replace such passports with machine readable passports. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had set November 24, 2015 as the deadline for globally phasing out all non-Machine Readable Passports (non-MRPs). It is possible that foreign Governments may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non MRP after the deadline i.e. November 24, 2015.
Government of India has been issuing Machine Readable Passports since 2001. However, passports issued before 2001, particularly those issued during the mid-1990s with a validity of 20 years fall in the category of non-MRPs.
Indian citizens residing in Cyprus and holding such passports (non-MRPs) with validity beyond November 24, 2015 are advised to immediately apply for re-issue of their passports in order to avoid any inconvenience in obtaining valid visa or undertaking international travel.
mea.gov.in