The Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) provides passport and consular services to Indian citizens through the Central Passport Organisation (CPO), and consular and visa services to foreign nationals and Indians residing overseas through the passport, visa and consular wings of Indian Missions and Posts abroad.

In India, there are 38 Passport Issuing Authorities (PIAs) - 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs)/Passport Offices (POs) under the CPO and the Office of Chief Secretary Andaman & Nicobar Islands, which deal with passport matters as per provisions of the Passport Act, 1967 and the Passport Rules, 1980 as amended from time to time. Besides these 38 PIAs, there are also 14 Passport Application Collection Centres (PACC), 495 District Passport Cells (DPCs) and 1154 Speed Post Centres (SPCs) which serve as application collection centres. In addition, 178 Indian Missions & Posts abroad render passport, visa and consular services worldwide.

The CPV Division works under the supervision of Additional Secretary (CPV). Joint Secretary (Consular) is responsible for consular affairs. Joint Secretary (PV) is entrusted with visa matters. The Central Passport Organisation, which is a subordinate organization under the Ministry of External Affairs, is headed by Joint Secretary (PSP) & Chief Passport Officer, who is also an appellate authority under the Passports Act 1967 and the Head of Department under the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules 1978.

1. There was no practice of issuing Indian passports before the First World War. During that war, the Government of India enacted Defence of India Act in 1914 and promulgated rules thereunder, which made it compulsory to possess a passport for egress from and ingress into India.

2. The Act expired six months after the end of the War. It was, however, desired that the Government of India should retain power to continue that system in whole or in part for the purpose of bringing the Indian practice into line with that of other parts of the erstwhile British Empire and of other countries.

3. The Government of India, therefore, enacted the Indian Passports Act, 1920 which substantially retained the earlier provisions. This Act was renamed "The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920".

4. Though 'Emigration' continued as a Central subject even after passing of India Act, 1935, the Central Government delegated to the State Governments the power to issue passports on its behalf. Some of the State Governments viz., Mumbai, C.P. & Berar, Delhi, United Provinces etc., opened regular passport offices for this purpose functioning under their Home Departments.

5. Subsequently, the issue of passports became a Central subject under the Indian Constitution and was allotted to the Ministry of External Affairs. Till 1954, this work was continued to be carried out by the respective State Governments on behalf of this Ministry. It was in 1954 that the first five Regional Passport Offices at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Nagpur were set up. This necessitated the setting up of a separate organization and the Central Passport and Emigration Organization was created in 1959 as a Subordinate Office of this Ministry. The Central Passport Organization (CPO) has sanctioned strength of about 2,697 officers and staff members as on 01-04-2012.

6. Up to 1966, the issue of passports was regulated through administrative instructions. The power to issue passports was exercised by the Government by virtue of Article 73 read with List I, Item 19 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. However, as the Parliament was not in session, the Government promulgated the Passports Ordinance, 1967 and after six months replaced it with the present Passports Act, 1967,which came into force on June 24, 1967.The Act was amended by the Passports (Amendment) Act, 1978 (31 of 1978) and by Act 35 of 1993.

7. Under the Passports Act, 1967, the Central Government has the powers to frame rules thereunder. The first such Rules called the Passport Rules, 1967 were thus framed the same year. Following various amendments in course of time these were consolidated and the Rules were last issued as the Passport Rules 1980 which have been further modified partially.