Passport linking with Covid-19 vaccine certificate: Why it’s needed and how can it be done

Planning to go abroad? Many countries need proof that you are fully vaccinated before you travel out of India. Now, this travel can be for anything related to jobs- especially Tokyo Olympics or studies. In order to help officials verify the vaccination status before departure or during departure, linking passport to the Covid-19 vaccination certificate is necessary.

Here is how you can link passport to vaccine certificate:

For people who have already been vaccinated and have used a different photo ID, they will have to log in to their account on the official CoWIN website. There, an option of “Raise Issue” will appear within the account details section. Users will be able to see three different options there- Merge Multiple Dose Provisional Certificates, Certificate Correction and Add Passport Details. From there, users can add their passport details.

Upon selecting the options, users will be redirected to a page where they have to select the name of the member whose passport details need to be added. After this, users will have to select the added member from a drop down menu. The Passport number can be filled in the “Enter Beneficiary’s Passport Number” section. While doing so, users need to make sure



that they are entering the correct passport number.

It is to note that users have to fill in all details accurately as they will not be allowed to change the certificate photo ID details again. The process can only be done once. Users are also advised to double check all details after entering. After this, a declaration stating “I declare that this passport belongs to the beneficiary. The name of the passport holder is the same as mentioned on the vaccine certificate,” will appear and users have to accept this by ticking the box.

Once this is done, a message will be sent to the user’s registered mobile number and confirm the request submission. It will take a few seconds for the request to process and this, another message will be sent regarding the update being successful.

Then users will have to go to the Account Details page and click on the “Certificate” button which is present next to the name of the account to which the passport has been linked. From there, the new vaccine certificate which is linked to the passport can be downloaded.

To be sure, if you have not already registered on the CoWIN platform, it is advised that a passport as a photo ID proof is chosen while registration.