DigiYatra Without Aadhaar: Can OCI and NRI Travellers Use It in 2026?
By Ishaani Reddy (Ishaani Reddy writes about the consumer-protection side of travel — DGCA passenger rights, OTA refund policies, hidden fees, dynamic-currency-conversion traps and the seven kinds of booking mistakes that quietly drain Indian travel budgets.) · Published · 9 min read
OCI card holders and NRIs without an Aadhaar-linked mobile number can still access DigiYatra at Indian airports — but the path is different from the standard flow. Here is the current state of the passport-based pilot and what to expect at each of the four mandate airports.
TL;DR — Can NRIs and OCI Holders Use DigiYatra?
Yes, partially. As of 2026, OCI card holders and NRIs travelling on a foreign passport can use DigiYatra at Indian airports, but only via the passport-based enrollment pilot that is live at DEL and BOM and in a more limited form at BLR and HYD. The standard Aadhaar-OTP flow is unavailable to them. The passport pilot uses OCR of the passport MRZ plus a selfie — no Aadhaar required. That said, the pilot is still being scaled up and gate compatibility is uneven, so I would not rely on it exclusively without a backup plan.
Why Does Aadhaar Matter for DigiYatra in the First Place?
The standard DigiYatra enrollment flow uses Aadhaar's eKYC API to verify your identity — it pulls your name, date of birth and photograph from UIDAI's database and matches it against your selfie. This is fast, legally robust under India's IT Act, and cheap to implement. The problem is that Aadhaar is only issued to Indian residents. OCI card holders are not entitled to Aadhaar by default — some long-term OCI residents do have one, but many don't. NRIs who moved abroad years ago often have Aadhaar but the linked mobile number is a SIM they surrendered when they left India.
DigiYatra Foundation has known about this gap since the system launched for domestic flights in 2022. The passport-based pilot was their answer — but it came later, is less technically mature, and has a narrower airport footprint.
How the Passport-Based DigiYatra Pilot Works
Instead of Aadhaar eKYC, the passport pilot flow works like this:
- Open the DigiYatra app and select 'Enroll with Passport' (this option appears only if you choose it during the ID-type selection screen — it is not the default).
- Scan your passport's data page using your phone camera. The app reads the MRZ (the two lines of machine-readable text at the bottom of your bio-data page).
- Complete an NFC chip read if your passport has one — most passports issued after 2015 do. This step validates that the chip data matches the printed page.
- Take your enrollment selfie. The system does a liveness check (you may be asked to blink or turn your head slightly).
- Add your flight PNR as usual.
Sounds straightforward — and when it works, it is. The snag is that NFC reading requires your phone's NFC to be active and the passport must be a biometric e-passport. Some older Indian passports (and a few foreign passports) lack the chip. In those cases, you fall back to a manual kiosk enrollment at the airport.
Airport-by-Airport Status: Where Does It Actually Work?
| Airport | Passport Pilot Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DEL (T3 international) | Live, most gates | Best coverage; kiosk enrollment available 24/7 near check-in rows K-M |
| BOM (T2 international) | Live, selected gates | Not all international gates are passport-pilot enabled; check DigiYatra app gate map |
| BLR (T2 international) | Kiosk only | In-app passport enrollment works but gate-level recognition for passport travelers is limited; use kiosk and expect manual-assist lane |
| HYD (international terminal) | Kiosk only | Passport pilot gates are planned for Q3 2026 per GHIAL; as of June 2026, use enrollment kiosk on arrival at transit desk |
The 'kiosk only' status at BLR and HYD means you skip the app enrollment entirely and go straight to the staffed kiosk when you arrive at the transit counter. It is slower but fully functional — staff will scan your passport and capture your biometric on the spot.
What If You Have Aadhaar But the Mobile Number Is Dead?
This is the most common NRI scenario in my experience — someone who got Aadhaar years ago but the linked SIM is a Vodafone or BSNL prepaid that got deactivated after three months of non-use while they were abroad.
Your options, in order of practicality:
- Update your Aadhaar mobile at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra while you're in India. Bring your current mobile number and your Aadhaar; the biometric update is done in-branch and propagates within about 10 working days. This is the cleanest fix if you're in India for a few weeks.
- Use the mAadhaar face-authentication path in the DigiYatra app — this doesn't require an OTP, just facial recognition matched against your Aadhaar record. It requires internet connectivity and UIDAI's face-auth API to respond, which can be patchy on airport Wi-Fi. Have your Aadhaar number handy.
- Switch to passport-based enrollment as described above, treating your dead-number Aadhaar as if you have no Aadhaar at all.
One thing worth knowing: UIDAI has a facility to check which mobile number is linked to your Aadhaar without revealing the full number — just the last two digits. Go to myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and use the 'Verify Email/Mobile' option before your trip, so you're not surprised at the enrollment step.
OCI-Specific Considerations
OCI card holders are a special case because they travel on a foreign passport but often have a long history of travel to India and may have an older Indian passport number in their family history. DigiYatra's passport pilot uses the document you are currently travelling on — your foreign passport — not any historical Indian document. So if you're a US-passport OCI holder, the system treats you like any foreign national doing passport-based enrollment.
The practical implication: your PNR sync will use your foreign passport number as the identifier. Make absolutely sure the passport number on your airline booking matches the passport you're enrolling with. OCI holders sometimes have bookings made on their Indian passport number by mistake (a travel agent habit from older days) — that mismatch will cause PNR sync failure.
If you're searching for flights and want to double-check your routing touches a DigiYatra-mandatory transit point, FlightGPT's AI search flags that in the itinerary detail. You can also browse specific route pages for transit airport notes.
The Bottom Line for NRI and OCI Travellers
DigiYatra is usable without Aadhaar — but you need to plan around it. For transit at DEL and BOM, the passport pilot in the app is mature enough to rely on if your passport has an NFC chip. For BLR and HYD, budget an extra 20–30 minutes for the kiosk enrollment. In all cases, carry your physical passport and boarding pass as backup — do not assume the biometric gate will work on the first scan.
The broader privacy and consent debate around the mandate is covered in our separate article on DigiYatra privacy and your rights under the DPDP Act. And if you're worried about the 48-hour window for changing your booking if your transit connection looks wrong, read up on the DGCA 48-hour look-in rule — it has its own quirks for OTA bookings.
Frequently asked questions
Can an OCI card holder enroll in DigiYatra?
Yes. OCI card holders use the passport-based enrollment pilot in the DigiYatra app rather than the Aadhaar-OTP flow. Scan your foreign passport's data page, complete the NFC chip read if your passport supports it, and take the enrollment selfie. This is fully live at DEL T3 and BOM T2 international; at BLR and HYD, use the on-site enrollment kiosk instead.
What if my foreign passport doesn't have an NFC chip?
Passports issued before roughly 2007–2010 in most countries may lack the biometric chip. If your passport has no chip, the NFC step in the DigiYatra app will fail. Skip in-app enrollment and go directly to the staffed enrollment kiosk at the transit desk — staff can complete a manual document scan and biometric capture. Allow 20–30 minutes.
Will DigiYatra work on my OCI card or does it need my passport?
DigiYatra's passport pilot works with the travel document you present at immigration — which for OCI holders is your foreign passport, not the OCI card itself. The OCI card is a visa-equivalent but not a primary travel document in India's airport systems. Use your foreign passport for enrollment.
I have Aadhaar but I can't receive OTP on the linked number. What are my options for DigiYatra?
Three options: update your Aadhaar-linked mobile at a UIDAI Seva Kendra (takes about 10 working days), try the mAadhaar face-authentication path inside the DigiYatra app (requires good internet), or switch to the passport-based enrollment flow. The kiosk at the airport also works as a fallback for any situation where the app enrollment fails.
Is there a separate DigiYatra lane for passport-enrolled travellers or do I join the same queue?
At DEL T3 international, passport-enrolled travellers use the same DigiYatra e-gate lanes as Aadhaar-enrolled travellers — the camera reads your face and looks up the matching record regardless of which enrollment method you used. At BLR and HYD currently, passport-enrolled travellers go through the staffed manual-assist lane next to the e-gates, since those airports' gate cameras are not yet calibrated for the passport-pilot identifier schema.