Chennai, July 7 (PTI): A new passport application form, which is much simpler and requires the thumb impression of the applicant, will come into use from tomorrow.

The existing application form will stay valid till September 30, regional passport officer G. Mathi Vathanan said today.

The thumb impression was made mandatory to verify the authenticity of the passport holder at the airport immigration centres, Vathanan said, adding that the thumb impression and the new form are machine readable.

While the old form had three applications — one each for fresh and renewals, for duplicate passports and miscellaneous things like change of address — the new form would have only two applications.

The existing form comprised of 45 columns against the new one’s 22.

The new form also does not have an index card, the officer said.